NEW YORK – Major cities in the Northeast and New England have joined several other areas of the nation under heat alerts through at least Friday as dangerous temperatures that have been scorching the western and southern U.S. over the last several weeks push into the eastern half of the country.
Among the 48 million in the Northeast now under heat alerts include New York City, Philadelphia, Boston and Providence, Rhode Island. Those areas are now a part of what the FOX Forecast Center has been warning could very likely be the hottest week of the summer for millions of Americans.
About 75% of the nation’s population will experience warmer than average temperatures through Friday. Only the Pacific Northwest and parts of the northern Rockies have been escaping the intense heat.
Current projections have just over 260 million Americans will be feeling above-average temperatures on Wednesday, with that number just slightly dropping on Thursday and Friday.
How hot will it get? Generally speaking, high temperatures combined with high humidity will make widespread forecast high temperatures in the 90s feel much hotter, with heat index readings crossing over 100 degrees in many locations.
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Overall, about 115 million Americans from the West Coast through the Midwest and into the Northeast and New England are now under heat alerts that will remain in effect through at least Friday.
Aside from the Northeast, major cities across the U.S. are among those under heat alerts, including Phoenix, Dallas, St. Louis, Oklahoma City, and Indianapolis.
The Fox Forecast Center expects Wednesday to be the hottest day of the week for millions across the U.S. Temperatures ranging from the low 90s to 100 degrees are expected from the Plains and Midwest to the Great Lakes region, Southeast and mid-Atlantic.
Kansas City, Missouri, has a forecast high of 101 degrees on Wednesday, but it will feel like it’s about 110 degrees, thanks to the humidity. Memphis, Tennessee, has a forecast high temperature of around 93 degrees and a feels-like temperature of 100.
Pittsburgh and Washington have forecast high temperatures in the low to mid-90s on Wednesday, but they too will feel hotter than that as we get into Wednesday afternoon.
WHAT IS THE ‘FEELS-LIKE’ TEMPERATURE?
Dangerous temperatures will push farther east by Thursday, with major cities along the Interstate 95 corridor getting in on the action.
New York City has a forecast high of 96 degrees on Thursday, but it will feel like 102 degrees. New York City is under an Excessive Heat Watch in anticipation of the potentially life-threatening heat.
Boston and Providence will see heat index values range from 95 to 104 Thursday.
In the mid-Atlantic, Charlotte, North Carolina and Roanoke, Virginia, have forecast high temperatures in the upper 90s with a forecast feels-like temperature above 100 degrees.
Wilting heat will also settle in along the Midwest and mid-Mississippi Valley with heat index readings climbing to 111 in St. Louis, 105 in Kansas City and 108 in Sioux Falls, Iowa, so precautions should be taken to prevent heat-related illnesses.
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The furnace will be cranking again on Friday, with similar triple-digit temperatures expected again from Kansas City to St. Louis, and millions more Americans will be feeling temperatures in the 90s from the Midwest to the East Coast.
Heat conditions remain dangerous for millions as feels-like temperatures reach well above 100 degrees from New England through New York City and into the mid-Atlantic and Southeast.
With temperatures rising, taking the proper precautions to stay safe is essential.
The extreme heat has claimed several lives this summer, including at least two people inside Death Valley National Park in California.
Last week, a 10-month-old was left alone in a hot car in Florida and died.
Several people have also died in Texas since June due to the extreme heat, while Phoenix’s Maricopa County reports 18 have died so far due to heat with seven other deaths likely heat-related.