The sweltering temperatures of recent days were just a warm-up. The heat wave scorching two-thirds of the nation will hit its peak over the weekend.
Thinking about playing the dangerous conditions cool? Think again, health and government officials warn.
Officials from Wisconsin to Boston have declared heat emergencies, canceled classes and mobilized crews to prepare for the soaring temperatures through the weekend, when more than 100 local heat records are expected to fall.
Already early Friday morning, more than 105 million people were under excessive heat warnings and nearly 60 million more were under heat advisories, according to the weather service national map. The heat wave blanketed a swath of the nation from central Nebraska and parts of Oklahoma to Vermont and Massachusetts and northern South Carolina, according to the weather service.
Temperatures in New York City, where the mayor on Thursday declared a heat emergency, are forecast to be as high as 96 degrees on Sunday, and with the humidity, it could feel like 110 degrees, the national weather service and emergency management officials said.
The New York City Triathlon, which expected to draw 4,000 participants from 33 countries and 45 U.S. states on Sunday, was called off due to severe heat warnings.
“After exhausting all options to mitigate athlete, volunteer, spectator and staff exposure alike, we are unable to provide either a safe event experience or an alternate race weekend,” triathlon organizers said in a statement Thursday.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot called temperatures, which are forecast to be in the high 90s and have a heat index topping 100 degrees through Saturday, a “heat emergency.”
“It’s all hands on deck,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at a news conference Thursday.
Lightfoot also issued a plea for all residents to take the heat seriously.
“Number one, don’t leave your children in hot cars … it’s a terrible mistake,” she said. “If you stumble across something like that, by any means necessary get the kid out of the car and call 911.”
In Appleton, Wisconsin, where a high of 90 was forecast Friday, the school district called off elementary and middle school classes because of the excessive heat.
Philadelphia, which is expected to see 100 degrees on Saturday and 99 on Sunday, declared a “heat health emergency,” and extended it until 11 p.m. Monday.
Washington, D.C., also declared a heat emergency, and on Thursday, so did Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. Temperatures in that northeastern city are forecast to be in the high 90s on Saturday and Sunday, but will feel hotter once the humidity is factored in. Temps in Detroit will also climb to the mid-to-high 90s Friday and Saturday.
In Waterloo, Iowa, the Salvation Army was combatting the heat and trying to keep people safe by distributing water, popsicles and other treats in a mobile canteen. In the city of around 68,000 northwest of Cedar Rapids, temperatures were in the low 90s Thursday.
“No one should suffer through this. It can be dangerous and life-threatening if people don’t take it seriously,” Salvation Army Captain Shannon Thies told NBC affiliate KWWL.
Humans aren’t the only ones suffering. In New York City’s Central Park on Thursday, Judith Kadi said that the recent heat has had her and her dog out walking earlier.
“The heat really affects him, so we definitely come out early, and I carry water with us constantly,” Kadi said. “He’s very, very thirsty; I definitely see a difference in him when it gets to this temperature,” she said.
So far, this summer “has not been bad, but this has been really unbelievable,” she said. “Everyone’s affected by it.” She was planning to leave the city Friday and go out to the country to beat the heat — the forecast high is 94 degrees — and return at night when it’s cooler.
On Thursday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a monthly climate report that said that last month was the hottest June on record for the globe. The NOAA global dataset record goes back 140 years, to 1880. Nine of the 10 hottest Junes globally have occurred since 2010, the agency said.
It also said that for the second month in a row, warmth brought Antarctic sea-ice coverage to a new low for June.