The Northeast and Midwest, including New York City and Boston, are expected to experience what is expected to be the warmest weather in 30 years this week as a warm dome settles over much of the country.
Over the next six days, 265 million people, or about 82% of the U.S. population, are likely to experience temperatures above 90 degrees as the official first day of summer arrives on Thursday.
Many cities in the Midwest and Northeast will feel 100 to 105 degrees with high humidity for up to five days of 95-plus degree weather during what the National Weather Service calls a rare and prolonged heat wave.
As of Monday morning, 17 states from Iowa to Maine were under heat warnings. A heat watch was issued Sunday for parts of New England, including Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Temperatures in Concord, New Hampshire are forecast to reach 101 on Wednesday.
The Ohio Valley may experience the most impactful heat wave of the 21st century. Louisville, Kentucky, forecast highs of 94 degrees on Wednesday, 97 degrees on Thursday and 99 degrees on Friday.
New York City could feel its first heat wave of the year as temperatures are forecast to reach 91 degrees on Wednesday and 94 on Thursday and 96 on Friday.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference Monday morning that he expects the National Weather Service to issue a heat advisory for the nation’s largest city on Thursday and Friday. He said the cooling centers will be opened on Tuesday.
“We expect the heat index to reach 99 degrees Thursday and Friday,” Adams said. “We want to be clear, this is very hot in June and New Yorkers should not underestimate the heat.”
Pittsburgh is in for hot weather, with temperatures expected to rise from 97 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday to 98 degrees on Thursday and Friday.
The heat-wave forecast for Pittsburgh calls for the city’s all-time hottest June. The previous five-day June record occurred in 1994 with a temperature of 96.4 degrees.
The all-time record for a heat wave occurred in Pittsburgh in mid-July 1988, when city residents sweltered through five consecutive days of 98.6-degree temperatures.
Washington, D.C., is expected to be inundated with 90-degree weather and could reach the century mark by Friday.
High temperatures are also forecast for Ohio and southeastern Michigan, where an extreme heat watch is in effect Monday through Friday.
Daily temperature records are expected to drop this week in Chicago, Green Bay, Cleveland and Toledo.
Upstate New York could see daily heat records fall. In Rochester, Monday’s temperature is forecast to reach 94 degrees, tying the daily record. Syracuse is forecast to reach 94 degrees on Monday, breaking the daily record.
To the west, dangerous heat is expected in Texas, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico.
Extreme heat warnings were issued for Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, where temperatures threatened to reach 110 degrees on Sunday.
Roswell, New Mexico, is expected to reach 105 degrees on Sunday, and El Paso and Fort Stockton, Texas, are expected to be warmer.
Officials warn people braving high temperatures to stay hydrated, get out of the heat, and visit elderly neighbors and relatives.
In 2023, there were 2,302 heart-related deaths nationwide, a 34% increase from 2022.
