Jun 30, 2021
New York Heat Wave Nears Its Sweaty Peak as Northwest Highs Ease
, Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- Temperatures in New York and the Northeast will soar again Wednesday, while the heat wave in the western U.S. and Canada is easing after causing blackouts and several deaths.
In New York, where the utility Consolidated Edison Inc. asked 270,000 customers in Queens and Manhattan to conserve power Tuesday, Central Park is forecast to reach 96 degrees Fahrenheit (36 Celsius) with humidity that would make it feel more like 100 or 105. Boston could hit 97 Wednesday before the Northeast starts cooling, the National Weather Service said.“One more day of heat and humidity,” said Nelson Vaz, a weather service meteorologist in Upton, New York. “We will have isolated to scattered, possibly severe, thunderstorms late today into this evening that is the first sign of the heat breaking.”
The cooling on both coasts follows record Northwest heat linked to climate change that triggered rolling outages, buckled highways and halted trams -- underscoring the increased risk of extreme weather events and prompting President Joe Biden to call for a more resilient power grid. Lytton, British Columbia -- a region of glacier-fed rivers -- reached 121, Canada’s third-straight record, while Vancouver police reported a wave of heat-related deaths.
ConEd called for conservation while it makes repairs amid weather that threatens to overheat electric cables. Other power officials in the Eastern U.S. have also called for reduced use or warned about potential supply shortfalls, pushing electricity prices higher. Natural gas futures surged in the longest winning streak in nearly three years Tuesday.
Read more: U.S. Cooling Demand Forecast 14 Degree Days More Than Normal
Heat warnings and advisories stretch from New Jersey to Maine, as well as across the Northwest, reaching into Montana and California. Environment Canada has posted heat warnings across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and up the Mackenzie River nearly to the Arctic circle in the west, plus New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in the east.
The hot weather that blankets much of the U.S. is forecast to continue cooling through the end of the week. Thursday’s high in Central Park will be 80 and then 76 by Sunday, the weather service said. The Fourth of July weekend will likely start gray and rainy.
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