The weekend is set to close with a bit of relief when Sunday rolls around, bringing with it slightly cooler temperatures and ditching some of the dangerous humidity that's clung around for much of the week.
The high temperatures felt day after day dipped ever so slightly on Saturday, hovering around but mostly under 90 degrees in most places. Whether or not the few degrees were felt, the week's pervasive humidity hung on for one more day.
Stray showers and a thunderstorm were possible as the day went on but failed to materialize by the evening. An isolated storm could appear as a cold front moves through but Storm Team 4 says not much is expected.
By comparison, Saturday may have felt like a nice day after three straight days of intense heat and unpleasantness. The stifling humidity smothered people with heat indices topping the triple digits and near-record actual temps in the mid-90s. Excessive heat warnings, watches and advisories were in effect for a large swath of the region, along with an air quality alert.
The National Weather Service New York warned Friday would be "one of the hottest days of the summer," and temperatures could reach up to 105 degrees in Newark and 100 in NYC.
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The latest scorcher came as new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the month of July was the hottest month ever recorded. That announcement comes four days after a climate change report from the United Nations that its officials called a “code red for humanity.”
Cooling centers are open across New York City. To find a location, click here or call 311. Check the latest weather alerts for your neighborhood here.
If you're planning to go to the beach to stay cool over the weekend, check local advisories -- four beaches were closed in Nassau County on Friday due to elevated bacterial levels (Tappen Beach in Glenwood Landing, Sea Cliff Beach in Sea Cliff, Hewlett Point Beach in East Rockaway and Philip Healey Beach in Massapequa).
The city was reminding people to conserve energy amid the hot stretch, saying, "Due to the intense heat, all households and businesses should limit energy usage to prevent power outages. Please limit the use of washers, dryers, air conditioners, & other energy-intensive equipment, and turn off lights/televisions when not needed."
PSEG Long Island issued a similar warning on Friday for its customers to reduce electricity use during peak hours (between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.). The utility was urging people to cut all nonessential electric use and run air conditioners "only if needed for health reasons."
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The area saw more frequent power outages through Friday evening as well. More than 1,000 customers in Westchester County were without power as of 10:30 p.m., with Con Edison saying it had reduced voltage in parts of the county by eight percent. That came after more than 5,000 were without power in Staten Island, but the utility said all power had been restored there by 11 p.m. There were another 2,700 without power in New Jersey (mostly in Essex County), part of 8,300 total customers in the dark throughout the tri-state.
Thursday's storms left multiple injured after they were struck by lightning at Orchard Beach in the Bronx, according to FDNY officials. Six people were rushed to Jacobi Medical Center, with a 15-year-old severely hurt; the others were expected to recover.
After starting rather steamy and unsettled for the first day of the weekend, highs will actually fall below average starting Sunday as much cooler air arrives with a cold front that will break the oppressive heat and humidity.
Highs for all of next week are actually below average with temperatures expected to only hit the low 80s.
Track any approaching storms using our interactive radar below.
