Historic heat wave continues to roast Northeast: 99 million Americans under heat alerts

03:40

Northeast continues to sweat it out during life-threatening heat wave

Temperatures continue to soar into the 90s across the Northeast, and sweltering heat is expected to continue through the weekend in many cities. FOX Weather Correspondent Katie Byrne is in Philadelphia, where a heat health emergency was declared amid the life-threatening heat wave.

Cooling centers, pools and splash pads are open across the Northeast as the first significant heat wave of the summer sends temperatures skyrocketing into the mid-to-upper 90s, and it’s looking like the brutal, record-breaking and potentially dangerous conditions will be sticking around at least through the weekend.

The sweltering temperatures are the result of a massive ridge of high pressure that parked itself over the eastern U.S., and while temperatures in major cities like Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York City and Boston will get into the 90s, the humidity will make it feel even hotter with feels-like temperatures soaring above 100 degrees.

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Record-breaking heat is baking millions from the Midwest to Northeast this week.

(FOX Weather)

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Many communities haven’t seen heat like this in years, and officials have been opening cooling centers and community pools to help residents cool off and stay safe to avoid heat-related health issues like heatstroke and heat exhaustion – which could turn deadly. Over 200 cities could set new record high temperatures.

Boston University, for example, opened cooling stations for students that will be open from 7 a.m. through midnight every day through Friday.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu declared a Heat Emergency that will remain in effect through at least Thursday, and many facilities have been opened to allow residents to cool off.

However, some other cooling centers remained closed on Wednesday for Juneteenth.

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03:19

Early summer heat wave roasting Philadelphia

Millions of people across the Northeast are experiencing brutal temperatures amid the first significant heat wave of the summer. FOX Weather Meteorologist Katie Byrne was in Philadelphia to explain what the city is doing to try and keep residents safe and cool.

Cooling centers have also been opened in Connecticut, and Gov. Ned Lamont said he activated the state's Extreme Hot Weather Protocol.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams also announced that cooling centers would be open across the Big Apple, and pools were opened in Philadelphia for residents to beat the heat.

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95 million included in heat alerts from Ohio Valley to New England

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Heat alerts stretch across the eastern half of the U.S. from the Great Lakes region and Ohio Valley into the Northeast and New England.

A majority of the population are under a Heat Advisory and include cities like Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati in Ohio, Buffalo and Binghamton in New York, Newark in New Jersey, Providence in Rhode Island and Boston.

The Heat Advisories also extend into northern New England, including all of Vermont, western New Hampshire, and parts of Maine.

Excessive Heat Warnings have been issued for Pittsburgh and Fort Wayne in Indiana, but have also been issued in places that have never seen such a warning.

An Excessive Heat Warning was issued by the National Weather Service office in Caribou, Maine, for the first time.

(FOX Weather)

The National Weather Service office in Caribou, Maine, issued its first-ever Excessive Heat Warning due to feels-like temperatures getting close to 110 degrees. Other areas in New England included in the Excessive Heat Warning are Nashua, Manchester and Concord in New Hampshire and Augusta, Bangor, Rumford and Lewiston in Maine. So far, Portland has not been included in the Excessive Heat Warning,

Excessive Heat Watches have been issued for the Philadelphia area and most of central and northern New Jersey.

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Washington, D.C. could hit 100 degrees this weekend

The heat continues to crank up as the workweek continues, with cities along the Interstate 95 corridor along the East Coast again getting into the 90s. Some cities, like Washington D.C., could hit 100 degrees on Sunday.

But New England will "cool off" a bit by the time we get into Friday. Boston has a forecast high temperature of 95 degrees on Thursday and "only" 83 degrees on Friday. Saturday will see temperatures that are even lower, with many New England locations remaining in the mid- to upper 70s.

Residents in Caribou will really feel the difference, however.

The city hit 96 degrees on Wednesday and temperatures will fall through the rest of the week, dropping to a forecast high of 65 degrees on Sunday.

Heat wave set to be record-breaking

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Each red marker on the map above indicates a location that could see record-breaking heat on Thursday and includes cities like Bangor and Concord in New England, and Binghamton and Scranton, Pennsylvania.

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Heat to reach life-threatening levels

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In many of the areas where daily records could be broken or there is a lot of pavement, the National Weather Service’s HeatRisk map has labeled communities at a Level 3 or 4 out of 4 for impacts.

The HeatRisk threat level takes into consideration the unusual nature of the heat, the duration of the extreme temperatures and potential health impacts.

At a code red (Level 3) stage, heat affects anyone who is not adequately hydrated or those without access to cooling.

Magenta (Level 4) signifies extreme heat that is either rare or long in duration. Health systems can be impacted by an influx of patients with heat-related illnesses.

During the height of the heat wave on Thursday, many residents in Ohio, northern Indiana, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine will find themselves at a Level 4 out of 4.