A brutal heat wave will continue to swelter from the Midwest to Northeast on Wednesday, set to break more record highs as millions take to the outdoors to mark the Juneteenth holiday.
Eleven cities either tied or hit record highs on Tuesday and the extreme heat triggered air quality alerts in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire and Ohio.
On Wednesday, 74 million people are under heat alerts, with the majority impacting Michigan to Maine, as temperatures 10 to 25 degrees above average soar into the upper 90s to low 100s.
Hartford, Connecticut; Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; could set records for high temperatures.
Heat index readings are expected to “peak from 100 to 105 degrees in many locations,” the National Weather Service said.
Several parts of the Midwest, the interior Northeast and New England could reach temperatures of 95 degrees Fahrenheit or above Wednesday, with Bangor, Maine, set to hit 106 on the heat index, a measure of how hot it feels that factors in humidity.
Dozens of more record highs are forecast to be broken over the next few days.
“One example: In Cleveland, OH (CLEVELAND/HOPKINS), the forecast high on Wednesday is 92°F. On average, the hottest day of the year there is July 14, when the normal high is 84°F,” the National Weather Service wrote on X.
Locals without access to reliable air conditioning are urged to find a a place to cool down as “record warm overnight temperatures will prevent natural cooling and allow the heat danger to build over time indoors without air conditioning,” the NWS said.
NBC News meteorologist Michelle Grossman warned early Wednesday that extreme heat is not to be taken lightly.
“It is dangerous — extreme heat is the No. 1 weather-related killer, so you need to take it seriously,” she said.
