Tropical humidity has brought an uncomfortable, muggy feel to much of the East Coast. FOX Weather Meteorologist Kiyana Lewis reports from New York City, where she describes the oppressive humidity as feeling
Tropical levels of humidity have taken over the East Coast as summer heat continues to make life uncomfortable across much of the Northeast and the I-95 corridor.
After an uneasy summer’s day on Thursday across much of the region, the unkind, sweat-stain-causing conditions aren’t expected to let up soon.
Adults and children try to stay cool in a fountain in lower Manhattan as the city settles into a forecast of days of high temperatures and humidity on August 06, 2026, in New York City.
(Spencer Platt/Getty Images / Getty Images)
New York City felt more like Miami as a surge in dew points ushered in hot, muggy conditions and tropical levels of humidity.
What makes the air feel so muggy? The dew point measures the amount of moisture in the air, and the higher it climbs, the more humid and uncomfortable it can feel.
Once the dew point climbs above 70 degrees, the air starts to take on that unmistakable tropical feel — muggy, sticky and downright uncomfortable. Push the dew point past 77 degrees, and the humidity becomes exceptionally oppressive.
On Thursday, major cities experienced some of the highest dew point temperatures of the summer.
HOW DO HEAT AND HUMIDITY AFFECT OUR DOGS?
Philadelphia reached a dew point of 77°, just a few degrees shy of its all-time record of 83°. New York City reached a dew point of 79°, only one degree below its all-time record of 80°.
If you were around the I-95 corridor and in some of the region’s most populated cities on Thursday and thought the humidity felt much worse than usual, you weren’t imagining it.
Dew Point records.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, over the past 30 years, Central Park has recorded more than 256,000 hourly dew point observations. Of those 256,000 hours, only 66 have featured a dew point at or above 78°. That means the probability of experiencing those conditions is just 0.03%.
HUMID HEAT OR DRY HEAT: WHAT IS WORSE?
Heat advisories are in effect for much of the I-95 corridor through Saturday, and includes New York City, Philadelphia and Boston.
Heat Alerts in the East.
When will this swampy summer swelter finally depart?
It appears that won’t happen until the current weather pattern begins to break down, which is not expected until late next week.
Dew Point and Temperature.
The heat and humidity will linger into Saturday, with dew points climbing back into the 70s for much of the region, and the heat index values are expected to reach the 90s and lower 100s.
