High heat to hit Hub
Temps could reach triple digits
A blast of hot air will hit Boston this weekend, with the first official heat wave of the year expected — and the first 100-degree day in eight years possible, meteorologists say.
Three straight days of temperatures predicted to be near or above 90 will cook Bostonians starting Friday, with the hottest day Saturday, with highs in the upper 90s. All of that will be paired with stifling humidity, according to experts.
“It’s going to feel like it’s 105 to 110,” meteorologist Dave Samuhel of Accuweather.com said.
He said the last time temperatures in Boston reached triple digits was in 2011 — his organization is predicting a high of 99 Saturday.
“This is going to be tough,” Samuhel said. “Be smart in the heat and everything should be fine.”
Experts warn people to be careful, especially during the hottest hours of the afternoon. They say the elderly, small children and people with medical conditions should in particular stay out of the sun during those peak hours, and they encourage people to check on their neighbors and loved ones throughout the day.
“There’s definitely the risk of sun- and heat-related illnesses,” Ben Sipprell of the National Weather Service in Norton said.
Mayor Martin Walsh’s office has not yet declared a heat emergency, which in the past has involved opening cooling centers and city pools. Walsh’s office put out a statement on Tuesday, warning Bostonians of the heat and telling people to wear sunscreen and hydrate.
Walsh also asked people to watch out for the homeless and to call 911 if it looks like someone on the street is in distress. The mayor also noted that outdoor fires aren’t allowed in Boston, and parents should make sure their kids aren’t climbing on playground equipment that’s hot enough to burn them the way the now-infamous Myrtle the Turtle bronze terrapin play structure was searing the children of Beacon Hill until just recently.
Sipprell pointed out that Boston hasn’t had an official heat wave — three straight days of temperatures over 90 — this summer, though the measurements come from Logan International Airport, which is often cooler than areas away from the harbor. With temps predicted for around 90, then high 90s and mid 90s over Friday, Saturday and Sunday, that could change, he said.
The meteorologists said this heat comes from the confluence of moist air coming up from the remnants of Hurricane Barry underneath hot air blown in from the west higher in the atmosphere that keeps everything toasty.
“You’re kind of putting a lid on a boiling pot,” Sipprell said.
The organization that manages New England’s power grid says it can take the heat, insisting that people don’t need to worry about blackouts.
“When we’re expecting demanding weather, they certainly monitor conditions even more closely,” said ISO New England spokeswoman Marcia Blomberg, who said they always prepare for situations “with the expectation that something will go wrong. We have a margin of reserves every day.”