Excessive heat warning extended for Milwaukee

an excessive heat warning has been extended into Saturday for Milwaukee as unruly weather continues across the Badger state.

The National Weather Service late Friday afternoon extended the excessive heat warning for part of southern Wisconsin, including the Milwaukee metro area, until 8 p.m. Saturday.

“The excessive heat warning will end for areas north of a line from Lone Rock to Juneau to Port Washington at 9 p.m.” Friday, according to the weather service office in Sullivan.

South of that line, including the Milwaukee and Madison metro areas, the heat warning will extend into Saturday evening.

“The heat is not going away as fast as we want it to,” said Rebecca Rogers, a meteorologist with the weather service.

Saturday’s heat index — the combination of hot temperatures and high humidity — should be around 100 in Milwaukee and 105 in Racine and Kenosha, Rogers said.

Those high temperatures depend on how quickly a forecast cold front makes its way through the area, Rogers said. If the front arrives quicker than expected, the heat warning would be ended sooner.

At 4:30 p.m. Friday in Milwaukee, the temperature was 92 and the heat index was 106. Elsewhere in Wisconsin, La Crosse was reporting 97 degrees and a heat index of 117 at 4:30 p.m.

Relief is in sight. The high temperature in Milwaukee on Sunday is forecast to be 80 and the high Monday is forecast to be 77.

The heat wave spread across the eastern two-thirds of the nation, bringing sweltering temperatures to some 195 million Americans from New Mexico to Maine.

Temperatures around 100 degrees were possible in Washington, D.C, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, Chicago and St. Louis, AccuWeather said.

New York City officials canceled OZY Fest, an outdoor festival featuring soccer star Megan Rapinoe, musician John Legend and “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah. OZY Fest had been scheduled for Saturday and Sunday in Central Park. Also canceled was Sunday’s New York City Triathlon.