BACK TO 90s
THIS is fall?! Scorch-tember sets a record
KEEP YOUR sweaters and coats in storage.
The mercury rose to a recordhigh 91 degrees in Central Park on Sunday, close to 20 degrees above the normal high in the first week of fall, the National Weather Service said.
The previous high for a Sept. 24 was 89 degrees in 1959, records show.
“The jet stream is well north of our region, and that has allowed a warm air mass to settle over the area,” Weather Service meteorologist Joe Pollina said.
The mercury is expected to hover in the mid-80s until Thursday, he added. That’s when it is expected to cool down to about 80 degrees, according to the latest forecast.
On Sunday, sunbathers rejoiced in the toasty temperature.
Brenda Westerdaal, 27, of Harlem, said she never thought she’d be wearing a bikini in late September.
“It feels like August,” she said as she relaxed in Central Park. “I waited all week for this when I saw it was going to be hot. I’m trying to enjoy it while it lasts. We were hoping the public swimming pools were going to be open, but they were not. The park was our only option.”
The average normal high temperature is 72 degrees for this time of year.
“It’s extremely hot, but I like it,” said La-Tasha McNeil, 22, of Bushwick, Brooklyn, as she fanned herself with her hands.
“We didn’t really get hot days like this in the summer,” she added. “We had days barely in the 80s. Today is 90! We’re almost in October. Tomorrow is going to be hot, too. This won’t last long. It’ll be cold soon, so I came to get some sun, some laughs.”
Not everyone was happy about the warm weather.
Brian Gallardo, 24, of Washington Heights, said it bothered him that the unusually hot weather was likely due to global warning.
But he wasn’t going to stay indoors and fret about it.
“I feel like we will get more days like these,” he said. “The planet is unusually hotter. We have all those hurricanes and hot days. But since it’s hot outside, I came to enjoy the park.”
William Scocado, 28, said the steamy weather reminded him of his native Brazil.
“In my country it’s like this every day, year-round,” he said. “So I am used to it.
“I’m going to lay down until the sun goes down,” he said as he rested in Central Park. “It’s nice to enjoy the sun before we start the first full week of fall. It’s very peaceful, too.”
Monica Bylin, 38, visiting from Sweden, said she looked out her hotel window and ran out to sunbathe in the park.
“I’m flying back home tonight,” she said. “But I wanted to get a tan before I left New York.”