By Pam McLoughlin

Combination of factors could make it seem like 100 degrees or more Sunday

The first hot spell of summer moved into Greater New Haven Saturday — causing folks to head to the beach or ramp up the air conditioning — and Sunday is expected to be even hotter, more humid, with a heat index that will make it feel like 100 degree or more.

The National Weather Service has put a heat advisory into effect through 9 p.m. because the heat index values — temperature combined humidity — will make it feel so hot.

According to the agency, “Extreme heat can cause illness and death among at-risk populations who cannot stay cool. The heat and humidity may cause heat stress during outdoor exertion or extended exposure.”

Many communities have opened cooling stations in public spaces. Countless Connecticut residents flocked to the shoreline and state park swiimming areas to beat the heat.

Miller’s Pond State Park in Durham reached capacity around noon Saturday and stopped taking new arrivals. Wadsworth Falls State Park reached capacity at 1:15 p.m. and Burr Pond State Park in Torrington stopped accepting new beachgoers after 2:50 p.m.

NBC Connecticut Chief Metorolgist Ryan Hanrahan said the dew point is the measure of how humid or muggy it feels on a given day. The dew point on Saturday in the New Haven area was in the 60s, Hanrahan said.

“That’s a bit humid, but not brutal,” he said. “(Sunday), the moisture will build across the state, and the dew points will be in the mid-70s, which is oppressively humid.”

Even without factoring in the dew point, Sunday’s temperatures will hover in the 95- to 100-degree range, Hanrahan said. The only good news is for those who plan to finish the weekend with a trip to the beach, he said.

“The really uncomfortable heat and humidity will be inland,” Hanrahan said. “There will be a sea breeze and a wind off the water on the shoreline.”

Connecticut residents who were out in the heat Saturday weren’t complaining.

“It feels good to be out here today,” said John Jonkowski, of West Haven, who was enjoying the beach on Saturday. But Jonkowski said Sunday’s weather might make it too hot for the beach, .

His friend, Linda Becker, disagreed.

“That can never happen,” Becker said, adding the prospect of a dip into cool Long Island Sound negates any thoughts of staying away from the beach.

There were long lines at ice cream shops, cold beer was moving fast at liquor stores and the air-conditioned grocery stories were bustling.

John DeCarlo, chairman