Americans roasting all over
Heat cancels activities in East; Midwest expects cool-down
NEW YORK — Americans from Texas to Maine sweated out a steamy Saturday as a heat wave canceled events from festivals to horse races, chased baseball fans out of their seats and pushed New York City to order steps to avoid straining the electrical system.
The National Weather Service said “a dangerous heat wave” sent temperatures into the 90s, with high humidity that made it feel considerably hotter. Conditions were expected to stay warm at night, in the upper 70s to low 80s, with more heat on the way today for the East Coast.
“It’s brutal,” Jeffrey Glickman said as he paused during a run in Washington.
The 37-year-old got out early to try to avoid the worst of the heat but still planned to cut his route short on an already 90-degree morning.
“You just have to power through it the best you can,” he said.
Many people in areas facing excessive heat this weekend have no air conditioning, and cities opened shelters for people to cool off. With record- or near-record-high temperatures at night when many air-conditioned places are closed, the weather can become especially dangerous for people who don’t get a chance to cool down, experts say. The risks are greater for young children, the elderly and the sick.
Over three days in July 1995, more than 700 people died during a heat wave in Chicago as temperatures rose above 97 degrees. Many of the dead were poor, elderly and lived alone.
While the Midwest will get some relief today as a cold front ushers in storms and lower temperatures, the East won’t be so lucky until Monday, the weather service warned. The heat will be the worst from the Carolinas to Maine.
In Norwich, Conn., Larry Konecny watched as one of his workers a couple of stories up in a boom lift cleaned the outside of an office building. The pair had no choice but to work in 90-degree heat and stifling humidity because the job needed to be done when office workers were away, Konecny said.
“He’s pressure-washing, so the water is splashing. So at least there’s some degree of refreshment,” he said.
NYC SWEATY, READY
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency lasting through the weekend, saying at a news conference Friday, “We have not seen temperatures like this in at least seven years.”
City authorities canceled a Times Square commemoration of the 1969 moon landing and an outdoor festival featuring soccer star Megan Rapinoe, musician John Legend and Daily Show host Trevor Noah.
Still, Megan Vallerie ran 5 miles in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.
“It’s not the day to be out here. I should have been up much earlier,” she said Saturday morning. “You’ve got to take your time and drink a lot of water and survive, not enjoy. That’s the goal.”
The city also directed owners of many office buildings to set thermostats no lower than 78 degrees through today to reduce strain on the electrical grid.
The measure came after equipment failure, not heat, caused a roughly five-hour blackout July 13 that affected a 40-block stretch of Manhattan, including Times Square and Rockefeller Center.
Consolidated Edison’s president, Tim Cawley, said Friday that the utility was “very confident” that the power grid would withstand the heat, having arranged for 4,000 additional workers and extended employees’ shifts. “It’s everybody in, everybody on,” Cawley said.
By Saturday afternoon, Consolidated Edison reported only limited power failures in the city.
The heat did little to stop some New Yorkers from venturing into the streets, however sweaty they might be. They filled museums, formed lines around the block for community pools and went to work.
“The bills have to be paid,” said Ron Mason, 51, a parks worker in a fairly empty Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem, wearing long pants, long sleeves and work gloves. “So, regardless of if it’s burning hot or freezing cold, I’ve got to be out here.”
At New York’s Yankee Stadium, the temperature hit 94 degrees when the home team and Colorado Rockies took the field for what turned into an 11-5 Yankees romp. Extra hydration stations were set up in all three decks and the bleachers. Announcements reminded fans to keep drinking water.
High temperatures can feel particularly brutal thanks to the urban heat island effect, in which heat absorbed by asphalt and concrete makes cities significantly hotter than nearby suburbs — particularly at night, when the temperature gap can be as wide as 22 degrees.
Some New Yorkers benefited from the heat, even as they toiled in it. Jesus Ayala, a Harlem street vendor selling fruit, bottled water and iced tea, had plenty of business as he walked up and down 125th Street. “When it’s a really hot day like this,” he said, “my sales go up 150%.”
In Queens, the line to get into Astoria Pool, the city’s larger-than-Olympic outdoor public swimming pool, started forming at 9:30 a.m., and before long, a winding row of straw hats, tank tops, beach bags and backpacks stretched down the block.
Among the people closest to the front of the line were Sean and Madelyn Marteo and their 7-year-old daughter, Madisyn, of Long Island City.
“Me, I’ll try to find a spot in the shade, take a dip in the pool, wet my hat, wet my shirt — cool out,” Sean Marteo, 48, said. “And then, when the sun dries it back, just do the whole routine all over again.”
MIDWEST STORMS
Storms knocked out power Saturday to hundreds of thousands of people in parts of Michigan and Wisconsin. Strong wind and rain were expected to persist Saturday night and into today in the Midwest and Central Plains.
In Philadelphia, several hundred people were evacuated from a retirement community when the there was a partial power failure, though it wasn’t immediately clear whether the problem was heat-related. Residents were taken to a nearby shelter, and police said some went to a hospital for evaluation.
In Chicago, heat scuttled several outdoor events, including a 5-kilometer run in Grant Park and a morning workout at Millennium Park.
The temperature hit 94 degrees by first pitch at the San Diego Padres-Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field, but some fans didn’t want to stay away, largely watching from shaded concourses as the Cubs won 6-5.
“We’re sticking to water and not having beer. It’s helping a little bit,” said Jaclyn Jendrisak of St. Louis.
In New Jersey, operators of the Monmouth Park horse-racing track canceled six races and pushed back others, including the $1 million Haskell Invitational, until early evening. Maximum Security, the horse that crossed the finish line first in this year’s Kentucky Derby and then was disqualified, headlines the Haskell field.
Animal-welfare activists protested outside the New Jersey Shore track, where temperatures hit the high 90s.
The track set up misting fans in the paddock and saddling areas for the 14-race card, shortened post parades before the race to limit track time for the horses and hosed them down after they ran.
Under pressure over a series of horse deaths in California, several tracks canceled their Saturday races, including Saratoga Race Course and Finger Lakes in New York and Laurel Park in Maryland.