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Subscribe to RSSSummer brought 90-degree temperatures, setting record highs in Burlington, Vt., New York and Newark, N.J. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.
Temperatures across the Northeast approached triple digits Wednesday, with some areas breaking their June 20 records, just as summer officially began on the longest day of the year.
NBCNewYork.com reported that new June 20 records included: New York City's LaGuardia Airport at 98 degrees (previous record was 96 in 1953); JFK Airport at 94 degrees (topping 93 in 1955); and Newark, N.J., at 98 (topping 97 in 1953).
Temperatures were 10 to 20 degrees above average across the region and the humidity made it feel even hotter.
In New York City's Central Park, when the temperature hit 93 the humidity made it feel like 97. In Boston, it was 93 but felt like 100.
Several people were treated for heat exhaustion at a high school graduation in North Bergen, N.J., and taken to a hospital, The Record of Bergen County reported. Ambulances were on standby at the event, which was held outside to accommodate about 5,000 people, said Capt. Gerald Sanzari of the North Bergen Police Department.
In Howell, N.J., school officials made Wednesday the last day of the school year instead of Thursday, citing the heat. And at nearby Wall High School, people attending the graduation ceremony will be able to watch a remote broadcast inside the air-conditioned building.
Weather.com posted these temps for 3:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Sweltering heat also persisted farther to the west in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley, including Chicago, Ill., Detroit, Mich., Cleveland, Ohio, and Louisville, Ky.
Health officials warned residents to drink water, stay out of the sun and in air conditioning, and to check on elderly neighbors and pets. For those without air conditioning, "cooling centers" were set up in public buildings in dozens of cities.
New York City's 1.1 million public school students are still in session for another week, and just 64 percent of classrooms are air-conditioned.
Students were being advised to wear light clothing and drink plenty of water, and schools have been told to limit outdoor playtime, city Education Department spokeswoman Marge Feinberg said.
In Brooklyn, street vendor James Martin said his family's sixth-floor apartment in Coney Island has no air conditioning and can get really hot. But "we open the front door and all the windows, and we get a nice breeze," he said.
Arif Ali / AFP - Getty Images
Celebrating the warm summer months, as schools let out and the cooling off begins
Buffalo and Rochester, N.Y., opened several spray parks on Tuesday to help residents cool off as hot, muggy weather settled in. Buffalo, which will only be in the mid- to high-80s on Wednesday and Thursday, doesn't normally open its 11 splash pads until July 1.
PhotoBlog: Record high temperatures to greet summer solstice
In a rare bending of the rules, the Metro in Washington, D.C., said passengers on Wednesday and Thursday would be allowed to drink water, an exception to their no-drinks policy.
The National Weather Service said the temperature at Washington National Airport was 95 degrees just before 2 p.m., though it felt like 99.
Moderate relief from the high mercury should come this weekend.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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First of all, this is weather, not climate. I know that global warming is real, but I won't claim this an example of it. Heat waves happen no matter what the global temperature average does. Still...
There are only two kinds of climate deniers: greedy people who have a vested financial interest in killing the planet, and those that are simple-minded enough to believe the lies told by the first group. You anti-global warming people with your anecdotal nonsense. Nothing you say is based on science. Anyone who understands the science realizes that global warming is real. You don't have to trust "the scientists." 2 + 2 will still equal 4 no matter who says it. Check it yourself.
And no, you can't point to previous periods of heat and cold in Earth's history to excuse the current trend. No matter WHAT happens in the world, you can always point to something similar in the past as a way to dismiss it. "Alcohol doesn't cause wrecks. Wrecks have happened for over a hundred years, and alcohol had nothing to do with most of them. Drink up! No worries!"
That same "logic" works in so many ways: "There's no reason I can't shoot the people who get in my way because innocent people have always been shot and will always continue to be. Every so often wars even happen and people get shot by the millions! The population can cope with it."
The warming world is measurable and verifiable in so many different ways, as is our effect on it. CFC's and the ozone hole are a great example. People argued, but the science was sound if you were smart enough to understand it. CFC's were banned, and the ozone layer is well on its way to returning to normal.
You only have to open your eyes and stop taking what people tell you on faith.
Unfortunately conservatives are ignorant and close-minded. Like asbestos fibers in the lungs, once an idea lodges itself into their brain, it is there forever.
Zorro, you should stick your head up your a$$ so you won't fart and cause climate change.
And some of us know enough real science to understand that you have no idea of what you are talking about Styro.
Wally, that's the same old elementary school style of insult that simpletons like yourselves throw at people every time they lose an argument. I don't know what I'm talking about, huh? Prove it, you idiot. You can't, because I'm right and I know well what I'm talking about.
Every liberal that posts on CC articles should have the courage to post at the bottom,
That would separate the players from the posers. Of course since their specialty is lying, the data would be useless but at leas it would remind them of how much money they are willing to put where their mouths are.
You can lead a conservative to knowledge, but you can't make them think.
Why are your posts so stupid phil?
The ice caps and glaciers ARE retreating..........refreshing thoughts!!!
Yeah the ice caps used to go all the way down to Mexico at one time.
Why is that every time it rains, snows, the power goes out, yadayadayada on the east coast, it's big news?
All major networks are in NYC. Nothing outside Manhattan matters to them
The 90s is hot? Heck we call that Spring!
This explains things. Be sure to scroll down for this winters forecast. Cold for the Northeast.
http://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2012/06/16/joe-bastardi-explains-the-warm-us-weather-and-what-to-expect-the-rest-of-the-year/
I did enjoy the pictures of the kids in the little pool. Kids are kids, no matter what country, region, race of culture.. kids are kids.
quick, time to schedule a global warming meeting. call the press, get them all there while it is hot. come on guys lets try it one more time i am sure they will fall for it again.
p.s don't forget to get as many school grade children there as you can, we can definitely convince the second class of kids of global warming. we lost the first class, they were smarter than we thought but this next class we can fool for sure.
The most troublesome part of this story is the swimming pool in the middle of the street. Smart.
hopefully texas will go 100+ all summer... and stay there through sept... they deserve it
Gee, I'm glad you care about Texas so much Greg. Don't sweat too much now. Id hate to see you get all dehydrated then swivel up into a prune.
Rising temps in the U.S. , Tornadoes beginning to be more frequent in Europe. Its all adding up.
Adding up to?
The world is getting more screwed up with global warming. If you look at the history of tornados in Europe back in the 1600's they occured once every 7 to 9 years. But ever since the industrial revolution, the gap in between the first and last tornadoes has been shortening. Instead of every 7 to 9 years, it went down to one tornado every 3 to 5 years.
You can look this up on wikipediia. The evidence is most conclusive.
Wow, that's pretty hot in Boston, and even all the way up on the Maine/Canadian border. Glad I moved away years ago. Nothing like a 5 knot on-shore Pacific breeze to keep the climate just right here in SoCal.
This comment is for disappointed and ashamed and NYMike. Is the heat getting to you both that bad that you are actually arguing about it on here?? Really?! WOW!!! The only "morons" I see here are you both!! As for you 2 ONLY---it's hot, get over it!!!
Upstate NY, Buffalo, Rochester, the Great Lakes have been in the 80's and 90's for over a month now. This is just the first warm day on the east coast. Boston hasn't been above 60 all spring.
Edward Maunder would be hung by the neck until he cheered up by the global warming crowd today, if he were still alive. They would gleefully dance, cheer and drink while he dangled from a rope.
Record breaking heat in Colorado too. Also very dry.
Only two days in the 90's, today is in the 70's
We have not seen 70 yet this year in Alberta
God forbid if we see triple digit temperatures here in central Texas..hahahaha... 100 days in a row over 100 degrees last year and these people up north cant handle upper 90's???????
There is only one man to blame for this heat.Obama!
What I would like to see is the...Newspaper reports back in the early Fiftys when there was no Air conditioning and water bottles for everyone...just to see all the concern for the peoples welfare from the heat as it seems it was hotter then than now but people today cannot seem to cope with the heat...
1 degree higher than 1953 and 1955? Climate change tin foil hat alien guy, did we have global warming 60 years ago too? Or did our grandparents just say, 'Boy it's gonna be a hot one out there today!'
....Passengers ALLOWED to drink water ... bending of the rules only on Wed & Thurs ....
The concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is approaching Miocene-epoch levels. Assuming that weather patterns end up returning to what they were during the Miocene:
1. No more ice in Antarctica
2. Tropical rainforest...in Canada.
3. Florida is underwater
4. The Black Sea floods Ukraine, and Europe becomes an island again.
5. The entire country of Bangladesh is underwater.
Now, if we surpass the Miocene, and start to approach Cretaceous levels, well, mammals probably won't continue to dominate the planet - it would be too hot for warm-blooded species to regulate their body temperatures properly up to 30 degrees north and south of the equator. But don't worry, we won't see those concentrations for another two hundred years or so...
Got proof? No wonder no one believes anything you fools say.
Ahem:
"Warm conditions during the middle Miocene are thought to be associated with carbon dioxide levels of around 400 to 600 parts per million (ppm). In 2012, carbon dioxide levels have climbed to 393 ppm, the highest they've been in the past several million years. At the current rate of increase, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are on track to reach middle Miocene levels by the end of this century." from the NASA website, http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/antarctica20120617.html
As for the general topography of the lands which I spoke of, wikipedia offers a great overview: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miocene
So there's your proof, Wally.
Wally won't read the proof. He doesn't want it. His tooth fairy will vanish.
They have a double width sidewalk and they chose to put the pool in the middle of the street. Wth???
A few sweltering days do not make for global warming, as Repugnicans might attest. A more compelling argument comes from evidence and hard data accumulated during decades of research. Nonetheless, denial of scientific fact has always been the trademark of the Party of No (Intelligence or Ethics).
NObama 2012,HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WE WILL BE FREE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!YOU CHOWDERHEAD!!!!
We're still waiting for some real and verifiable science Optimist. Meanwhile, the long range models are indicating an overall average summer over almost all of the United States and a return to an early and cold winter. And you libbers have nothing to brag about when it comes to ethics and "transparency".
There we go... such a display of intellectual prowess leaves me no choice but to fold.