The only thing cool about today is that it could wind up shattering a 9-year-old heat record for New York City.
“Uncomfortable may be an understatement,” said AccuWeather.com meteorologist Andy Mussoline, predicting pummeling temps of at least 99 degrees — that could hit 102 — with choking humidity and searing sunshine.
“The last time we broke a hundred [degrees] in New York City was 101 degrees in August 2001. It’s not out of the realm of possibility [today],” Mussoline said.
“If you want to cool off, go down to Florida,” he quipped. “It’ll actually be cooler there.”
Today is expected to be the hottest day of this week’s heat wave; it will feel like 105 outside.
Even as some folks basked in parks and at beaches yesterday, others endured brownouts — and power companies were bracing for more today.
Thousands of customers were left without power in and around Summit, NJ. More than 700 lost power in The Bronx and Westchester, while another 100 were affected by an outage in Brooklyn and Queens.
Con Edison officials warned usage could break a peak record today.
“It’s usually the toughest on the third day of a heat wave,” said Con Ed spokesman Bob McGee. “We have an underground system of 95,000 miles of electrical wire, and when you got those wires under the street baking for three consecutive days with the hot sun hitting the tarmac, chances are you get a burnout.
“The peak time is usually 5 p.m. The message we are trying to send out is: Conserving is good for the environment, good for the wallet. It reduces your carbon footprint, and it helps us run things more smoothly.”
The city’s Office of Emergency Management said there would be 500 cooling centers open across the five boroughs, including senior and community centers, libraries and Salvation Army locations.