The heat wave will continue to roast us today, and things could get even hotter — Con Ed’s biggest union is talking strike.
Local 1-2 of the Utility Workers Union of America vows to strike if it can’t reach a deal by midnight, when its current four-year contract expires.
Both sides were far apart yesterday on pay, pension and health-insurance issues, said union spokesman John Melia.
Con Ed said in a statement that it was confident it could reach a deal “that is fair and equitable for our employees and customers.’’
Yesterday, the mercury hit 97 degrees at La Guardia Airport at 4 p.m. — but with the humidity’s punch, it felt like 103, said AccuWeather.com meteorologist John Dlugoenski.
In Manhattan, the temperature reached 93 degrees in Central Park at 3 p.m. At 4 p.m it came down to 92, but felt like 100 because of the humidity and very little wind.
Today’s forecast calls for a high of 95 at Central Park, but it will be “generally in the low to mid-90s across the tri-state area’’ said Dlugoenski. There will also be some thunderstorms in some areas, he said.
Ditto Sunday. Monday’s forecast calls for a high of 90 degrees.
“We won’t see relief until the middle part of next week, and even then it’s not much,’’ he said. “By Tuesday and Wednesday, we’ll see highs in the mid-80s.”
It was so sweltering yesterday that at 5 p.m. Con Edison delivered 12,153 megawatts of electricity to New Yorkers, but that didn’t set a record, said spokesman Chris Olert .
City Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Bruno urged New Yorkers to be aware that heat is “a very dangerous situation,’’ especially for the elderly, children and pets.
There will be 426 cooling centers open today and tomorrow as well if air temps don’t cool down.
The city’s Department of Environmental Protection has set up several command posts around the city and is sending out teams to shut off hydrants that have been opened illegally.
Hydrant spray caps are available at firehouses.
“I know it’s hot,’’ said FDNY Assistant Chief Jack Mooney, but “when a hydrant is fully open, it reduces the water pressure to the point where we can’t fight the fire properly. It makes it unsafe for the people in this city.’’