BOSTON (AP) — A sweltering heat wave stretched from the Midwest to New England on Wednesday, leaving millions of people sweltering over the Juneteenth holiday, including in places like northern Maine where they were sweltering earlier in the year. Avoid this situation.
The heat index, which includes high temperatures and humidity, reached a record high of 103 degrees (39.4 degrees Celsius) in Cariboo, Maine, just 10 miles from the Canadian border. The area was under a heat warning until Wednesday night, and temperatures in Caribou were warmer than in Miami: 94 degrees (34.4 degrees Celsius) compared to 89 degrees (31.6 degrees Celsius), according to the National Weather Service.
Several residents said they are used to temperatures in the 70s and 80s in June and rarely experience such humid weather.
“I've seen it maybe once before, it's this hot in June,” said Hannah Embelton, 22, a waitress at an ice cream parlor in Caribou, adding that customers didn't Then choose soft serve ice cream as they melt quickly.
“We don't usually get this much heat and humidity because we're in the north. How hot it is, that's what everyone is talking about,” she added.
At Moose River Campground, about 13 miles from the border, homeowner Lisa Hall fixes cabin faucets in sweltering temperatures, which she says are more common in mid-July or early August.
“I was sweating profusely and it was so hot,” she said.
Dangerous temperatures are expected to peak in the eastern Great Lakes and New England on Wednesday and Thursday, and in the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic on Friday and Saturday, the National Weather Service said. Heat index readings are expected to reach 100 to 105 degrees (37.7 to 40.5 degrees Celsius) in many locations.
“We're seeing an upper-level ridge of high pressure that's bringing all this heat from the southern United States,” said Kyle Pedersen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boston.
“It's just going to result in high temperatures in the mid to upper 90s with a heat index of over 100. It's just going to make it feel warmer than it is outside,” he said. “You'll really feel the humidity and humidity.” Feel the heat faster.
The situation is expected to result in fewer Juneteenth events and limited rescue options. Cities that opened cooling centers this week said Wednesday's holiday means public libraries, senior centers and swimming pools where some residents escape the heat will be closed.
That affected services in Indianapolis, where Horizon House, a day homeless services center, filled the void of a closed cooling center and food pantry. The center has been serving about 200 people a day this week, but lunch attendance jumped to 300 during Juneteenth. It also distributed about 450 bottles of water.
“It's a swamp today,” said Courtney Kay Meyers, director of development and communications. “We're really struggling to keep up with water and the demand for water.”
Officials urge people to limit outdoor activities as much as possible and to contact family and neighbors who may be vulnerable to the heat.
In New York, admission to state parks is free on Wednesday and Thursday, and some state-owned pools and beaches are opening early for swimming, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
New York City beaches are open, but public pools are closed until next week. The city lists hundreds of air-conditioned spaces that are free and open to the public. Public libraries, which have been used as cooling centers during other heat waves, were closed Wednesday for the Juneteenth federal holiday.
Health coach Anne-Laure Bonhomme, 43, visits the sights of New York with her family. “The humidity is crazy,” she said.
People and even zoo animals are forced to find ways to beat the sweltering heat.
High humidity hung over Indianapolis on Wednesday, turning what looked like a cloudy day into a warm and unpleasant experience. Despite the holiday season, the parks and trails were sparsely populated.
The Bennett family considered taking their 7-year-old and 4-month-old children to a pool or paddling pool on their day off from get off work, but decided it would still be too hot for the kids. Instead, Kayla and Sarah drove from Muncie to the Indiana State Museum in downtown Indianapolis to view the air-conditioned indoor exhibits.
“We decided to do something inside,” Kayla said.
A recent study found that climate change is making heat waves move slower and affect more people for longer. Last year, the United States suffered its largest heat wave since 1936—unusually hot weather lasting more than two days.
Chicago's high temperature reached 97 degrees (36.1 degrees Celsius) on Monday, breaking a temperature record set in 1957. The National Weather Service in Chicago said a cold front is expected to bring relief to areas near Lake Michigan on Thursday and Friday.
In California, after a quiet fire season, wildfires have broken out in the historic King Country area east of San Francisco and in the mountains of northern Los Angeles County. A mountain village of 7,000 people was evacuated after wildfires in southern New Mexico destroyed 500 buildings on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, a new wave of tropical moisture is bringing an increasing threat of heavy rains and flash flooding to the central Gulf Coast. This year's hurricane season is expected to be one of the most active in recent years.
