Scorching Heat Blankets East Coast
Scorching heat and stifling humidity gripped much of the East Coast on Monday, with the National Weather Service issuing heat advisories as temperatures approached 100 degrees in many areas.
The heat wave is expected to last into Tuesday and prompted officials in Philadelphia and Connecticut to send students in public and parochial schools home early both days and cancel evening programs, The Associated Press reported. The heat caused power failures that interrupted some subway service in New York.
The New York City Office of Emergency Management said it was opening cooling centers for people who do not have air conditioning, and other cities are making similar arrangements. Officials urged relatives and neighbors to check in on elderly, housebound people, who are most in danger during hot spells.
The hot weather extended from New England down through the Middle Atlantic states into the Carolinas.
Weather officials said heat waves are not just uncomfortable, they are dangerous. “Heat is the No. 1 weather-related killer,” the weather service said. “On average, more than 1,500 people in the U.S. die each year from excessive heat.”
That is more than the deaths attributed to tornadoes, hurricanes, floods and lightning combined, the agency said.
In New York City, service on the F and G subway lines in Brooklyn was disrupted during Monday’s rush hour by power failures on the subway signals. Officials of New York City Transit said generators were being sent to the affected areas so service could be resumed.
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