Forecasters said it could cool down by more than 10 degrees Monday.
A woman washes off on the beach in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, on July 20, 2019. Many areas of the United States were under excessive heat watches as temperatures soared to record levels.
Much of the East Coast can expect one more day of ominous heat before a cold front drops into the Great Plains and cools off many parts of the nation that have been under hot weather alerts, forecasters said.
Cooling was expected to begin Sunday in the Midwest, but the Eastern Seaboard will remain at near-record temperatures before cooling Monday, the National Weather Service said in a statement.
Areas from the Carolinas to Maine will be under the greatest heat threat, the weather service said, with daytime highs in the mid- to upper 90s combined with humidity that will make it feel more like 100 to 110 for many.
Record temperatures were recorded Saturday at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and at Atlantic City, New Jersey, where it registered 99 degrees in each location.
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Both Boston and Hartford, Connecticut, came within two degrees of their record highs for the date, at 97 and 98 degrees, respectively.
But the figures did not reflect how hot it felt because humidity boosted perceived temperatures into the triple digits, forecasters said, making New York City feel like 111 degrees, Washington 112 and Chicago 105.
Children play in the fountain at Washington Square Park in New York on Friday.Carlo Allegri / Reuters
As many as 169 million people from Oklahoma to Maine were under heat alerts Saturday, and early morning lows Sunday were expected to approach records, forecasters said.
“Overnight will provide little relief as temperatures struggle to get below the upper 70s or even low 80s,” the National Weather Service said.
The heat killed at least three people — a man in Prince George’s County, Maryland; a woman in Worcester County, Maryland; and former New York Giants football player Mitch Petrus, 32, who died of heatstroke in Arkansas.
Forecasters said cooling could exceed 10 degrees Monday after the cold front moves into the Great Plains.
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