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New York Set to Sizzle Again With Relief Arriving Late Week

New York Set to Sizzle Again With Late-Week Relief on the Way

New York City and most of the U.S. East Coast face more steamy weather before cooler air arrives late in the week.

Central Park could reach 96 degrees Fahrenheit (36 Celsius), one degree shy of a record for the date set last in 1999, according to the National Weather Service. Along the East Coast, high temperatures and humidity could make conditions feel much hotter, and heat advisories stretch from Maine to South Carolina.

Tuesday will mark the 12th day this month that temperatures have touched at least 90 degrees in Manhattan, well above the long-term average of six, but still less than the all-time high of 20 set in 1993. The heat is expected to start to fade at the end of the week.

“Next week could be much more comfortable,” said Rob Carolan, owner of Hometown Forecast Services Inc. and meteorologist for Bloomberg Radio. “It looks like the pattern will shift a little bit in August.”

If the forecast holds, July will end with 14 90-degree days, tied for fifth place. The change in the pattern could allow for cold fronts and low-pressure troughs to sweep into the area, which would have the dual effect of cooling the air and protecting the coastline from tropical threats, Carolan said.

Tropical Storm

Forecasters are watching a potential storm struggle to come together about 2,300 miles (3,702 kilometers) southeast of Manhattan in the Atlantic, east of the Leeward Islands. The loose collection of thunderstorms has a 90% chance of becoming a tropical depression or even Tropical Storm Isaias in the next five days.

“Right now the threat to the East Coast is minimal,” Carolan said. The pattern that breaks the heat should help steer the storm, if it develops, out to sea and keep it in the Atlantic.

Grid operators in the region are seeking to bolster supplies and reduce demand in some areas as air conditioners struggle to keep homes and businesses cool. Some New York City residents may get paid to cut back for a second day in a row. PJM Interconnection LLC, operator of the grid that covers most of the mid-Atlantic region, again called on generators to delay maintenance until the hot weather passes.

In Boston, wholesale power for delivery Tuesday morning surged 71% to $34.64 a megawatt-hour, the highest since May 30. And New York power prices could spike again today, with demand forecast to climb to more than 10,000 megawatts. That would top Monday’s peak of about 9,850 megawatts, when power prices almost tripled to $111 a megawatt-hour to the highest this year.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.