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New York Is Bracing for the Hottest Day of the Year 

 New York Is Bracing for the Hottest Day of the Year 

(Bloomberg) -- Brace yourself for the hottest day of the year. The temperature could hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) on Saturday as the U.S. East Coast slides into the weekend.

And when you add in humidity, it could feel like 110.

The East Coast isn’t the only region that will be sizzling, according to the National Weather Service. A “dangerous and widespread” heat wave is forecast for two-thirds of the U.S., with a high pressure dome holding it in place. At night, temperatures will struggle to fall below 80.

The sweltering weather will stress Midwest crops and boost energy demand, including in New York, where an outage darkened part of Manhattan last weekend. Anyone outdoors should stay hydrated and seek shade when possible, the elderly and sick should be monitored and pets and children shouldn’t be left unattended in cars, the weather service warned.

Chicago could peak at 98 degrees Fahrenheit Friday, with New York’s Central Park reaching that on Saturday. Washington could touch at least 100 this weekend.

New York Is Bracing for the Hottest Day of the Year 

“Excessive heat warnings cover a pretty considerable number of states today,” said Alex Lamers, a forecaster with the U.S. Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland. “Then we are expecting the heat wave to ramp up on the East Coast in the next couple of days.”

The high heat will test regional electric grids from New York to Illinois, with extended power demand likely to “stress the grid like it hasn’t been stressed in a long, long time,” according to Jim Rouiller, chief meteorologist at the Energy Weather Group near Philadelphia.

“Somebody in Brooklyn is going to touch 100,” he said.

Wholesale electricity at a hub in New York soared by almost 3,000% to as high as $286.95 a megawatt-hour at noon local time, grid data compiled by Bloomberg show. Prices were at $30.29 at 2:30 p.m.

Shallow Roots

For agriculture, the floods of the spring that delayed U.S. planting have meant plants have shallower roots and this is exacerbating the impact of the heat.

Normally, it would take four or five days of temperatures in the 90s to stress crops, according to Don Keeney, senior agricultural meteorologist at Maxar. “When the root systems are as shallow as they are this year it only takes a day or two,” he said.

By July 25-29, the heat will begin to ease as cooler air drops out of Canada across the Great Lakes, with temperatures ranging 1 to 2 degrees warmer than normal across the Ohio Valley, mid-Atlantic and South.

While the jump in air conditioning use will drive demand for natural gas to fuel power plants, record shale production from basins across the U.S. is refilling stockpiles at a rapid clip, allaying concern about a potential winter supply crunch and helping to keep prices near a three-year low.

In addition to the U.S., heat warnings are also in place across New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, according to Environment Canada.

--With assistance from Joe Richter, Millicent Dent and Lynn Doan.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian K. Sullivan in Boston at bsullivan10@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Luzi Ann Javier at ljavier@bloomberg.net, Pratish Narayanan

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.