New Yorkers looking to beat the heat on the year’s most blistering weekend made their plans Friday: An air conditioned movie theater. A sandy spot with an ocean breeze. A shady locale with an umbrella and a good book.
Good luck, folks.
Even the best-laid plans won’t provide shelter from the swelter over the next two hot and humid days, poised to become the warmest of 2019. The mercury was expected to hit 99 degrees on Saturday, and top out Sunday at 97 degrees.
“We’re going to Jones Beach,” explained a hopeful Patrick Lleveille, 50, of Crown Heights. “We’re going at 8 a.m., spending the whole day there. It’s going to be a family trip.”
The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning running through 8 p.m. on Sunday, predicting the combination of heat and humidity will make it feel as if the mercury climbed close to 110 degrees — and posing a significant health risk to the sick or elderly, the NWS said. Those with diabetes, kidney disease and asthma are most likely to suffer problems, said city Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot.
Gov. Cuomo’s blood was boiling in advance of the heat wave as he questioned whether Consolidated Edison was up to the task of keeping New York cool.
“Am I confident? No,” said Cuomo, still sizzling over last weekend’s blackout along Manhattan’s West Side. “Am I all over Con Ed, am I doing everything I can? Yes.”
Mayor de Blasio said the city planned an outreach program to get the homeless off the streets in advance of the rising temperatures, and announced that city beach hours were extended by an hour to 7 p.m. and city pools hours extended to 8 p.m.
“Everyone’s got to take it seriously,” said de Blasio. “We’re afraid of people dying … We’re mandating certain actions to keep people safe. If at all possible, stay indoors Saturday and Sunday.”
A Friday night thunderstorm with potentially damaging wind gusts was also in the weekend forecast.
Con Ed President Tim Cawley said the utility was braced for demands from its 1.1 million customers expected to rival the peaks reached in summer 2016. And he assured those customers, along with Cuomo, that there was zero carryover from last weekend’s blackout into this weekend’s hot spell.
“No impact at all,” said Cawley, who declined to respond directly to the governor’s concerns. “We are focused and moving forward on this event, with everybody’s keen eye on insuring safe, reliable service through the weekend.”
Con Ed planned to bring in an additional 4,000 workers due to the heat, with many working 12-hour shifts to keep the power on.
Brooklynite Chajana Denharder, 37, took her dogs out for a walk Friday but left the air conditioning on at home for her cats. For Saturday, the plan was to plant her beach umbrella in a shady spot “and just do double-shade,” she explained. “Read a book.”
Cool relief isn’t due until Sunday night, when thunderstorms were expected to bring temperatures back down into the 70s. The typical high temperature for July 19-20 is 84 degrees, according to the weather service.
The New York City Triathlon, slated for Sunday, was called off due to the dangerously sweltering conditions, as was the OZY Fest in Central Park — a two-day music, comedy and food event.
But neither Saturday nor Sunday was expected to crack the Central Park standards for hottest day: The record for July 20 remains at 101 degrees, set in 1980, while the July 21 mark is 104, way back in 1977.
