A long-lasting heat wave that has led to record-breaking temperatures across the eastern U.S. is expected to persist through at least Thursday, according to meteorologists.
“Extremely dangerous heat persists across the Midwest and East Coast,” the National Weather Service said in a Wednesday afternoon update, adding that daily record high temperatures were expected from the Ohio Valley to the Mid-Atlantic.
The oppressive heat, spurred by a powerful heat dome over the Eastern U.S., has driven temperatures into the triple digits, shattering records and creating hazardous conditions.
A heat dome is a phenomenon in which a large high-pressure system forms in the upper atmosphere, trapping hot air beneath it and leading to prolonged periods of extreme heat and humidity at the surface.
On Tuesday, New York City’s John F. Kennedy Airport reached 102 degrees by early afternoon — the first triple-digit temperature recorded in the city since 2013 — while temperatures in Central Park broke a record set all the way back in 1888.
NYC Journals 