Photo Credit: Sky News
Heat continued to dominate the headlines as people all along the East Coast were urged to take it easy and stay indoors to avoid the oppressive heat.
What has made life so difficult for people has been the humidity. Temperatures reached the mid-to-upper 90s which, combined with the humidity, could make it feel as hot as 110 degrees. When the heat is this strong, it is best to just stay inside and relax.
The only problem with staying inside is that there will be an increase in the use of electricity. New York City experienced a blackout last weekend and there was a fear that it could happen again with the heat. There were scattered outages on Sunday, mostly in the Queens area. In order to try to contain the electricity, city officials directed office buildings to set thermostats no lower than 78 degrees through Sunday.
New York even had to cancel a commemoration of the 1969 moon landing as well an outdoor festival that featured soccer star Megan Rapinoe and musician John Legend. In Boston, city pools were free to the public. The Boston Police also kindly asked that anyone interested in participating in criminal activity to hold off until Monday. Hopefully the criminals obliged!
Nine firefighters in Pennsylvania were treated for heat exhaustion in the hospital while trying to fight off a house fire. The blaze was taken care of and all the firefighters were released safely back to their homes.
The heat is expected to die down a little bit, but residents are still urged to keep caution, check on the elderly, and keep their pets inside. Even though this heat is extreme, it is something many people were begging for during the snowy wintertime! Before we know it, we will be taking the shovels out once again.
