All good things have to end sometime. The last three days of hot weather were not enough to overcome last week's cool spell so August fell 0.3 degrees out of a top ten finish. That ends a remarkable streak of five months in their respective hottest top tens. We can take warm comfort in knowing that the past three months are the warmest summer on record in Central Park and that the year so far trails only 1991 in the warmest year ever contest. September is off to a blazing start with the high expected to be the record of 97 this afternoon. more ›

Our summer friend—hazy, hot and humid weather—is back thanks to a high pressure system that has moved out to sea. The southerly breeze means that a heat advisory is in effect for all five boroughs through tomorrow evening. We've surpassed 90 degrees for the 23rd tme this year. Number 24 is almost certainly happening tomorrow. more ›

With the heat advisory in effect for yet another day, the NYC Office of Emergency Management has opened cooling centers once again. 1010 WINS reports, "National Weather Service meteorologist Lauren Nash the weekend weather was part of another heat wave, defined as three or more consecutive days of temperatures over 90 degrees. But she said it won't be nearly as uncomfortable as the four days that cooked the Northeast earlier this month." more ›

As we mentioned, it's gonna be HOT this weekend. he National Weather Service has a heat advisory in effect till tomorrow night, 6 p.m.: "A WEAK COLD FRONT MOVES EAST OF THE REGION THIS MORNING...AND ALTHOUGH HUMIDITY LEVELS WILL FALL TODAY...A HOT AIRMASS WILL REMAIN IN PLACE. HUMIDITY LEVELS BEGIN TO RISE TONIGHT...AND HOT AND HUMID CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST THROUGH SUNDAY." (Heat advisories go into effect when temperature and humidity combines to make it feel at least 95 degrees for two days or more.) Brace yourself for those Con Ed bills! And tomorrow's Nautica Triathlon should be something else. more ›

On the home page of the NY Times website, a one sentence summary of their article about the heat wave reads: "The Northeast faced a fourth day Wednesday of a record-breaking heat wave, straining power supplies and testing New Yorkers’ resilience." When we read that last bit, our first thought was, Why does the Times think New Yorkers are such crybabies? But while most of us can bitch and bear it, it's an unfortunate fact that this heat wave is claiming lives: A 46-year-old Queens woman died yesterday from heat-related causes; CBS2 reports that her body temperature in the ER was 108 degrees. more ›

"We're going to use more energy in the next couple of days than we've ever used before in New York City," promises Con Ed spokesman Bob McGee. Because today and tomorrow will be much more humid than the last few brutally hot days, the heat index is expected to rise to 104 degrees, and with offices reopening after the holiday weekend, electricity demand will soar. The record for peak electricity demand was set during the August 2006 heat wave, when we "needed" 13,141 megawatts to "survive." We can beat that by noon. more ›

There's a heat advisory for the city today, with temperatures expected to hit 100 degrees. And this week is expected to bring "Baked Apple" conditions. According to the National Weather Service, "A WARM RIDGE ALOFT AND SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE MID ATLANTIC STATES WILL KEEP HOT AND INCREASINGLY MORE HUMID CONDITIONS ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH MID WEEK." Ugh. The city is opening 100 cooling centers today and 500 more tomorrow; Mayor Bloomberg said, "The threat of heat exhaustion is real, and that's why we've opened these cooling centers." And, after the jump, are suggestions on how to beat the heat from the Office of Emergency Management (stay hydrated!). more ›

There is a heat advisory in effect for today between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., as conditions will apparently be "even more oppressive today" than yesterday "as temperatures rising into the lower 90s and dewpoints in the lower 70s will result in heat indices in the mid to upper 90s degrees from late this morning into early this evening," according to the National Weather Service. Heat advisories are issued when high humidities are expected to combine with hot temperatures, to make it feel like it's over 95 degrees for two consecutive days. The NWS suggests people drink plenty of fluids, stay in air-conditioned rooms, to stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Cooling centers are expected to be open today; here are more tips from the Office of Emergency Management. more ›

The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch until 9 p.m.. Not only could rain come, but WCBS 2 mentions that "hail up to to 2 inches in diameter, with thunderstorm wind gusts to 70 mph and dangerous lightning are possible in parts of the tri-state" area. And that's on top of the heat advisory! So those umbrellas you're using to shade yourself from the sun may need to be do double duty! more ›

Bring on the baked Big Apple references, because the "heat advisory" for Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond Counties remains in effect until 6 p.m. tonight. Another one will go into effect tomorrow between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. more ›