Wednesday will be another sweltering day for people in the mid-Atlantic, with temperatures once again climbing into the mid-90s just before a storm front hits the East Coast.
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Residents from Boston to Raleigh are facing high temperatures of 91 to 96 degrees, after some areas recorded May’s highest temperatures the previous day. The National Weather Service announced a record high of 101 degrees in New Jersey on Tuesday.
“It is worth noting that New Jersey’s all-time high for May was 102 in Paterson on May 31, 1895,” the agency said in a post to X.
New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani urged people to stay hydrated and seek out the city’s cooling centers as heat advisories are in effect across the five boroughs. He warned that storms could arrive as early as the late afternoon, but that the heat would be worst from noon to 3 p.m. ET.
“And check on your neighbors,” Mamdani wrote to X.
A storm is expected to move into the Northeast in the afternoon or evening, and the heat is expected to break by late Wednesday. Forecasters say temperatures will drop more than 20 degrees across the region on Thursday and Friday.
Rain is expected to continue for several days, potentially leading to a wet Memorial Day weekend in some states.
Severe thunderstorms are possible Wednesday from the Southern Plains, across the Ohio Valley and into the lower Great Lakes, the National Weather Service said. There is a threat of hail in West Texas before the storm system is expected to move into south central Texas by the evening.
On the West Coast, fires broke out in California weeks before the peak of wildfire season. As of Wednesday morning, the Sandy Fire had burned nearly 1,700 acres near Simi Valley, and the blaze was 15% contained, CalFire said.
Two different wildfires are burning in Riverside County near Los Angeles: the Verona Fire and the Bane Fire. The Bane Fire was 1,375 acres and 25% contained, while the Verona Fire is much smaller at less than 500 acres, state officials reported.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a smoke warning for Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties. It advised people in affected areas to limit exposure by running air purifiers, avoiding “strenuous physical activity” and staying indoors with windows closed.
“Depending on fire activity, smoke conditions are expected to improve during the day in areas not adjacent to the fire area,” officials said.
