August may be winding down, but summer’s warm weather isn’t over yet. Forecasters have issued a heat advisory and excessive heat watch for the New England area, warning that intense humidity could cause temps to rise to “dangerous levels” this week.
The National Weather Service Boston office issued a heat advisory for southern New England, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, in effect from 10 a.m. Tuesday to 9 p.m. Wednesday.
Forecasters have also issued an excessive heat watch for eastern Massachusetts, including Boston, Cambridge and Foxborough, through to Wednesday evening.
Boston Heat Advisory: How hot will it get?
With the heat advisory covering Massachusetts and other New England areas, forecasters are expecting heat index values to reach up to 101 degrees across the region this week. But in Boston, experts say, it could feel even hotter.
“Most locations in southern New England will experience dangerous heat and humidity this week, especially Tuesday and Wednesday when the heat index (combination of temperature and humidity) rises to 95 to 100 degrees, and possibly as high as 105 degrees in Hartford, Springfield, & Boston,” forecasters with the National Weather Service wrote on Facebook.
Hot temperatures combining with high humidity create “a dangerous situation,” experts warn, in which heat illnesses could occur. Residents are encouraged to drink plenty of fluids, stay inside in the air conditioning, stay out of the sun if possible and to check on relatives and neighbors.
Though the heat advisory is scheduled to end Wednesday evening, it’ll still feel hot Thursday, forecasters say. Thursday does see a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon, as well.
Full relief from the heat won’t come until Friday. The weekend is expected to be cool, forecasters say, with Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Boston seeing high temps in the low- to mid-70s.
To provide some relief to residents in the meantime, Mayor Marty Walsh announced on Monday that cooling centers will be open at Boston Centers for Youth and Families (BCYF) community centers and that residents can swim at the city’s pools free of charge during their normal operating hours on Tuesday and Wednesday. See more information on the BCYF cooling centers and pools at boston.gov/heat.
