Record heat scorches Northeast as heat dome breaks July 4 records
Heat records fell across the Northeast as New Jersey linked 19 deaths to the dome and an East River seaplane hard landing forced an all-hands rescue.
New Jersey linked at least 19 deaths to the heat as a record-breaking dome pushed dangerous temperatures across the Northeast and much of the central U.S., with heat indices climbing into the 110s in parts of the region. Boston, New York, Newark, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. all posted record-breaking readings as the holiday weekend turned into a public-safety test for cities and emergency crews.
The National Weather Service had excessive heat warnings in effect for 23 states on Friday, July 3. Seven states, Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Ohio, Maryland, New Jersey and Rhode Island, had every county under warning, a sign of how widespread and intense the system became. In New Jersey, temperatures reached 105 degrees in parts of the state, and the extreme conditions stretched emergency planning, transit, and power systems at the peak of summer travel.
Storms added another layer of disruption. Fast-moving thunderstorms swept through New Jersey on Friday night, July 4, knocking out power to roughly 250,000 customers while the dangerous heat continued to bear down on the state. The outages came on top of already punishing temperatures, leaving communities to deal with both heat exposure and damaged infrastructure during one of the busiest holiday weekends of the year.
The strain showed up again on the water in New York City. A seaplane made a hard landing in the East River on Sunday, July 5, just off the marina near East 23rd Street and the FDR Drive in Manhattan after departing from East Hampton Airport. All eight people on board were rescued safely. At least two suffered minor injuries and were treated by FDNY emergency medical technicians, and the Federal Aviation Administration said the hard landing snapped a wing strut. The aircraft was later towed back to a dock.
By the end of the weekend, heat, storms and emergency response had converged across the region, leaving a trail of record temperatures, blackouts and a river rescue in the middle of Manhattan.
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