Community Corner

Heat Wave Hits Hamptons

No relief in sight until Saturday, experts say.

Baby, it’s hot outside — and it’s getting hotter.

A heat wave is expected to blast Suffolk County with high temperatures and humidity this week — and no relief is expected until at least Saturday.

According to Dan Hofmann, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Upton, a heat wave is defined by a period of time when temperatures reach 90 degrees for three days or longer.

“This is going to be a pretty decent, prolonged heat wave,” he said. Temperatures first hit 90 degrees on Sunday in some areas of Suffolk County, Hofmann said, due to a “big area of high pressure that built out of the tropics that’s now stalled over the Ohio Valley. Pumping around it is all of this hot, humid air — and we’re on the periphery.”

Since the high pressure is coming out of the tropics, humidity will play a role in the heat wave, Hofmann said, with moisture in the air combined with sizzling temperatures making it feel even hotter.

Temperatures are expected to reach the middle 90s for the majority of Suffolk County on Monday. On the East End, near the water where temps are traditionally a bit cooler, highs may reach the upper 80s or low 90s, Hofmann said.

Find out what's happening in Westhampton-Hampton Bayswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Highs are expected to hover in the upper 90s for most of Suffolk County throughout the week until Saturday, Hofmann said, with temperatures on the East End a couple of degrees cooler.

“This week, the temperatures will fall into a similar pattern each day, maybe varying a degree or two, with the high pressure stalled nearby,” Hoffman said.

Find out what's happening in Westhampton-Hampton Bayswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Although a heat advisory is in effect Monday for Nassau County, none had been called for Suffolk County as of Monday morning. The criteria for a heat advisory is two consecutive hours or more with a heat index of 100 to 104 degrees — what the temperature actually feels like, combined with humidity.

The heat is expected to fry the area all week long. “Unfortunately, there’s no rain forecast to relieve us of any of the heat until very late in the week. The highest chance is Saturday,” Hofmann said. “That’s when we’ll finally get a cold front to move through, albeit slowly.”

Residents are advised to stay out of the direct sun during the hottest parts of the day, from noon to 6 p.m. — yard work and other chores should be done in early morning or late evening — and find air-conditioned environments. In addition, staying hydrated is critical, as the body uses more fluids as it perspires, Hofmann said.


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