The New York City area is facing another day of heat, humidity and potential severe thunderstorms to end the week, according to meteorologists.
Friday’s forecast is similar to Thursday’s — a muggy day where temperatures will hover in the low 90s, with humidity that will make it feel closer to 100. The National Weather Service still has a heat advisory in effect until 8 p.m. for much of the tri-state area, and cooling centers across the city will be open.
The agency also has issued an air quality alert for the five boroughs and Westchester County, warning that ground level Ozone could cause the Air Quality Index to go over 100.
Ground level Ozone tends to peak on hot, sunny days, when pollutants emitted by cars, power plants, industrial boilers, refineries, chemical plants, and other sources chemically react in the presence of sunlight. As a result, people should generally limit strenuous physical activity outdoors — especially young children, the elderly, or people with asthma or heart disease.
Meteorologist John Murray said the highest chances for severe thunderstorms will be in the early evening, with a main threat of damaging winds. The unsettled weather should bring some relief: a cold front will move through late Friday, shifting winds to the northwest and clearing out much of the humidity for Saturday.
Intense storms rolled through the city around 11:30 p.m. Thursday, with wind gusts up to 69 miles per hour recorded at LaGuardia Airport, according to the NWS. Police and meteorologists said no major damage or injuries occurred, though they were still gathering reports.
A spokesperson for Con Edison said crews worked throughout the night to restore weather-related outages, reporting that there were still nearly 3,000 customers without power early Friday. The outages were scattered, mostly in Brooklyn and Queens.
There also were scattered power outages in New Jersey, affecting fewer than 1,000 customers, according to PSEG.
