Record Heat Cancels Parades and Slows Trains Across the East Before July Fourth

A heat dome that has covered much of the country for days is forcing cancellations and delays on the eve of the nation’s 250th birthday. Parades have been called off in Philadelphia and Washington, a fair on the National Mall closed early, and Amtrak is running trains at reduced speeds in the Northeast, NBC News and CBS News reported Friday.

The scale of the exposure is large, though the two networks gave different counts. NBC News, citing the National Weather Service, reported that more than 110 million people were under an extreme heat risk and more than 150 million were under heat alerts from Kansas to Maine. CBS News put the number under heat alerts at more than 185 million on Friday, with peak heat indexes that could reach 115 degrees in some places. CBS reported that the heat dome was trapping more than half the country through the holiday weekend, with temperatures 20 to 30 degrees above average.

Records are falling. New York’s Central Park reached 100 degrees on Thursday, NBC News reported, the city’s first triple-digit reading since 2012; CBS said the reading tied the city’s 1966 record. Forecasters expected Central Park to reach 102 on Friday. Boston hit 100 degrees on Thursday for only the 29th time in its recorded history, according to CBS. Philadelphia could reach 103, just short of its all-time July record of 104, NBC reported. CBS said more than 300 records for daytime highs and warm overnight lows were expected by Saturday, and that ten states were forecast to top 100 degrees on Friday.

The holiday program is taking the hit. Philadelphia canceled a parade on Friday, and CBS reported that Washington canceled Saturday’s parade, where a high of 102 was forecast for July 4. That would beat a record of 100 for the date set in 1919. The Great American State Fair in Washington closed for part of Friday afternoon and reopened at 5 p.m., according to CBS News. Fireworks in several suburbs were canceled or postponed.

Rail service is also affected. NBC News said New Jersey Transit warned of delays of up to 30 minutes and some cancellations because of heat effects on equipment, and that Amtrak warned trains on the Northeast Corridor may run at reduced speeds from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Saturday. CBS reported that Amtrak canceled some trains.

Cities are responding with cooling centers. New York deployed nurse and paramedic vans and opened centers, and kept an extreme heat warning in place until 9 p.m. Saturday, CBS News reported. The network noted that heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths, especially for older adults, and listed warning signs of heat exhaustion such as fatigue, light-headedness and muscle cramps. Confusion, it said, signals possible heat stroke, which requires emergency care. CBS did not report a U.S. death count for this heat wave.

Relief is uneven. NBC News reported that conditions should improve in parts of the Northeast over the weekend, while the mid-Atlantic stays dangerously hot. Severe thunderstorms in the Midwest, Northeast and mid-Atlantic could bring damaging winds, isolated tornadoes and flash flooding that complicate holiday travel and fireworks displays. CBS also noted dry, windy conditions fueling wildfires in parts of Utah and southern Colorado, where red flag warnings were in effect through Friday.