Record Temperatures, Fire Dangers

Unseasonably warm temperatures have spread across the eastern seaboard and extended into areas all the way to the Mississippi River.

The temperatures are typical of early July rather than early April.

New York City broke an 81-year-old temperature when it hit 90-degrees in Central Park on Wednesday afternoon.

Records were also broken Tuesday in the New York City region.

The previous April 7th record temperature of 89 degrees in New York City was set in 1929.

Because of the rapidly rising temperatures and low humidity, fire watches and red flag warnings were up across Pennsylvania, New Jersey and areas of New York state.

Gusty winds hitting 15-25 miles per hour could spread spark driven fires across fields and into wooded areas.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issued air quality alerts in the cities of Newark and Elizabeth on Wednesday morning.

Many of New York’s apartment buildings have not had their air conditioning systems turned on for the season yet. City cooling centers were not expected to be open.

The record temperatures were not expected to be around very long. The New York Weather Authority was forecasting a cold front by the end of the week that would drop high temperatures into the 50s and 60s.