In New Jersey, scorching temperatures linked to a heat dome have been suspected of causing at least 19 deaths. This heat dome affected parts of the central and eastern United States, and as temperatures began to ease, severe storms rolled in, causing widespread power outages for nearly 1 million homes and businesses.
State officials reported that they began observing what they believe to be heat-related fatalities as early as Thursday, with the majority occurring in the central and northern regions of New Jersey. State Health Commissioner Dr. Raynard Washington lamented, “Unfortunately, many of these individuals were found in homes without air conditioning. A few were outside their residences, some on the street, and some even in parked cars.”
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill described the current weather conditions as “the hottest stretch we’ve seen in over 14 years,” emphasizing that the heat is impacting all demographics, stating, “The heat’s hitting all of us, not just seniors, not just those with underlying health conditions; people of all ages.”
On Thursday, LaGuardia Airport in New York recorded a new high of 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius), surpassing the previous record of 101 F (38.3 C) set in 1966. In New Jersey, Trenton reached 101 F, breaking a record of 100 F (37.7 C) that had stood since 1901. Newark's temperature peaked at 105 F (40.5 C), while Atlantic City experienced a record-breaking temperature of 103 F (39.4 C) on Thursday and reached 105 F on Friday and 106 F (41.1 C) on Saturday.
Meteorologist Bryan Jackson from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Weather Prediction Center explained the dangers of heat domes, which can create a combination of extremely high temperatures and humidity. He noted, “In many cases, they also had direct sunshine. It was relentless. It lasted multiple days and was not as cool overnight.” For example, the low temperature in Atlantic City on Friday morning was 80 degrees, preventing the body from adequately recovering and compounding heat stress.
As the heat tapered off, severe storms brought heavy winds that resulted in downed utility poles and broken tree branches that fell onto power lines. This led to approximately 900,000 utility customers in various parts of the central, eastern, and southern United States being without electricity early Sunday afternoon. States with significant power outages included Michigan, where over 223,000 customers were affected, and Pennsylvania, with close to 170,000 in the dark.
PPL Electric reported that about 121,417 customers were left without power Sunday morning, including approximately 47,000 in the Harrisburg area. Central Hudson in New York State noted that over 430 wires were reported down, affecting around 50,000 customers, with 650 still without power Sunday afternoon.
Amanda Vesper from Commerce Township was in the process of putting her children to bed when the first storm hit the Detroit area, cutting off her power. She mentioned, “It didn’t seem that awful. It got quite windy.” However, as of late Sunday morning, the power was still out, forcing her family to alternate between their home and a hotel due to the needs of her family, which included a small child with autism and the functioning of a well powered by electricity. The outage affected their July 4 celebration, leading to cancellation of planned gatherings with friends and concerns about food spoilage.
Jackson indicated that heavy thunderstorms were expected to target the Cleveland area on Sunday, with storms subsequently shifting east toward Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, raising the risk for flash flooding in those regions.
