Eastern U.S. Falls Prey to Brutal Heat Wave

A deadly heat wave that sent the mercury soaring in the Midwest and Plains blanketed the eastern half of the country Tuesday, straining power grids and plunging millions of people into a stifling, soggy misery.

“If we worked a horse in this heat, we’d go to jail,” construction worker David Stacey said in Harrisburg, Pa., his black T-shirt soaked with sweat. “But we don’t really have a choice. We’ve got to be outside.”

The withering heat stretched from Minneapolis and South Dakota’s Black Hills to Washington and Portland, Maine. Temperatures topped 100 degrees in some places, with humidity making it worse.

“I’m going straight home and the first thing I’ll do when I get there is turn the air conditioner on high,” said Joel Reyes, a 22-year-old student clutching a large cup of ice water as he walked in New York.

Relief wasn’t forecast to arrive in some parts of the East until Friday.

Last week, hot weather was blamed for at least six deaths in the Midwest, including that of 27-year-old Korey Stringer of pro football’s Minnesota Vikings. Other deaths were under investigation, including that of a man whose body temperature was measured at 109 degrees after he was found in his car in a Detroit suburb.

Heat indexes, which measure the combined effects of heat and humidity, soared to between 100 and 110 degrees in many places Tuesday.

Boston declared its first heat alert of the summer. New York officials opened about 400 “cooling centers”--air-conditioned senior centers, schools and other public facilities--and said its 33 swimming pools would stay open an extra hour. The high in Central Park was 99 degrees.

Pennsylvanians were girding for the longest stretch of 90-degree days in at least six years.

Power companies nationwide urged people to conserve, fearing blackouts or brownouts caused by consumer overload. Electricity usage in New York hit an all-time high Tuesday, according to the state’s independent system operator.

As many as 6,000 customers lost electricity in Camden, N.J., and authorities said it was partly the result of the hot weather. In Newark, N.J., where the heat index reached 106 degrees, six firefighters suffered heat exhaustion after battling a house fire.

At the Fairfax Pool in Eau Claire, Wis., manager Tara Edberg said some of her lifeguards grew dizzy and vomited because of the heat.