July was second hottest on record

Despite a heat wave that lasted four days - and temperatures that hit 103 degrees in Shirley and 101 in Islip on July 6 - the just-completed month managed to be only the second-hottest July on record in the New York-metro area, the National Weather Service said today.

The hottest July ever was in 1999, when temperatures for the month averaged 81.4 degrees in Central Park.

Last month the temperature averaged 81.3 degrees - falling from an average of 81.6 degrees with about a week left.

The average temperature was about 4.8 degrees warmer than normal for July, forecasters said. Records for Central Park date back to 1869.

In 1999 July closed with a streak of nine consecutive 90-plus-degree days to set the all-time mark. That streak topped 11-straight 90-degree days before it ended Aug. 3.