Weather Service: LI on track for hottest July

As temperatures are expected to rise again this weekend, the National Weather Service predicts that July 2010 will be the hottest July in more than 25 years.

According to Tim Morrin, an observation program leader at the National Weather Service, Long Island is experiencing the warmest July since it began keeping records in Islip 26 years ago. The current average temperature for the month is 78.7 degrees. The record was set in 1999, when the July average was 78.6 degrees.

"As of . . . [Wednesday], we are on track of beating that," Morrin said. "Based on what we're forecasting in the weather patterns, we don't see any dramatic cool off."

In fact, tomorrow's forecasted 90-degree-plus temperatures will feel like 103 degrees in Nassau County and around 100 degrees in Suffolk because of the humidity, the weather service said.

At Brookhaven National Laboratory, which has been keeping statistics since 1947, the hottest July was in 1994, when the average was 76.9 degrees in Upton. A normal July temperature is 71.78 degrees.

Because of the weather, Long Island water suppliers are urging residents to stop nonessential water usage, such as watering lawns and washing cars, but not everyone is listening.

"Some people are and some people are not," said Long Island American Water president Bill Varley. "We do see demand increasing."

Long Island American Water has tried to make reverse 911 calls and patrol areas to enforce restrictions, Varley said.