'Blazing hot' in the weekend forecast for Long Island

Get ready to roast.

A big warm-up is coming Friday. And for the weekend? “It is blazing hot,” said Pat Cavlin, News 12 meteorologist, on Thursday afternoon.. 

A heat advisory is in place from noon Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday. And while Sunday in no way should be discounted, Saturday could edge it out by a few degrees, said Tim Morrin, National Weather Service meteorologist. An excessive heat warning is in place from 6 a.m. Saturday to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Ultimately, we could have a heat wave on our hands, meaning three days in a row of air temperatures reaching 90 or above, the forecast said.

Friday is looking at a high air temperature around 90, feeling like 104 or so. Temperatures on Saturday and Sunday were forecast to reach the mid-90s or so, but with humidity factored in, it was expected to feel as hot as 110 degrees, the weather service said as of late Thursday afternoon. 

This is especially dangerous territory when it comes to health and well-being — particularly for children, the elderly, those with heart/respiratory conditions and anyone working or exercising outdoors.

In fact, an air quality health advisory is in effect for Friday, meaning elevated levels of ozone. With such elevated pollution levels, health officials advise limiting strenuous outdoor activities.

Long Islanders should also be “extra vigilant” when it comes to the danger of leaving children and/or companion animals in vehicles, even briefly, said I. Ross Dickman, meteorologist in charge of the weather service’s Upton office.

Temperatures in parked vehicles rise rapidly to dangerous levels, with slightly opened windows making very little difference, the weather service said. 

Officials advised residents to limit outdoor activities and to beat the heat by going to air-conditioned places.

Nassau County officials have already opened four cooling centers for residents seeking relief. They are at Mitchel Field Complex, 1 Charles Lindbergh Blvd., Uniondale; Wantagh Park Community Center, 1 King Rd., Wantagh; Grant Park, 1625 Broadway, Hewlett; and Cantiague Park, 480 W. John St., Hicksville.   

In Suffolk County, each town decides when cooling centers open.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said hours will be extended at swimming facilities Friday through Sunday at the following state parks on Long Island: Jones Beach, Sunken Meadow, Robert Moses, Orient Beach, Heckscher, Wildwood, Hither Hills and Montauk Downs.

Town of Hempstead beaches will remain open an extra hour, until 7 p.m., Friday through Sunday, town officials announced. Those eight South Shore beaches are Atlantic Beach Estates, East Atlantic Beach, Harbor Isle Beach, Hewlett Point Park, Lido Beach Town Park, Lido West Town Park, Town Park at Point Lookout, and Town Park at Sands. 

Thanks to system upgrades in the past five years, PSEG Long Island says the utility is ready to meet increased electrical demand as air conditioners get cranked up.

Still, there could be “scattered heat-related outages” that will be addressed as soon as possible, given the utility’s “significant resources,” PSEG Long Island said.

With John Asbury