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Updated at: 11:31 am
UPDATE: Boston Mayor Kim Janey declared a Heat Emergency in the City of Boston starting Wednesday, August 11 and lasting through Friday, August 13. Cooling centers will be open across the city to help residents stay cool and a full list of centers will be available at Boston.gov/Heat. More information can provided by following @CityofBoston on Twitter. Residents can sign up for Alert Boston, the city's emergency notification system, or call 311 with any further questions.
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — A Heat Advisory and Excessive Heat Watch have been issued for the second half of the week by the National Weather Service for most of Massachusetts as baking heat and humidity are forecast to wash over the region. A heat wave (defined as three 90-degree days in a row) is certainly possible.
The Heat Advisory, for the entire state besides the Cape and Islands, goes into effect at 11:00 AM on Wednesday and runs through 8:00 PM. The heat will likely break 90 in the Boston area during the day Wednesday, and will probably feel like 100 degrees — and not a dry hundred, either. Dew points and relative humidity will be high enough to feel like a constant sauna during the day, reaching levels the NWS calls "oppressive."
Temperatures will peak on Thursday, with an Excessive Heat Watch already out for the day between 11:00 AM and 8:00 PM. It could feel as hot as 109 degrees in Eastern Mass. (the Berkshires, Cape and the Islands escape the most intense heat) as real temperatures climb to around 96 in Boston during the day. Temps are forecast to cool down slightly on Friday but still break 90. The Service says strenuous activity or spending a long time outdoors on Thursday could become dangerous.
Listen in to WBZ NewsRadio for weather every ten minutes as this story develops:
Written by Chaiel Schaffel