The northern Maine town of Caribou is seeing the hottest temperatures on record Wednesday.
The National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat warning as a brutal heatwave hits New England, with temperatures expected to reach up to 96 degrees in Caribou.
The heat index hit 103 degrees early Wednesday afternoon. That shatters the old all-time high of 100.7 degrees with additional warming expected as the day went along. Records for temperatures go back to 1939.
The heat index at Caribou currently stands at 103F. That's an unofficial all-time record. 100.7F was the previous record. Records go back to 1939. #mewx
— NWS Caribou (@NWSCaribou) June 19, 2024
The heat indices were over 100 degrees for a large part of Maine on Wednesday.
A massive heat dome is building over the eastern part of the nation, starting a four-day heat wave across much of New England.
The unusually hot and humid weather is forecast to bring uncomfortable conditions and extreme heat to a large portion of the region, potentially challenging high temperature records.
According to the National Weather Service forecast discussion, the heat is expected to "peak in the Wednesday through Friday time frame."
Torry Dooley, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Boston, told the Cape Cod Times, "A lot of the Northeast is going to be dealing with this heat," and "it's going to get toasty."
The heat wave is impacting areas from the Midwest into much of the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Afternoon high temperatures and warm overnight lows will likely challenge daily records and even some monthly records across the entire heat wave zone.
Heat index readings are expected to peak from 100 to 105 degrees in many locations.
