The New York City area will feel summery over the next few days – but skies are taking a hit as air quality plummets again.
The haze returned on Monday as smoke from wildfires burning in Canada made its way back into the city. The smoke will continue through Tuesday and possibly Wednesday, but it is not expected to be nearly as bad as it was in the summer.
The smoke and haze are likely to remain much higher in the air than in June and July, meaning the impact for people on the ground will not be nearly as severe. Compared to the summer, when air quality reached dangerous levels, this week will be far less severe.
Air quality remained good to moderate throughout the day on Monday. The smoke had no noticeable impact, and Tuesday and Wednesday are not expected to feel significantly different.
That pales in comparison to the air quality levels reached in the summer, when dozens of people were hospitalized. At the time, the entire tri-state area was under air quality alerts that were slightly above 300, considered a health alert that would affect anyone outside without a mask.
As for summer temperatures, temperatures in the New York area will hover in the high 70s and possibly even reach 80 on Tuesday – well above normal for this time of year. In addition, the humidity will also increase and will reach its peak on Wednesday.
Temperatures will begin to climb back to around normal on Thursday and will be back below 70 degrees on Friday as the region receives rain for the first time since flooding in the tri-state region last Friday, which in many places received more than 12 inches fell above sea level.
Temperatures will continue to drop after the rain tapers off on Saturday or Sunday as highs could be back in the upper 50s early next week. But a lot could still change by then. So stay tuned to Storm Team 4 for the latest forecast details.
Below is Storm Team 4’s exclusive 10-day forecast:
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