Heat and humidity will peak on Wednesday and Thursday across New England.
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With a light southwest wind carrying this air into the region, increasing pollutants have also caught a ride in from the southwest, and the result has been the issuance of Air Quality Alerts for southern Connecticut, southern Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts, all the way down the Interstate 95 corridor of the northeast.
Keep in mind, an Air Quality Alert is issued when enough low-level ozone and particulate matter is present in the air to make unhealthy conditions for those who are sensitive to the change in air.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh urged residents Wednesday to take precautions due to the hot weather. He said he could declare a Heat Emergency if temperatures reach 90 degrees or higher for three straight days. In that case, cooling centers would be open across the city.
The combination of hot temperatures climbing into the 90s and abundant humidity will mean heat index values - "or feels like" temperatures - in the middle to upper 90s for the hottest spots in New England like the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts southward through the Lower Connecticut River Valley.
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Elsewhere in New England, heat index values will reach the middle 90s, though immediate coastal locales will be slightly cooler for much of the day as a weak sea breeze sets up. This is especially true along the Maine and Cape Cod shorelines.
The heat is expected to continue on Thursday, before a round of intense late day and evening storms breaks the humidity and ushers in less humid air for Friday with no storms for most of New England. High temperatures Friday and through the weekend will likely still be near 90 degrees.
