Scorching Heat Is Widespread

Americans from Texas to Maine sweated out a steamy Saturday as a heat wave canceled events from festivals to horse races and pushed New York City to order power-saving steps to avoid overtaxing the electrical grid. The National Weather Service said "a dangerous heat wave" was expected to break record highs in some places, particularly for nighttime. Daytime temperatures were poised to hit the mid- to upper 90s, with high humidity making it feel considerably hotter. "It's brutal," Jeffrey Glickman said as he paused during a run Saturday morning in Washington. Among the overheated and extreme-weather moments reported by the AP:

• In Norwich, Connecticut, Larry Konecny watched as one of his workers a couple of stories up in a boom lift cleaned the outside of an office building. The pair had no choice but to work in 90-degree heat and stifling humidity because the job needed to be done when office workers were away, Konecny said.
• New York City authorities canceled a Times Square commemoration of the 1969 moon landing and an outdoor festival featuring soccer star Megan Rapinoe, musician John Legend and "Daily Show" host Trevor Noah. The city also directed owners of many office buildings to set thermostats no lower than 78 degrees (26 degrees Celsius) through Sunday to reduce strain on the electrical grid.
• In Michigan's Lower Peninsula, storms packing strong winds, hail, and lightning knocked out power to more than 200,000 people. The storms left about 20,000 customers without electricity in Wisconsin, toppling trees as wind gusts reached more than 80 mph.
• In Chicago, heat forced organizers of the Humana Rock 'n' Roll Marathon series to cancel one of three weekend races. Saturday's 5K is off, but a 10K and half marathon are expected to go ahead Sunday.
• In New Jersey, operators of the Monmouth Park horse racing track were considering whether to push back the $1 million Haskell Invitational later in the evening. Amid pressure over a series of horse deaths in California, several tracks have canceled their Saturday races, including Saratoga Race Course and Finger Lakes in New York and Laurel Park in Maryland.
• At Yankee Stadium, where the home team was set to face the Colorado Rockies, extra hydration stations were set up in all three decks and the bleachers. Announcements reminded fans to keep drinking water.

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