Chris Colucci and Wesley Schnell
The National Weather Service issued an extreme heat warning for nearly all of Long Island beginning at noon on Wednesday and lasting until 9 p.m. on Friday, with an extreme heat watch extending until 9 p.m. on Saturday.
The standard criteria for a heat wave is three consecutive days with temperatures reaching at least 90 degrees. As the Herald went to press on Wednesday, the forecast anticipated five straight days with temperatures soaring past 90, with a peak of 100 degrees or higher on Thursday. The heat index, or “feels like” temperature, was expected to approach 110 degrees that day.
Preparing for the potentially dangerous weather, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and town supervisors across the county took steps to help residents stay cool and safe. Blakeman announced the opening of four cooling centers: Administrative buildings in Wantagh Park, Hicksville’s Cantiague Park and Uniondale’s Mitchel Field will be open from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., and the former Nassau County family courthouse, in Westbury, will be open 24 hours a day as an air-conditioned, security-monitored facility.
Town of Hempstead Supervisor John Ferretti held a news conference Tuesday afternoon in Lido Beach to announce similar local plans for town residents. “Cooling centers will be available at the Elmont, Levittown and Wantagh senior centers from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Thursday and Friday of this week,” Ferretti said.
“These facilities are open to any residents who need a cool, air-conditioned cruise to escape from the heat,” he continued. “Hours of operation at town beaches and pools will be extended from Thursday through Saturday. Beaches will be open until 7 p.m. and pools will be open until 8 p.m.” Similar measures have been implemented in the Town of North Hempstead and the Town of Oyster Bay.
PSEG Long Island announced that it was prepared for a spike in demand for electricity during the heat wave. PSEG Long Island’s vice president of electric operations, Michael Sullivan, wrote in a news release, “We have been upgrading equipment, carefully planning to provide sufficient electric capacity to meet peak demand, and positioning our personnel to respond effectively if needed.”
According to the National Weather Service, extreme heat events cause more deaths than hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, flooding and lightning strikes combined. At a Tuesday morning news conference at the Riverside Boulevard beach entrance in Long Beach, representatives of Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital spoke about the warning signs and dangers of heat exhaustion and heatstroke.
Dr. David Neubert, an emergency medicine physician and the facility’s director of prehospital medicine, said that monitoring for signs of dehydration is a crucial first step. “If you start to feel nauseous, feel clammy or feel dizzy — any of those symptoms, you need to get yourself out of the sun, get yourself somewhere cool and hydrate,” Neubert said.
He explained the difference between simple heat exhaustion and the more immediate, potentially deadly condition, heatstroke. “With chest pains, shortness of breath, or if they have a mental status change — they’re not acting normal or they’re not making sense — that’s very important to call 911, call a lifeguard, get them to a hospital,” he said, “because that can be signs of heatstroke, a true emergency that’s life-threatening.”
Long Beach Chief of Lifeguards Rich Borawski also spoke at the news conference, highlighting relatively simple steps that beachgoers can take to reduce the risk of heat-related injuries. In addition to frequent hydration, Borawski noted two sometimes overlooked safeguards — lip balm, to protect the delicate skin around the mouth, and footwear to protect feet from hot sand. Borawski recalled a beach visitor who suffered second-degree burns after walking barefoot in the sand last year.
“We know it’s going to be hot. We are prepared,” Borawski said. “We have emergency medical technicians and extra lifeguards ready to go at a moment’s notice for the next couple of days. We want you to come here and enjoy everything that the city of Long Beach has to offer, but we want you to stay safe beach-wise and water safety-wise.”