Mother Nature wants to put on her own fireworks show!
A booming thunderstorm is poised to strike the Big Apple during the Fourth of July fireworks festivities, as sweltering heat continues to bake the city, meteorologists said Friday.
A storm with possible rain and lightning is forecast to move into New York City after 4 p.m. Saturday — threatening to upstage the pyrotechnics and put a damper on folks gathered outside for the show, said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Matt Benz.
“If you are setting up a place to see fireworks along the East River, have in mind a place where you could take cover,” Benz said. “Keep an eye on the sky. Lightning is a big concern.”
“It’s hard to say that any one location will for sure be dry for fireworks,” he said of the New York City area.
Saturday is also forecast to hit a swampy high of 95 after a record-setting triple-digit day Thursday and a blistering high of 100 degrees Friday, he said.
“It’s still going to feel like triple digits,” said Benz of Saturday’s high-humidity heat.
The oppressively hot Fourth of July weather will feel “gross” and is potentially “pretty dangerous with a lot of people outside,” he said.
“It’s very intense air, it’s air you can wear,” he said. “It’s going to feel very uncomfortable out there.”
The mercury, however, is expected to drop Sunday, with a cooler high of 86 degrees and some clouds.
“The heat wave will be over by then, still warm but not oppressively hot,” Benz said. “Sunday could be better for outdoor activities.”
It will likely cool off even more by Monday with scattered showers and a high of 77.
On Thursday, temperatures in New York City’s Central Park hit 100 degrees for the first time in over a decade as a dangerous heatwave gripped the region.
Friday’s high of 100, however, was out of the “record-challenging” zone, with the city’s hottest-ever July 3 hitting 103 degrees, Benz said.
“The peak of the heat is probably coming down,” Benz said Friday afternoon. “But if you’re sensitive to heat, take it easy out there.”
