Publication Date May 18, 2017 | US News & World Report via Associated Press

Early Heat Wave Breaking Records in Northeast US Cities

United States
 Nessa King of Wyndham, Maine, returns a shot while playing volleyball in record breaking heat at Old Orchard Beach, Maine, Thursday, May 18, 2017. King was one of hundreds of Maine high school seniors who skipped school to enjoy a day at the beach with classmates. Photo: Robert F. Bukaty, AP
Nessa King of Wyndham, Maine, returns a shot while playing volleyball in record breaking heat at Old Orchard Beach, Maine, Thursday, May 18, 2017. King was one of hundreds of Maine high school seniors who skipped school to enjoy a day at the beach with classmates. Photo: Robert F. Bukaty, AP

Article excerpt

Heat records were burning up Thursday in cities in the Northeast as the region gets a summer preview.

The mercury reached 92 degrees in Boston shortly after noon Thursday, breaking the old record of 91 degrees for May 18 set in 1936, according to the National Weather Service.

The 81-year-old record for the day of 90 degrees also fell in New York City, where it was still 91 degrees in Central Park shortly before 4 p.m.

It was the second straight day of midsummer-like conditions in the Northeast, though forecasters said a cooling trend would move in Friday and return the region to more seasonable conditions.

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Other places where records fell included Hartford, Connecticut, where temperatures reached 94 degrees, and in Providence, Rhode Island, where it hit 93.

In Maine, where records also fell throughout the state, the Department of Environmental Protection issued an air-quality alert through 11 p.m. Thursday.

In Boston, the National Park Service said on Twitter that the Bunker Hill Monument, a major Revolutionary War tourist attraction, was closed to visitors for a time because of the heat.