A scorching heat wave on Wednesday stretched from the Midwest to New England, making life uncomfortable for millions on the Juneteenth holiday. Even in places like northern Maine, where such conditions are rare this early in the year, people were feeling the heat.
Caribou, Maine, just 10 miles from Canada, reached a record 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39.4 degrees Celsius) on the heat index, which factors in both heat and humidity. The region was under a heat advisory until Wednesday evening, with temperatures in Caribou hotter than Miami: 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.4 degrees Celsius) compared to 89 degrees Fahrenheit (31.6 degrees Celsius) in Miami, according to the National Weather Service.
Residents, accustomed to June temperatures in the 70s and 80s, were surprised by the high humidity. Hannah Embelton, 22, who works at an ice cream shop in Caribou, mentioned that customers were avoiding soft serve options because they melted too quickly in the heat.
Kids enjoy at Timber Cirb Dam (Via Ash Perry/Shuttersmith)
“We usually don’t get such intense heat and humidity because we’re so far north. Everyone is talking about how unusually hot it is,” she said.
Lisa Hall, owner of Moose River Campground near the Canadian border, remarked that such hot conditions are more typical in mid-July or early August.
“I’m sweating like crazy; it’s way too hot,” she said.
The National Weather Service predicted that the dangerous temperatures would peak in the eastern Great Lakes and New England on Wednesday and Thursday, then in the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic on Friday and Saturday. Heat index readings were expected to reach between 100 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 to 40.5 degrees Celsius) in many places.
