Heat wave eases in Northeast, but misery persists

A four-day heat wave in the Northeast eased Thursday, but high temperatures and humidity persisted and the death toll rose.

Temperatures in New York topped at 89 degrees - still sticky and uncomfortable but a far cry from the triple-digit highs recorded from New York City to Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday. An official heat wave in the Northeast requires prolonged temperatures of 90 degrees or above.

New Jersey's high temperature also came in below 90, and the National Weather Service canceled an excessive heat warning for the Philadelphia area.

Still rising humidity kept things uncomfortable. And in New Jersey, smoke from brush fires added to the misery.

The National Weather Service said the humidity won't drop until a cold front pushes through the region Saturday. The front will bring the best chance for much-needed rain.

Thursday, the hot weather was blamed for the deaths of 89-year-old Edward Pilch in Whitehall, Pa., and a 46-year-old woman in Queens. Officials previously reported the heat-related deaths of a 92-year-old Philadelphia woman, a Baltimore resident who was found at home where the indoor temperature was over 90 degrees and a homeless woman discovered lying next to a car in suburban Detroit.

In New York, Consolidated Edison distributed dry ice to customers without electricity in parts of Brooklyn and scrambled to keep up with power demands. New Jersey's largest utility, Public Service Electric & Gas, said service was restored to all its customers who lost power during the heat wave.

Elsewhere Thursday, stifling heat continued in Washington, D.C., with temperatures in the mid-90s.