Providence temperature reached record 100 Tuesday; expect 95 Wednesday

The heat wave started Sunday and peaked Tuesday, according to the weather service.

• The heat is expected to continue Wednesday with a high of 95 and a heat index of 100.
• A cold front is forecast to arrive Wednesday afternoon, bringing thunderstorms and breaking the heat wave on Thursday.
• An air quality alert has been issued for Washington and Newport counties.

PROVIDENCE – After the Providence area hit a record 100 degrees on Tuesday, June 24, the excessive heat will stick around another day, with a high of 95 degrees expected on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

The weather service has issued a heat advisory, saying humidity will drive heat index values of up to 100.

“Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses,” the weather service said. “Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors.”

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management is warning that air quality will reach unhealthy levels of ozone at ground level in Washington and Newport counties. The advisory is for this afternoon into the evening.

More: What’s the hottest day on record for the Providence area? Find out here

When will the heat break?

The heat wave should break after today. A cold front will move down from the north, possibly bringing widely scattered thunderstorms this afternoon, the weather service says in its forecast discussion. Thursday’s high should reach just 73 degrees.

The heat wave started Sunday, when the temperature reached 94 degrees. It hit 91 Monday and 100 Tuesday. The weather service defines a heat wave as three or more consecutive days with the temperature reaching or exceeding 90 degrees.

Tuesday’s temperature was the hottest June day on record for the Providence area. It was 4 degrees lower than the all-time record high of 104.

The record high for today’s date is 98 degrees, set in 1943.