An ice cream man keeps cool in the shade on the Long Beach boardwalk on a recent afternoon (Joseph Abate)
Long Islanders are in for another scorcher Tuesday, with temperatures reaching up to the mid 90s.
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The National Weather Service is calling for temperatures as high as 95 degrees in parts of Long Island, with heat index values reaching the upper 90s.
On Monday the Town of Hempstead announced that it will open 15 cooling centers and extend pool and beach hours through Wednesday because of the extreme weather.
Cooling centers are open to the public from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Wednesday (except where noted):
- Baldwin Senior Center, 1810 N. Grand Ave., Baldwin, (516) 546-7110
- Bellmore Senior Center, 2000 Bellmore Ave., Bellmore, (516) 221-9696
- Cedarhurst Senior Center, 200 Cedarhurst Avenue, Cedarhurst, (516) 295-1177 (open until 4:30 p.m.)
- East Meadow Senior Center, 1485 Front Street, East Meadow, (516) 794-2458 (open until 4:45 p.m.)
- Elmont Senior Center, 138 Elmont Rd., Elmont, (516) 354-4777
- Franklin Square Senior Center, 1182 Martha Pl. Franklin Square, (516) 328-3010
- Green Acres Senior Center, 400 Flower Rd., Valley Stream, (516) 872-8810
- Levittown Senior Center, 555 N. Newbridge Rd., Levittown, (516) 433-5454
- Merrick Senior Center, 2550 Clubhouse Road, Merrick, (516) 868-4777 (open until 4:45 p.m.)
- Oceanside Senior Center, 2900 Rockaway Ave., Oceanside, (516) 766-8888
- Rosa Parks Senior Center, 2 Babylon Tpke., Roosevelt (516) 867-1612
- Salisbury Senior Center, 460 Salisbury Park Drive, Westbury, (516) 333-5440
- Uniondale-Hempstead Senior Center, 840 Uniondale Ave., Uniondale (516) 292-1313
- Uniondale-Merrick Senior Center, 750 Jerusalem Ave., Uniondale (516) 538-5050
- Wantagh Senior Center, 1150 Seamans Neck Rd., Wantagh (516) 785-8505
Hours of operation will be extended at the following pools until Wednesday, July 18:
- Roosevelt Pool – Closing at 7 p.m.
- Forest City Park Pool – Closing at 8 p.m.
- Rath Pool (Franklin Sq. Park District) – Closing at 8 p.m.
- Walker Memorial Pool – Closing at 8 p.m.
- Azaela Road Pool- Closing at 8 p.m.
- Hewlett Pool – Closing at 8 p.m.
- Slate Lane Pool- Closing at 8 p.m.
- Town Park at Sands – Closing at 7 p.m.
Lifeguards will be on duty for an extra hour (until 7 p.m.) at the following beaches until Wednesday, July 18:
- Town Park Point Lookout
- Lido Beach Town Park
- Lido West Town Park
- Town Park at Sands
- Hewlett Point Park
- East Atlantic Beach
- Atlantic Beach Estates
An air quality alert is in effect for both Nassau and Suffolk from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. Tuesday. The air quality index value is expected to greater than 100 for the pollutant ground level ozone. An air quality alert is issued when pollutant levels are elevated. Officials advise individuals to limit strenuous outdoor physical activity. Those especially sensitive to elevated levels of pollution include young children, the elderly and people with pre-existing respiratory problems such as asthma or heart disease.
Meteorologists said that Wednesday is going to be even hotter, with temperatures in the mid 90s and heat index values of up to 104. A cold front will approach the area Wednesday afternoon, bringing with it strong to severe thunderstorms that will last until Wednesday night. The NWS warned that there is a threat for torrential rain, damaging winds, large hail and flash flooding from the storms.
The storms will break the heat wave, with highs in the mid 80s expected for Thursday, and temperatures should drop down to the lower 80s for Friday and Saturday.
