Welcome to August: Heat wave toasts East

WASHINGTON – Record-breaking heat and oppressive humidity made people across the eastern half of the country miserable Wednesday and sent tourists in the nation’s capital scrambling for relief in the cool marble halls of Capitol Hill.

Others working outdoors guzzled icy drinks to cope with the heat wave that has sent temperatures soaring over 100 degrees across the East and parts of the Midwest.

“This is unbelievable,” said Bob Garner, a tourist from Atlanta who retreated with his family into the air-conditioned comfort of the Capitol. “They get the hottest days of the year while we’re here.”

By late afternoon, the temperature at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was 99 degrees, with a heat index of 106. It was even hotter on the steaming pavement downtown.

In New York, the temperature rose to 101 at LaGuardia Airport and 96 in Central Park. Philadelphia and Baltimore climbed into the upper 90s.

The National Weather Service posted heat advisories and warnings from Maine to Oklahoma. Forecasters said the heat would linger until tonight, when a cool front was expected to bring temperatures down into the 80s.

At the Capitol, tourists filled water bottles at drinking fountains and doused themselves.

At the Library of Congress day-care center, children stayed inside because it was deemed too hot to swim.

New York subway riders were in for a sweltering commute – the temperature was about 111 at a Pennsylvania Station platform.

The city’s electric utility, Con Edison, set its second record in two days for peak electricity demand.