Unbearable heat suspected in 19 New Jersey deaths as high temperatures
give way to thunderstorms
[July 06, 2026]
By COREY WILLIAMS
Several days of scorching temperatures are suspected to have caused at
least 19 deaths in New Jersey as a heat dome that had settled above
parts of the central and eastern United States gives way to severe
storms that have knocked out power to close to 1 million homes and
businesses.
New Jersey officials said Saturday that they began seeing what they
believe are heat-related deaths as early as Thursday with most occurring
in the central and northern parts of the state.
“Unfortunately, many of these individuals were found in homes without
air conditioning,” state Health Commissioner Dr. Raynard Washington told
reporters Saturday. "A few were outside their residences, some on the
street and some even in parked cars.”
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill called the current weather “the hottest
stretch we’ve seen in over 14 years.”
“The heat's hitting all of us, not just seniors, not just with
underlying health conditions, people of all ages,” Sherrill said.
On Thursday, LaGuardia Airport in New York set a new record high of 104
degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius), topping the previous record of
101 F (38.3 C) set in 1966, according to Bryan Jackson, a meteorologist
with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Weather
Prediction Center.
Trenton, New Jersey, reached 101 F, which broke the record of 100 F
(37.7 C) set in 1901. Newark’s high Thursday was 105 F (40.5 C).
Atlantic City, New Jersey, hit 103 F (39.4 C) on Thursday, breaking the
city’s record of 100 F set in 1966, Jackson said. Atlantic City reached
105 F on Friday and 106 F (41.1 C) on Saturday.
Heat domes can be dangerous and combine very high temperatures with high
moisture, Jackson said.
“In a lot of cases they also had direct sunshine,” he said. “It was
relentless. It was multiple days. It was not as cool overnight, as well.
The low Friday morning in Atlantic City was 80. The body can't recover
as well. You just have that multiple day buildup and too much added
stress on the body.”
But even as the heat moved to the east, lowering temperatures a bit,
severe storms blew in with heavy winds that toppled utility poles and
split trees, causing their boles and branches to fall onto power lines.
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A person uses an umbrella to shield themselves from the sun during a
heat advisory in Central Park, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP
Photo/Adam Gray, File)
About 900,000 utility customers in parts of the central, eastern and
southern United States were without electricity early Sunday
afternoon, according to PowerOutage.com.
More than 223,000 customers in Michigan and close to 170,000 in
Pennsylvania had lost power.
PPL Electric reported 121,417 without power Sunday morning,
including about 47,000 in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, area.
Central Hudson in New York State reported that it had more than 430
reported downed wires on Sunday. The utility said about 50,000
customers were affected by the storm and that about 650 still were
without power Sunday.
Amanda Vesper was putting her children to bed Friday evening when
the first storm rolled through the Detroit area, knocking out her
power.
“It didn't seem that awful. It got quite windy,” said Vesper, 40, of
Commerce Township.
As of late Sunday morning, the electricity still was out.
“We've been going back and forth between a hotel and our home
because we have dogs there,” she said. “We really can't stay there.
I have a small child with autism. Our well runs on an electric
pump.”
The outage also ruined the family's July 4 celebration.
“We had planned on having company over at the house, but had to
cancel,” Vesper said. “I went grocery shopping. I'm hoping my
freezer holds.”
Jackson, with the Weather Prediction Center, said Sunday will see
heavy thunderstorms in and around the Cleveland area. Those storms
then will shift eastward and move into Pennsylvania, New Jersey and
New York — where chances exist for flash flooding, he added.
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