It’s official! We’re having a heat wave in New York City.

While we have hit the 90°F mark a few times already this summer, this is the first real heat wave of the season. Actually, it is the first official heat wave in the Big Apple since 2013.

The threshold for what constitutes a heat wave varies by region, but here in the NYC area it is defined as three consecutive days with temperatures reaching 90°F or higher. In Central Park, the temperature reached 92°F on Saturday, 93°F on Sunday, and today it climbed to 95°F – tying the record high for the date.

When factoring in the high levels of humidity these past few days, the heat index felt like it was near 100°F. While these conditions are oppressive, they can also be dangerous. Both a heat advisory and air quality alerts were issued for the city.

For most of the summer, temperatures have been running slightly above average in NYC, but it is interesting to note that there has not been much extreme heat. To date, we have only had ten days with readings at or above 90°F. On average, we typically see fifteen for the season.