Heat wave grips northeastern U.S.

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NEW YORK, July 7 (UPI) -- The northeastern United States endured record temperatures Wednesday and weather forecasters disagreed on whether relief may start to arrive before the weekend.

The National Weather Service said excessive heat is likely to remain in place in the region Thursday but Accuweather.com said two weather developments appeared set to begin moderating high temperatures Thursday.

A storm off the Carolinas will allow slightly lower temperatures into the coastal areas of the mid-Atlantic and New England beginning Thursday, and may produce thunderstorms along the Interstate 95 corridor, Accuweather.com said. At the same time, a slow-moving cool front will begin pushing the heat wave from the west beginning Friday, bringing some heavy rainfall to portions of the region.

An "excessive heat watch" is posted through Thursday afternoon in parts of Delaware, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, CNN reported. The National Weather Service said temperatures may be drop in the area but heat indices will remain close to 100 degrees Thursday.

Buffalo, N.Y.; Pittsburgh; Cleveland; Cincinnati; and Charlotte, N.C., are likely to get higher temperatures during the remainder of the week, Accuweather.com said.

Blazing heat remained in New York City, which set a record of 103 Tuesday, Accuweather.com reported. The high Wednesday at Baltimore-Washington International Airport in Maryland was 100, 4 degrees short of Tuesday's recorded high.

Air flowing in from the ocean was keeping the New England coastline cooler with temperatures expected to remain below 90 degrees in Boston.

The massive heat wave is placing an enormous strain on power companies.

Utilities are warning that the length and intensity of the heat is testing the limits of the power grid, The New York Times reported.

As many as 9,000 customers lost power in Stamford, Conn., Tuesday when a heat-related transformer failure occurred at a power station, CNN.com reported.

In Baltimore, state and local health authorities had to evacuate a nursing home Tuesday after its air conditioning system failed, The Baltimore Sun reported.