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Extreme heat roasts East Coast, as cold front moves into Midwest

People try and stay cool in the fountain in Washington Square Park during the start of heat wave across the U.S. on July 19.
People at Washington Square Park in New York City. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

People on the East Coast can expect the heat wave that's gripped much of the U.S. this weekend to end Monday and Tuesday, the National Weather Service said. But the cold front will bring "strong thunderstorms" and potentially heavy rain that may trigger flash flooding.

The state of play: The cold front was moving through the Midwest Sunday, as the East Coast sweltered through another day of searing temperatures, with several records broken or tied. The heat and humidity caused more power outages and the cancellation of events Sunday.

The big picture: The heat killed at least 5 people, NBC News reports. A man and woman in Illinois, a man and woman in Maryland, and former New York Giants football player Mitch Petrus were reported to have died in heat-related incidents, per NBC.

  • Authorities believe the death of another woman Saturday, who collapsed while hiking on a Maryland trail, is heat-related, according to the Washington Post.

In New York City, more than 22,000 Con Edison customers in the 5 boroughs and in the northern suburbs were dealing with outages about 7:30pm, PIX 11 reported. Most of the issues were in Brooklyn and Queens, Con Ed's outage map shows.

In New Jersey, nearly 200 senior center residents in Voorhees Township were evacuated after the building lost power and air conditioning just after 3pm Sunday, WPVI-TV reports.

  • The Oceanic Bridge over the Navesink River closed for about an hour Saturday after the heat caused its metal to expand, per NJ.com.

In Michigan, about 290,000 DTE Energy customers in Detroit were without power at 9pm Sunday, the Detroit Free Press reports. DTE Energy said it's on track to restore power to 80% of customers by the end of Monday, 90% by the end of Tuesday and the rest by the end of Wednesday, per the news outlet.

In Milwaukee, tens of thousands of people were without power Sunday after thunderstorms caused 50 power poles and more than 600 trees or branches to come crashing down, AP reports.

In Washington, D.C., the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department told CNN crews took 11 people to hospitals Sunday because of heat-related illnesses. The department responded to 64 heat-related calls since Thursday, according to CNN.

In Pennsylvania, 9 firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion, with 6 transported to a hospital for treatment after fighting a house fire in sweltering conditions Saturday, AP reports.

In Boston, the annual Jimmy Fund 5K cancer benefit race and the popular Sunday market in the city’s South End were canceled because of the heat, per AP.

This article has been updated with new details, including weather forecasts.

Go deeper: In photos: "Dangerous" heat wave grips much of the U.S.

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