By . Daily Mail Reporter . Last updated at 1:55 PM on 24th July 2011 . The heatwave is now covering a million square miles and affecting 141 million Americans as the temperatures stayed above the 100 degree mark yesterday. However forecasters say the heat will begin to ease today, but will remain in the 90s. 'Monday is really when we see cooler air coming,' said National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Pollin, with forecast temperatures sinking to the lower to middle 80s. Scorcher: But the end is in sight as forecasters predict lower temperatures to come . Scorching: The United States is suffering from a heatwave that is moving across the country . The bubble of hot air developed over . the Midwest earlier this week and has caused more than a dozen deaths as . it moved eastward. As of Saturday, the medical . examiner's office in Chicago listed heat stress or heat stroke as the . cause of death for eight people. The latest death, involved a . 59-year-old man. New York's Manhattan experienced the hottest ever July 22 recorded, with an overwhelming 104-degree temperature in Central Park. The . Washington DC region continued to be smothered in heat and humidity . with temperatures reaching 102 degrees but with a heat index of more . than 120 - hotter than Death Valley at daybreak. In Newark, New Jersey, temperatures . peaked at 108F, the highest ever recorded since records began in 1931 and . the hottest reported by the National Weather Service on the east coast. In Oklahoma city, residents experienced the 27th straight day of triple-figure temperatures and in . Maryland, the mercury hit 108F. Triple-digit temperatures were also recorded . in Islip, Long Island, which is usually cooled by Atlantic breezes, . Philadelphia, Allentown and Reading in Pennsylvania, Georgetown in . Delaware, Boston, Massachusetts, the East Coast gambling mecca of . Atlantic City in New Jersey, and Baltimore in Maryland. Hot: At least 22 people have died this week from the massive heatwave moving from Mid-West to east coast . Even Bangor, Maine, which lies at the same latitude as Montreal in . Canada, reached a record for the calendar day of 97F. 'Bullseyes of high heat and humidity' were affecting the central states and most of the East Coast, said Chris . Vaccaro, a spokesman for the National Weather Service. Severe storm and excessive heat warnings . were put in place for Saturday evening and forecasters said to expect the . same for Sunday. Overnight rains dumped nearly seven inches of water on Chicago on Saturday, offering some respite from the heat but causing parts of highways and train lines to shut down. The rainfall measured at O'Hare International Airport beat all Chicago records for the wettest calendar day, at 6.91 inches, over the last record of 6.64 inches in September 13, 2008, according to ChicagoWeatherCenter.com. More rain is on the way in late Satruday afternoon, according to forecasters. And as the nation seeks solace in the cool indoors, power companies struggle to cope with the high demand. In New York by mid afternoon, Con Ed . recorded a peak of 13,182 megawatts, surpassing the previous record, . with demand expected to increase as the scorching weather continues . throughout the day. More water please: Children cool off at a fountain in New York on Saturday as once again triple digit temperatures made the city feel stifling . Parched: In Washington D.C. on Saturday, a squirrel sups from a fountain while a bird drinks a splash of water . A Con Ed spokesman said they even expected to set a new record every hour as the heat index was set to peak between 4pm and 7pm. More than 10,000 people were without power on Friday afternoon with more outages expected. The typical temperature for this time of year is 85 degrees and Mayor Bloomberg congratulated Con Ed on doing a good job. He said: 'Con Ed's done a great job . so far. We think this will be the most stressful day on the electric . grid in recent history - maybe ever.' A beast in the east: Surface Heat Index map illustrates how the figures climb on Saturday in the east of the country . The National Weather Service issued . excessive heat warnings on Saturday for a huge section of the country from Kansas to . Maine, forecasting temperatures near or at triple digits today and into . the weekend. The heatwave has so far claimed at . least 24 lives as it stretches into its eighth day, and energy firms . are warning parts of the country could face rolling blackouts as they . struggle to keep up with demand. Forecasters said the high temperatures and stifling  humidity - with barely a breath of wind - will force up the heat indexes. But . New Yorkers hoping to beat the heat were thwarted by warnings urging . them to avoid city waterways after a wastewater treatment plant disabled by fire began spewing millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Hudson River. The smile says it all: A child opens up their t-shirt to allow the water in at Battery Park in New York . Officials . cautioned against swimming and bathing at Staten Island's South Beach, . Midland Beach and Cedar Grove Beach, and Brooklyn's Sea Gate beach, . especially for people with medical conditions. Five hundred City 500 cooling centres have been opened across the five boroughs of New York, to allow . residents without air conditioning to escape the stifling temperatures. They also warned elderly people and anybody with health problems to . keep out of the heat. Yesterday . it was so hot subway countdown clocks were turned off as officials . expected temperatures in underground equipment rooms to reach 120F, . which could damage equipment. Across the country, emergency room . visits are soaring, according to public health officials, mainly because . of people suffering from heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Super showers: Children enjoy the chance to play with the water without getting told off by their parents . At . least six more fatalities were reported yesterday, including a Michigan . restaurant cook who suffered a heart attack after being sent home from . his job and a teenage boy who drowned while swimming at summer camp in . the same state. In . Pittsburgh, a man was stuck on a roof for almost two hours because the . hot tar he'd been using stopped him from climbing to safety. AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski . told the New York Post the high temperatures are likely to linger until . Sunday, because of an unusual high-pressure system acting like a heat . dome. He said: 'You have high pressure at most levels of the atmosphere. Not only is it warm at the . surface, it's also warm upstairs [in the upper atmosphere]. That creates . a very stable atmosphere.' The . National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings across the . Midwest and East Coast, forecasting the heat index could reach up to . 115 degrees on Saturday. Dedicated: A woman runs at dawn in Boston on Saturday, when conditions arev just about bearable .
Officially hottest July 22 ever recorded in Manhattan .
Temperatures to hit triple-figures across the Northeast .
Newark, NJ, hottest place on East Coast at 108F .
Heat wave has claimed 24 lives so far .
Cities warned to expect power cuts across weekend .
By . Daily Mail Reporter . Last updated at 1:55 PM on 24th July 2011 . The heatwave is now covering a million square miles and affecting 141 million Americans as the temperatures stayed above the 100 degree mark yesterday. However forecasters say the heat will begin to ease today, but will remain in the 90s. 'Monday is really when we see cooler air coming,' said National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Pollin, with forecast temperatures sinking to the lower to middle 80s. Scorcher: But the end is in sight as forecasters predict lower temperatures to come . Scorching: The United States is suffering from a heatwave that is moving across the country . The bubble of hot air developed over . the Midwest earlier this week and has caused more than a dozen deaths as . it moved eastward. As of Saturday, the medical . examiner's office in Chicago listed heat stress or heat stroke as the . cause of death for eight people. The latest death, involved a . 59-year-old man. New York's Manhattan experienced the hottest ever July 22 recorded, with an overwhelming 104-degree temperature in Central Park. The . Washington DC region continued to be smothered in heat and humidity . with temperatures reaching 102 degrees but with a heat index of more . than 120 - hotter than Death Valley at daybreak. In Newark, New Jersey, temperatures . peaked at 108F, the highest ever recorded since records began in 1931 and . the hottest reported by the National Weather Service on the east coast. In Oklahoma city, residents experienced the 27th straight day of triple-figure temperatures and in . Maryland, the mercury hit 108F. Triple-digit temperatures were also recorded . in Islip, Long Island, which is usually cooled by Atlantic breezes, . Philadelphia, Allentown and Reading in Pennsylvania, Georgetown in . Delaware, Boston, Massachusetts, the East Coast gambling mecca of . Atlantic City in New Jersey, and Baltimore in Maryland. Hot: At least 22 people have died this week from the massive heatwave moving from Mid-West to east coast . Even Bangor, Maine, which lies at the same latitude as Montreal in . Canada, reached a record for the calendar day of 97F. 'Bullseyes of high heat and humidity' were affecting the central states and most of the East Coast, said Chris . Vaccaro, a spokesman for the National Weather Service. Severe storm and excessive heat warnings . were put in place for Saturday evening and forecasters said to expect the . same for Sunday. Overnight rains dumped nearly seven inches of water on Chicago on Saturday, offering some respite from the heat but causing parts of highways and train lines to shut down. The rainfall measured at O'Hare International Airport beat all Chicago records for the wettest calendar day, at 6.91 inches, over the last record of 6.64 inches in September 13, 2008, according to ChicagoWeatherCenter.com. More rain is on the way in late Satruday afternoon, according to forecasters. And as the nation seeks solace in the cool indoors, power companies struggle to cope with the high demand. In New York by mid afternoon, Con Ed . recorded a peak of 13,182 megawatts, surpassing the previous record, . with demand expected to increase as the scorching weather continues . throughout the day. More water please: Children cool off at a fountain in New York on Saturday as once again triple digit temperatures made the city feel stifling . Parched: In Washington D.C. on Saturday, a squirrel sups from a fountain while a bird drinks a splash of water . A Con Ed spokesman said they even expected to set a new record every hour as the heat index was set to peak between 4pm and 7pm. More than 10,000 people were without power on Friday afternoon with more outages expected. The typical temperature for this time of year is 85 degrees and Mayor Bloomberg congratulated Con Ed on doing a good job. He said: 'Con Ed's done a great job . so far. We think this will be the most stressful day on the electric . grid in recent history - maybe ever.' A beast in the east: Surface Heat Index map illustrates how the figures climb on Saturday in the east of the country . The National Weather Service issued . excessive heat warnings on Saturday for a huge section of the country from Kansas to . Maine, forecasting temperatures near or at triple digits today and into . the weekend. The heatwave has so far claimed at . least 24 lives as it stretches into its eighth day, and energy firms . are warning parts of the country could face rolling blackouts as they . struggle to keep up with demand. Forecasters said the high temperatures and stifling  humidity - with barely a breath of wind - will force up the heat indexes. But . New Yorkers hoping to beat the heat were thwarted by warnings urging . them to avoid city waterways after a wastewater treatment plant disabled by fire began spewing millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Hudson River. The smile says it all: A child opens up their t-shirt to allow the water in at Battery Park in New York . Officials . cautioned against swimming and bathing at Staten Island's South Beach, . Midland Beach and Cedar Grove Beach, and Brooklyn's Sea Gate beach, . especially for people with medical conditions. Five hundred City 500 cooling centres have been opened across the five boroughs of New York, to allow . residents without air conditioning to escape the stifling temperatures. They also warned elderly people and anybody with health problems to . keep out of the heat. Yesterday . it was so hot subway countdown clocks were turned off as officials . expected temperatures in underground equipment rooms to reach 120F, . which could damage equipment. Across the country, emergency room . visits are soaring, according to public health officials, mainly because . of people suffering from heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Super showers: Children enjoy the chance to play with the water without getting told off by their parents . At . least six more fatalities were reported yesterday, including a Michigan . restaurant cook who suffered a heart attack after being sent home from . his job and a teenage boy who drowned while swimming at summer camp in . the same state. In . Pittsburgh, a man was stuck on a roof for almost two hours because the . hot tar he'd been using stopped him from climbing to safety. AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski . told the New York Post the high temperatures are likely to linger until . Sunday, because of an unusual high-pressure system acting like a heat . dome. He said: 'You have high pressure at most levels of the atmosphere. Not only is it warm at the . surface, it's also warm upstairs [in the upper atmosphere]. That creates . a very stable atmosphere.' The . National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings across the . Midwest and East Coast, forecasting the heat index could reach up to . 115 degrees on Saturday. Dedicated: A woman runs at dawn in Boston on Saturday, when conditions arev just about bearable .
the hottest ever July 22 recorded, with an temperatures . peaked at 108F, the highest ever excessive heat warnings . were put in place for Saturday evening and forecasters said to expect Service issued . excessive heat warnings on The heatwave has so far claimed at . least 24 issued excessive heat warnings across the . Midwest and East Coast, forecasting the heat