By Leslie Albrecht and Jennifer Glickel
DNAinfo Reporter/Producers
MANHATTAN — Officials warned New Yorkers to stay inside and drink plenty of water as a record-breaking heat wave continued to scorch Manhattan on Monday.
Temperatures were heading to 99 degrees Monday and Tuesday, with humidity making the heat feel like at least 100 degrees. At 5 p.m. on Monday, it was 97 degrees in Midtown Manhattan.
The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory that will stay in effect until 7 p.m. Wednesday.
People struggled to stay cool on Monday in the scorching temperatures.
"I've splashed two bottles of water on myself today, but the water just evaporates within a few seconds," said Brooklyn resident Demetrice Gumbs, 20, who spent Monday selling maps of Central Park.
"The umbrella isn't working," Gumbs said. "I feel like I'm in an oven!"
Others weren't as bothered by the heat, like Angela Tuttle, 40, who was in town from Fort Worth, Texas to attend a seminar at Columbia University.
"Being from Texas, this weather is nothing," Tuttle told DNAinfo.
"I would choose to be outside in the heat instead of being indoors with the air conditioning any day."
The city opened cooling centers where people could seek relief from the scorching temperatures in air-conditioned buildings.
The near triple-digit heat is expected to keep the city in its sweaty grip until Thursday, when the high temperature is expected to drop down to 90 degrees.
On Saturday, the city could get some relief from a cooling rain shower that could push temperatures down to 85 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
Con Edison expected power usage to reach an all-time high Monday and asked customers to conserve power by unplugging appliances and keeping lights switched off. The electric company deployed extra crews to respond to problems in the power grid.
The city's previous power usage record was set on August 2, 2006, when New Yorkers gobbled 13,141 megawatts. The high back then was 97 degrees, according to news reports.
Sunday was New York's hottest day of the year with a high of 97 degrees.
