Big Apple crisp? Extreme heat watch in effect for NYC as heat wave set to bring dangerous temps

Get ready for the heat wave!The National Weather Service issued an extreme heat watch for NYC Saturday — ahead of an expected four-day heat wave which is forecast to swamp the city in sweltering, dangerous temperatures which could break the 100-degree mark.“We’re essentially locked in to this sunny, hot pattern for basically the first half of the week,” Fox Weather meteorologist Marissa Lautenbacher told The Post.The heat watch designation is likely to change to a more dire excessive heat warning, defined by “extremely dangerous heat conditions.”“By this evening, for sure, we’re going to be switching to that excessive heat warning criteria,” Lautenbacher noted.A heat wave occurs when temps reach 90 degrees or higher for three consecutive days — and this one could potentially last from Sunday through Wednesday, with the hottest day on Tuesday.The last time the city saw a heat wave was early August, when the temperature topped out at 95 degrees.The temperatures in Central Park were forecast to hit a balmy 87 degrees on Saturday before the mercury begins its steep climb, with Sunday expected to reach 95 degrees; Monday a steamy 100 degrees and Tuesday a dangerous 102 degrees.Wednesday isn’t much better, with the latest forecasts predicting a high temperature of 97 degrees.“The heat should break on Thursday, as we’re near 84 degrees,” Lautenbacher said.The expected temperatures on Monday and Tuesday were slated to “smash” the record of 96 for those days in Central Park, which was set 137 years ago in 1888, she said.The last time NYC hit 100 degrees was more than a decade ago, on July 18, 2012.If the temps do reach 100 degrees on Monday, it will make history as the earliest 100-degree day on record in the five boroughs.“Our earliest 100 degree day on record for New York City was June 26 and that was back in 1952,” Lautenbacher explained.The longest heat wave ever recorded in the city was in 1953, when oppressive temperatures lasted 12 ...