Governor Kathy Hochul on June 18th, activated New York State's Emergency Operations Center ahead of a four-day extreme heat event that is forecasted to hit New York beginning today. Record temperatures are possible in Western, Central, Northern New York, and the Capital Region. Temperatures are likely to peak today through Thursday but will linger in some places into the weekend. The “feels like” temperature values are looking to approach the low 90’s to over 100 degrees today through Friday. Most places north of New York City will have “feels like” temperatures near 100 degrees or higher. Friday will vary between the mid 70’s in the North Country with the potential to exceed 100 degrees in the Mid-Hudson region. Saturday will be in the mid 70’s in the North Country and range anywhere from the lower 80’s to the mid 90’s in the rest of the state. Overnight temperatures will remain warm in the higher 60’s to mid 70’s, not allowing much relief from the heat tonight through Friday night. Saturday and Sunday night will range in the high 50’s to the mid 70’s statewide.

VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format.

AUDIO of the Governor's remarks is available.

PHOTOS of the event are available on the Governor's Flickr page.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Good morning, New Yorkers. As Governor of this State and on the cusp of a historic, record setting heat wave, I wanted to make sure you knew the preparations we're taking now because this is going to be one for the ages. When you think about the fact that places normally very pleasant this time of year, like Syracuse and Ithaca, are going to have an excess of 106 real feel degrees on their skin, and how it feels to your body today.

So, that's what's coming even as early as Tuesday. So, I wanted everyone to know how we're taking steps to make sure everyone is safe. And this takes an all-of-government approach. So, I have my dream team on call. People who've been with us through too many extreme events in the last two and a half years — hurricanes, blizzards, thousand-year flooding events, air quality challenges.

So, I have the best right here in New York City. I have Commissioner Jackie Bray, Commissioner of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and former Chief of Staff to the National Weather Service. So, this is the Super Bowl of weather events. Kathryn Garcia, the Director of State Operations, who's been at my side through all of these disasters. I appreciate her expertise.

Joining us on Zoom are Dr. James McDonald, the Commissioner of Health, because this is an event that is going to affect people's health, and Rory Christian, the Chair of the Public Service Commission to give the public updates on how they can be involved in helping preserve our energy consumption during this time and what we're doing in terms of resiliency.

So, in a couple of moments, I'll ask Commissioner Bray to give us an update on the latest forecast from the National Weather Service. And some of this is from the State Weather Risk Communication Center that we just unveiled last year, which is giving us real time data like we've never had before.

We don't need any fancy data to tell us this: it's going to be extremely hot and uncomfortable. In fact, it'll be dangerously hot. That is something I want everyone to keep in their minds when they're thinking about their families, their friends, their neighbors and their pets.

I know New Yorkers are tough. We think we can handle it all without breaking a sweat and we probably will, but we'll be able to get through this because we'll be prepared. But this is an historic heat wave that will be different by so many measurements. As I said, the real feels-like temperature is going to be over 100 degrees — even starting today in upstate New York.

This event is largely focused, as you can see from the screens behind me, on that purple. Purple means extremely dangerous. That is along the I-90 Thruway corridor from Buffalo all the way to Albany and points in between. So, every region of upstate is going to be hit with a over 100-degree real feel. And even up on the Canadian border — which rarely sees these high temperatures — they'll have at least four days of a massive heat wave with field temperatures of over 100 degrees up on the Canadian border.

How are we preparing? As I said, this is an all-of-government approach, and we need to focus all of our energy on protecting the health and safety of New Yorkers. First of all, do we have the right equipment and personnel in place to handle any circumstance that arises?

On June 18th, I'm announcing we are opening the State's Emergency Operations Center, which is a statewide hub to monitor conditions and share resources. This includes constant communication with our county leaders. I have been in contact with all the major principals across this corridor yesterday, letting them know that we are ready to help them.

They had a call with their emergency team and my emergency team just yesterday as well. So, we want to make sure that they're ready to be able to staff all their cooling centers, have the water they need, taking care of our nursing homes and focusing on anywhere we can be helpful to them as well. In addition, yesterday I activated the National Guard. We have 50 guardsmen stationed right now in Syracuse and Albany ready to assist and be deployed wherever they are needed.

And as I said, we reached out to the emergency management personnel in all 62 counties, reminding them to have direct communication with their constituents as well. This also includes communication with our utility companies to minimize the risk of brownouts or power outages. You'll be hearing more from that from Rory Christian, the Chair of the Public Service Commission, in a couple of minutes.

Laser focused on public health. This is a time of significant risk, and we're doing our best to make sure that all lives are protected. But as we reported before, it is — of all the weather events that have happened and can happen — this is becoming the new normal.

Extreme weather is the new normal in our country, but particularly here in the State of New York. We know that heat events, loss of life from heat stroke, for example, is the number one killer of human beings during these events. And so, we're prepared for this. You'll be hearing from our health department as well and what they're doing, distributing guidance to hospitals and nursing homes.

We also have a map on our website of all the cooling centers to make sure people can take time to find one near them. Agencies that oversee the congregate settings, like Office of Mental Health, Office of People with Developmental Disabilities, are focused right now on making sure all the residents are safe.

And when it comes to our children — every parent's worry — I know that many school districts have already canceled or delayed classes during this heat wave, and we're encouraging all the districts to closely monitor the conditions. Make sure that children have access to water all day, stay hydrated and really avoid playing outside in direct sunlight, where young bodies can become dehydrated so quickly and overcome with the heat. Department of Environmental Conservation and the Health Department are also monitoring the air quality and will continue to give air quality health alerts as we have this confluence of the heat, but also extreme humidity which can compromise the air quality.

So, on June 18th, we're announcing that we're issuing an alert for ozone in New York City, Lower Hudson and Western New York regions from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. We'll be continuing to update that. Concerned about our own workforce — State DOT workers, other workers — they're on modified schedules to protect those who have to work outdoors, and I encourage private employers to make similar accommodations.

And here's the fun one: we're opening our pools and beaches a little bit early. Tomorrow is a federal holiday in observance of Juneteenth, so everyone will be home. Take your kids to the State Parks and the beaches and have a good chance to cool off in refreshing water.

And so, families have a safe place to cool off and beat the heat. Only swim though if there's a lifeguard on duty and take precautions in the water. Now, a couple of safety tips before I turn it over to the team: I cannot emphasize enough that extreme heat can be deadly. New Yorkers need to know how to stay safe.

Dr. McDonald will share some of his tips on how to spot a heat stroke, how to avoid in the first place — but stay indoors. Stay with your air conditioning. If you don't have AC, go to a library, a government building, or a cooling center near you. Go to our website and find a cooling center. Make a plan so you are ready no matter what happens.

If you have to be outdoors, stay heavily hydrated. Drink water all day long. Avoid caffeine and alcohol as well, which can be dehydrating. So, it lets you remember we look out for each other. That's what New Yorkers do. Not just our own families, but your neighbors, the elderly, medically vulnerable individuals that may live near you.

And of course, our pets look to us for their own survival during conditions like this. So, make sure that they are safe. Do not leave them in a hot car. That can be devastating. So, take care of our kids, elderly pets; everything we love. And also, I want you to thank our healthcare workers and emergency responders whenever you see them, they're going to be out there. They don't take days off just because it's hot out. So, if you see them, they’ll be uncomfortable, but hopefully they'll be getting through this with the support of our entire community — a grateful community — and the worst should be over by Saturday.

Stay safe, stay hydrated and stay cool. Now with that, let me turn it over to Commissioner Bray for an update on what to anticipate. Commissioner Bray.