The 2025 summer season began with a memorable heat wave across the tri-state region.

The summer solstice, which marks the beginning of the summer season, took place on June 20, 2025, and since then, the heat has been scorching.

Newark, New Jersey was the first to reach a daytime high of 90 degrees or more. Then, it was followed by Bridgeport, Connecticut and Islip, Long Island. New York City and White Plains, New York in the lower Hudson Valley began their extreme hot streak on Monday, June 23.

For a heat wave to be declared for an area, they need to experience a surface temperature of 90 degrees or more for at least three consecutive days. Three out of the five regions had four or more days of 90 degrees or more during this stretch, with New York City and White Plains joining the club on June 25, as they reached mid-to-upper-90s.

Typically for this time of year, the average highs across the tri-state are from 80-85 degrees during the first few days of summer. Since June 21, there have been multiple record-breaking days of high temperatures within the region. New Jersey notably experienced three consecutive days of 100 degrees or more, marking their streak of five days within the heat wave. Newark even reached a remarkable 103 degrees on June 24, breaking far away from the record of 97 degrees set back in 1966.

The other regions experienced temperatures in the upper-90s with Islip, Long Island reaching 101 degrees on Tuesday, June 24, shattering its previous record of 96 degrees set back in 1966.

White Plains hit 98 degrees two days in a row, from June 23 and 24, breaking away from a record set back in 2024 for June 23 of 91 degrees and June 24 record of 94 degrees set back in 1975.

Bridgeport, Connecticut, pushed into the upper-90s on June 25, separating itself from their previous record of 94 degrees in 1952. Furthermore, each region on its hottest day had temperatures that were more than 15 degrees above their average for this time of year. This highlighted the stark contrast in temperature differences in the early days of summer.