The tri-state area is set for another heat wave, less than a week after stifling humidity and temperatures in the mid-90s baked the region in its first of the year.

Temperatures are expected to surge Thursday after a pleasant summer day Wednesday, inching up toward 90 before lingering in the muggy mid-90s Friday, Saturday and Sunday, meteorologists say.

An excessive heat watch is already in effect in southern New Jersey, and forecasters expect the watches and warnings to expand to more of the tri-state as the week wears on.

Thursday is expected to bring sunny, hot weather with a high of 90 degrees, but not too much humidity. The weather changes on Friday, which is expected to kick off with severe scattered storms before shifting to a cloudy, humid day with highs of about 94 degrees.

That trend continues Saturday and Sunday, with highs in the mid-90s, before slowly petering out early next week as strong to severe storms Monday afternoon break the heat by Tuesday.

Temperatures blazed across the metropolitan area last week, sending children to sprinklers as authorities urged people working outdoors to drink plenty of water and stay in the shade.

The sweltering weather was also blamed for the death of an 81-year-old man Thursday. The official cause of death for the unidentified Queens man was “hyperthermia due to environmental exposure with underlying conditions.”

(Source: NBC New York)