Yeah I have heard it has been bad back home in NY, my mom has been complaining about her electric bill since she has always had to have her AC running.

I know the heat knocked my wife back when we travelled there that second to last week of July (23-31). Then we got messed up that Monday (Jul 25th) when the rains came; from what i can surmise we were on the last train out of Penn Station before they locked the doors.

On the heat note I noticed that the community center by our place has a few signs designating it as a heat relief location. Vancouver doesn't get that hot but when there are a few days slated to be above 27°C or 28°C (>80°F) they start with heat warnings.