Earlier today, Governor Hochul updated New Yorkers on the upcoming extreme heat event.

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

AUDIO of the Governor's remarks is available here.

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

Good afternoon and thank you for coming out for today's spectacular announcement here in Syracuse, which I'm happy to take questions on. But before we get started, while summer is not officially scheduled to start for another week, we are having another one-two punch from Mother Nature. New York is expected to experience damaging thunderstorms today and will be hit with extreme heat starting Monday and lasting through Friday.

Now, we must be cognizant of the fact that heat is the number one cause of death for weather-related fatalities here in the United States. So, no matter what your health is, no matter what age you are, where you live, there are going to be dangers for extreme heat and weather beginning immediately.

So, here in Syracuse. It has not been predicted to be this hot for this long since the 1950s, and in Albany, the highest peak temperature with a four-day event, which is Tuesday to Friday, is currently predicted to be the highest four-day average ever. This is significant. There'll be significant downpours and heavy wind gusts flash flooding, dangerous travel condition, and power outages. Monday through Friday the extreme heat will continue.

So, this is going to feel like temperatures exceeding 100 degrees. Think about that. Summer is just beginning. Upstate New York and other parts of our state are not accustomed to having this level of extreme heat. And extreme heat is where there's two to three days in a row of intense heat and humidity with temperatures of 90 degrees or above. This can take people off guard. They may not be prepared. People have to keep water with them, protect their children, people with heart conditions, people with breathing conditions, our senior citizens – check on your neighbors during this extreme heat event and also have water with you at all times in case you start becoming dehydrated.

So, this sudden change in heat and humidity can affect people in different ways. Again, be cautious. We're sending out the alarms right now and the State of New York will be continuing to give updates on this extreme event.