June 8 (Bloomberg) -- The year's first U.S. heat wave scalded the East Coast, yielding soupy, humid conditions that broke records and prompted forecasters to issue warnings from North Carolina to Connecticut, while Midwestern flooding pushed a new wave of evacuations.

The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat advisory for New York City starting today from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. tomorrow. In the Midwest, heavy rains inundated portions of Indiana and Illinois forcing evacuations and submerging roads. Emergency workers are focusing on moving people in southern Indiana, ahead of floodwater.

The New York advisory indicates the heat and humidity will feel like 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) or more. ``Cooling stations'' for people without air-conditioning have been opened in at least three centers in each borough, said New York City Office of Emergency Management spokesman Chris Gilbride. The heat even affected vendors at the Puerto Rican Day Parade.

``Business is way down,'' compared with last year, said Mike Aboudhla, who sells gyros in midtown Manhattan. ``Because of the heat and because nobody has any money.''

Heat is the leading weather-related killer, according to the National Weather Service. More than 1,500 people in the U.S., on average, succumb to excessive heat each year.

Peak Temperatures

``Today's record is 95'' in New York, Accuweather meteorologist Dave Samuhel said. ``That's going to get broken. And we're probably going to have another day of record heat tomorrow.''

Temperatures are expected to peak in the upper 90 degrees Fahrenheit tomorrow in New York, while humidity will push heat indexes to 100 to 104 degrees, the weather service said. Temperatures are forecast to cool by the middle of the week.

The Indiana flooding has resulting in one confirmed death and another person is still missing, said Jane Jankowski, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels' press secretary.

``Yesterday the governor declared 10 counties disaster emergencies,'' Jankowski said. ``That's the first step before we can begin seeking federal aid. I expect to expand that this afternoon to include a number of new counties that will be added to the executive order the governor has signed.''

Now rescue workers are working on the next evacuations in southern Indiana.

``We're trying to get ahead of that, in assisting local officials to get people that need evacuation out,'' before they become trapped by the floodwater, Jankowski said.

The forecast holds little relief.

``Unfortunately, a new batch of storms is blowing up,'' Samuhel said of the outlook for Indiana, Iowa and Illinois. ``They're not going to have more than a couple days of dry weather this week.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Scinta in New York at cscinta@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 8, 2008 16:46 EDT