A long-lasting extreme heat wave reached its dangerous crescendo Tuesday, bringing the hottest day in a decade to some major East Coast cities and putting millions of already fatigued Americans at risk.

A life-threatening heat wave has enveloped the East Coast, hitting major cities with the worst of the high temperatures on Tuesday before relief moves in.

Large swaths of the country were broiling under a heat dome, worsened by a humid atmosphere that’s circling the East.