With temperatures expected to stay above 90 for the next few days, New London officials plan to open a “cooling shelter” Monday by expanding hours at the senior center at 120 Broad Street until 9 p.m.

“In the heat of the day, until the sun goes down, it’s just a cool place for people to go,” said the city’s emergency management director, Reid Burdick. “You don’t know who needs it.”

He expected the center to stay open for several days this week, depending on usage.

Today, beaches across the region were jammed with shoreline residents and inland visitors fleeing the even hotter temperatures in their hometowns.

Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme was closed late this morning as the parking lot was full. Westerly police said Misquamicut State Beach was also full and the roads jammed with beach-bound traffic as high temperatures sent people flocking to the beach for relief.

In New London, Ocean Beach Park General Manager Dave Sugrue was directing cars onto side streets, since the parking lot was full for the second day in a row.

"We're gonna get everybody in," he said, adding that they're expecting another onslaught of people tonight for Classic Car Cruise Night.

"I've never seen anything like this," Sugrue said. "It's just been spectacular… this is the best Fourth of July we've ever had."

The packed beach was a "sea of colorful umbrellas," he said. "The way Ocean Beach is supposed to be."

The National Weather Service has issued an air quality alert for the region.