Americans get slight break from killer heat
Source: Agencies |
July 9, 2012, Monday
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Print Edition
AMERICANS had a slight break from the oppressive heat yesterday, one day after temperatures rose to above 37.7 degrees Celsius from the central states to the mid-Atlantic. Yet for many, the cooler temperatures won't exactly be comfortable, falling only into the early 30s.
Cooler air is sweeping south in the eastern half of the country, bringing down some temperatures by 9 or more degrees from Saturday's highs.
For many areas, cooler temperatures were ushered in by thunderstorms that knocked out power to thousands.
In New Jersey, a line of strong, fast-moving storms knocked out power to nearly 70,000 on Saturday night.
The heat is being blamed for more than 30 deaths across the country.
A four-month-old girl died and a 16-month-old girl was taken to hospital on Saturday in separate incidents in suburban Indianapolis when both were found trapped in cars during near-record 40-degree heat.
Residents from Iowa to New Jersey spent the day trying to stay cool. They dipped into the water, went to the movies and rode the subway just to enjoy the air conditioning.
If people ventured outside to do anything, they did it early. But even then, the heat was stifling.
"It was baking on the 18th green," said golfer Zeb Rogerson, who teed off at 6am at an Alexandria, Virginia, golf course but was sweltering by the end of his round.
Micah Straight, 36, brought his three daughters to dance in jets of water spurting from a "sprayground" near Philadelphia's Logan Square fountain to cool off. "We got here early, because I don't think we'll be out this afternoon - we'll be in the air conditioning," he said. "So I wanted to get them out, get some sunshine, get tired."
In South Bend, Indiana, serious kayakers took to the East Race Waterway, a 0.5-kilometer manmade whitewater course near downtown.
"A lot of times I'll roll over just to cool off," said Robert Henry of Carmel, just north of Indianapolis. "The biggest challenge is walking coming back up carrying a kayak in this heat."
In Manhattan, customers who stepped in to see "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" at an IFC movie theater were there for more than entertainment.
"Of course we came to cool off," said John Villanova, a writer.
Earlier, he rode a Manhattan subway back and forth for half an hour, with no destination in mind, "because it really keeps you cool."
In Chicago, street magician Jeremy Pitt-Payne said he had been working throughout the three-day stretch of high temperatures, but acknowledged he might doff his Union Jack leather vest by the end of the day, even though it's part of his British magician character.
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