Mercury hits 102 downtown
The thermometer at the Maryland Science Center reached 102 degrees at 2:18 p.m. today. It was the third day in a row of 100-plus temperatures there. (It was 101 on Tuesday and Wednesday.) The heat index was a stifling 112 degrees.
Out at BWI, it was 100 degrees at 3:48 p.m. That tied the record for the date, set in 1931. It was the second 100-degree day at BWI in the last three. (It was "only" 99 there on Wednesday.)
The National Weather Service said the last time temperatures reached 100 degrees on three consecutive days in Baltimore was on July 2,3 and 4, 1966. That was at BWI, however, so this week's triple play at the Inner Harbor isn't a match.
Friday's record is 100 degrees, so we're not expecting any threat to that mark from the waning heat wave. Highs are expected to hold in the low 90s as cooler air moves in from the Great Lakes. Eighties resume for the weekend, the first days that cool since July 26.
Living in Baltimore this week has been like walking around and breathing inside somebody else's bed. Happy to see the end of it. You?
Comments
It's ended? As far as I'm concerned it isn't over till I can see my breath.
K-
Posted by: Kem White | August 4, 2006 10:36 AM
Let's lift a glass of cold lemonade to those public servants around us who stayed on the job through this heat wave and continued to provide all manner of services despite horrific working conditions, while so many of us watched the weather from inside air-conditioned buildings. A case in point is the cadre of city bus mechanics. Here's a letter from their supervisor, received here via email at The Sun this morning:
"As it seems no-one else is going to, I'd like to thank my crew of technicians responsible for repairing city buses, although they had to work in temps of ( in some cases) of up to 140 deg F inside the bus interiors. Temps of 100 deg F+ are destructive on mechanical devices involved in stop start driving for long periods, much more so when those conditions extend over several days. The MTA technicians at all 4 Divisions, have, in my estimation, done a superb job in ensuring that safe and (mostly) cool transportation has continued throughout this period. Thanks." -Neville Milne, Supervisor, NorthWest Division
Posted by: frank roylance | August 4, 2006 10:47 AM
Lets also not forget that these same buses are part of the Code Red program here. Performing duties as transport to cooling centers around the city. One would imagine that these are extra Routes defining clearly the need for every bus in service.
Bravo Gentlemen and Ladies!!
Posted by: F Smith | August 4, 2006 2:17 PM