Record high temperatures, heat indexes
The National Weather Service in Wilmington tracks the highest hourly heat index for the area. The index takes into account air temperature, relative humidity and equates that to what the air feels like to a average weight/height person walking in a light breeze wearing long pants and a short-sleeved short.
Here are the record highs for the Cincinnati area, which includes Butler and Warren counties.
Date Temperature Dew point Heat index
June 23, 1930 98 78 116
July 30, 1999 98 77 114
July 23, 1983 100 75 114
July 11, 2011 93 80 112
July 21, 1934 108 64 112
Aug. 3, 1964 100 74 112
July 14, 1954 102 71 111
July 27, 1997 97 76 111
July 20, 1934 104 68 110
July 11, 1936 104 68 110
Average temperatures
Average July temperature in Ohio: 85
Average July temperature this year in Ohio: 89
All-time high July temperature in Ohio: 113, July 21, 1934
All-time high July temperature this year in Ohio: 93, July 11
SOURCE: National Weather Service
Health practices for excessively hot weather:
Decrease physical activity. This is particularly advisable for joggers and youth athletic teams. Exercise activities should occur in the morning or early evening.
Wear loose, lightweight and light colored cotton clothing.
Drink plenty of water.
Eat light meals.
Put alcoholic beverages away until cooler weather.
Cool down with showers, baths and recreational swimming.
Adjust blinds, shades and awning to keep out the sun.
Use the basement during the hottest hours.
Use a circulating fan to lower temperatures in living spaces. However, when temperature exceeds 95 percent, a fan may not help unless it brings cool air into the area. Fans may even increase heat stress in very hot weather and should not be used to blow hot air directly onto the body.
Check on neighbors who may need assistance.
Individuals with chronic health problems, such as heart disease or lung problems, should minimize activities because the heat will put additional stresses on those systems.
Extra caution should be taken for the elderly and young infants and children to assure they are protected from the heat and are exercising these helpful hints.
Children and pets should not be left unattended in closed vehicles. Temperatures can reach dangerous levels rapidly.
Be kind to your pets. Provide them with shade and plenty of cool water.
SOURCE: Jackie Phillips, Middletown health commissioner
It’s almost too hot to be outside.
And along with much of the Midwest, extreme heat is relentlessly gripping the region and will likely ooze toward the eastern seaboard by week’s end.
Seventeen states have issued heat advisories, excessive heat watches or excessive heat warnings. This includes Ohio - and Butler and Warren counties.
A heat advisory is expected to be in effect through the week as high temperatures reach the mid-90s all week long, but not breaking the 96-degree record for the year set on July 11, said meteorologist Brian Coniglio of the National Weather Service in Wilmington.
For today, the high temperature is expected to be 93 degrees, or about eight degrees higher than normal. Heat indices for the week will hover around 105 degrees, according to the NWS.
“It’s harder to get above average this time of the year so about 10 degrees above is a lot,” Coniglio said.
More metropolitan counties - such as Hamilton and Montgomery - are under an excessive heat warning, while surrounding counties remain under a heat advisory until 9 p.m. today, according to the NWS.
An excessive heat watch is scheduled to begin Wednesday in Butler and Warren counties, according to the NWS.
The hot and humid temperatures sent some residents to the Smith Park splash pad on Monday.
“I wouldn’t be here if there wasn’t water,” Roxanne Barrett, 51, of Middletown said as she watched her three grandchildren and four of their friends play in the splash pad.
Jan Chambers of Hamilton, a bus driver for Middletown Transit System, was off work Monday so she drove her granddaughter, Raylee, 4, to Smith Park. She said Hamilton has no city pools or city splash pads.
“You got to go where the water is at,” she said.
Debbie Wells, at the splash pad with her daughter, Leigha Blevins, and grandson, Logan, 3, called the water system “great for the kids.”
Water also was how Cassie Collins, 26, and her daughters were beating the heat at their residence on Miami Street in Hamilton.
“We’ve been using water balloons and the hose,” Collins said as her daughters sprayed each other on the sidewalk.
Reducing their activity outside and using multiple fans inside the residence has also helped, Collins said.
The Hamilton Electric System will again be asking customers to voluntarily reduce electric usage through Friday, said Tony Pochard, assistant director of electric. Pochard expects Wednesday and Thursday to be the peak days, with demand near 160 megawatts.
On a typical 85-degree summer day, the demand hovers between 130 and 140 megawatts, Pochard said. Hamilton electric has the capacity of up to 225 megawatts, either through its generation or by purchasing additional power. However, city officials say reducing consumption can help keep electric rates low.
Heat waves become much more deadly when overnight low temperatures stay warm, depriving people of relief from excessively hot days, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In an average year, heat kills more people in the U.S. than any other weather-related hazard, according to NOAA.
“Consecutive days are a real issue as the sun bakes the heat into the asphalt and cement, and when it doesn’t cool down overnight, what happens is that the masonry doesn’t have a chance to cool off and adds residual heat from the next day,” Pochard said.
Duke Energy spokeswoman Sally Thelen expects the company to meet customer energy demand with no disruptions to service.
The countywide Supports to Encourage Low-income Families agency is working to help pay for utility bills during the summer through the help of federal financial assistance, said Executive Director Jeffrey Diver. He has seen an increased demand for assistance, with appointments in Middletown booked through Aug. 18 and in Hamilton through Aug. 8.
“The heat is having an impact,” Diver said. ”There are many who have an air conditioner but are afraid to use it because of the resulting energy bills.”
The Crisis Cooling Program provided up to $175 for utility payments this summer, and to be eligible, Butler County residents must fall under the 200 percent of federal poverty guidelines, have a household member age 60 or older, or a household member with an illness that needs services as stated by a doctor’s note, according to Diver.
Sheriff Richard K. Jones said the Butler County Jail, which has previously opened to provide relief from the heat, will probably not open because of a lack of manpower or funding.
Dr. Dawn Staehling, a physician in the Atrium Medical Center emergency room, said the hospital has reported an increase in the number of patients suffering from dehydration and extreme sunburn.
She stressed that when consuming fluids, people should avoid soft drinks because they can “worsen” dehydration. Right now, she said, it’s “challenging to be outdoors.”
For Stacy Younce, it’s a challenge inside and outside.
The 34-year-old single mother of three said she’s on government assistance and can’t afford to purchase — or operate — an air conditioner.
On Saturday night, Younce was rushed to the Atrium Medical Center ER where she received intravenous fluids and was released six hours later.
On Monday — with the inside of her Forest Avenue home at 97 degrees, 4 degrees higher than outside — Younce and her children Austin, 14, Jordan, 11, and Sammy, 4, played in a kiddie swimming pool in the backyard.
“It’s been rough,” she said.
She has two fans blowing, but that’s only generating more hot air, she said, adding her main concern is the health of her children.
Staff Writer James Sprague contributed to this report.
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