WEATHER As cities perspire to greatness, Youngstown keeps its cool

The city ranked at the bottom of a sweatiness survey.
By VANESSA SCHUTZ
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Don't sweat, Youngstown; we're not No. 1. In fact, according to the Old Spice sweatiest cities study, we are keeping ourselves pretty cool and dry here in the summer months.
Old Spice announced its third annual Top 100 Sweatiest Summer City Ranking to mark the beginning of summer June 21.
Youngstown was No. 100 on the list, improving from No. 88 in last year's rankings, as determined by Procter & amp; Gamble Co.'s Old Spice deodorant brand, based in Cincinnati.
The rankings were figured by the amount of sweat produced by an average-size U.S. person who walked for one hour, with the city's average high temperature and relative humidity levels during summer months factored.
Topping the list
El Paso, Texas, was dubbed the "sweatiest city in America," followed by Greenville, S.C., and Phoenix.
Green Bay, Wis.., and San Diego joined Youngstown at the bottom of the list.
Other Ohio cities featured on the list were Columbus at No. 79, Cleveland at No. 80 and Toledo at No. 82.
Scott Wendt, meteorologist at Weather Central Inc., thinks we should not read into the rankings too much.
"I wouldn't guess El Paso would be at the top of the list," Wendt said. "It's hot but dry there -- you sweat without knowing it because it evaporates."
Old Spice's "sweat expert," Dr. Tim Long, said that's normally the case in El Paso, but the city had a higher humidity level last summer that pushed it ahead of the competition.
El Paso's residents were calculated to lose 1.09 liters -- about three 12-ounce soft-drink cans -- of sweat per hour during a typical summer day.
Long also said it was Youngstown's unusually cool summer last year that pushed the city to the bottom of the rankings. Although the humidity was 80 percent on average, the 67-degree average temperature lowered the measured heat index.
Youngstown's residents were calculated to lose 0.65 liters -- about two 12-ounce soft-drink cans -- of sweat per hour during a typical summer day.
In commemoration of being the sweatiest, Old Spice said it is sending a year's supply of Red Zone antiperspirant to El Paso Mayor Joe Wardy.
"Everybody sweats," Long said.
vschutz@vindy.com