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Relief from heat? Temperature to fall to a milder 90
Photo
The state boat launch ramp into Mosquito Lake off the state Route 88 causeway, where the water depth is 2 feet and falling, was closed indefinitely Tuesday due to the drought-reduced water level.
Staff report
BOARDMAN
It still will be unseasonably hot today, but it might feel like a cool-down in the Mahoning Valley with the high temperature forecast to reach 90 degrees, compared with Tuesday’s high of 96.
But 96 degrees, which occurred at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, wasn’t a record high for the day. The temperature hit 98 degrees on July 17, 1931.
If the temperature hits 90 degrees today, it will be the seventh day this month with a high of at least that number in the Mahoning Valley, according to National Weather Service statistics. The lower temps will be coupled with a 70 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms today and tonight.
Lt. Jim McCreary of the Boardman Fire Department said heat-related medical calls there peaked July 1, when most of the 16 medical calls were were heat-related. On Monday, the department responded to 11 medical calls, none of which were caused by soaring temperatures and hadn’t had any as of Tuesday afternoon.
In Poland, Western Reserve Joint Fire District Chief David C. Comstock Jr. said his department has answered numerous calls for lift assistance and falls, but said it’s unclear if the calls can be attributed to the heat wave.
“I have no explanation for it. I’m not sure if it’s because of the heat, with people getting weaker or dehydrated. I can’t say for certain,” Comstock said.
Austintown Fire Department and Canfield Joint Fire District also had no reports of heat-related medical calls Monday or Tuesday.
McCreary said there has been an uptick in mulch fires, primarily in landscaping surrounding retail shopping centers.
“There’s old mulch that dries; it’s not broken up, and then new, hot mulch is spread over it, creating a high internal temperature, and then it starts to smolder and really ignite once it hits air,” McCreary said.
He added that firefighters must wear their gear, which weighs about 20 pounds, to each fire call and that crews are taking extra precautions to stay hydrated.
McCreary advised residents to use common sense: drink lots of water and stay indoors with air conditioning, if possible.
Boardman Township Administrator Jason Loree said residents were welcome to the township government center, which is air conditioned, if they needed to cool off.
“Any public building should be able to be used for that purpose,” Loree said.
Jim Henshaw, director of the Austintown Senior Center, said volunteers have been working to accommodate older residents who may need a place to go when temperatures soar.
The center, on Westchester Drive, has extended Monday through Friday hours from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and will open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekends if the heat index is above 100 degrees. The heat index, which is how hot it feels outside, didn’t reach 100 degrees in June but has climbed over that mark twice since the start of July, according to a Weather Central representative.
“Normally older people just don’t function as well when it’s really hot,” Henshaw said. “We have air conditioning here and all kinds of things going on if they want to get in from the heat.”
The director said those who visit can view movies, play card games, bingo, take computer classes, exercise classes, yoga and Bible study. A full calendar of events is listed at www.austintownseniorcenter.webs.com.
Warren Mayor Doug Franklin also is concerned about senior citizens.
He has issued a recommendation that seniors having trouble with heat-related problems take shelter at the Trumbull Community Action Program offices, 1230 Palmyra Road SW.
Franklin urges others to take shelter at the Salvation Army, 270 Franklin St. Southeast or in a shopping mall.
A spokesperson for Capt. Charles Koffelt at the Salvation Army said people have come to the Salvation Army to get into an air-conditioned place this summer, but she was unable to estimate how many.
The service is available 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the spokesperson said.
The high temperature will drop into the mid-80s on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and then be in the upper 80s on Sunday and Monday with the high in the mid-80s on Tuesday, according to the weather service.