Heat Related Deaths

The recent heat wave has claimed two more people, bringing the total deaths in the state to five, according to the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Both were seniors, one from Cecil County and the other from Prince George's County. Previous deaths were in Baltimore and Montgomery counties. All had underlying conditions and were found indoors without air conditioning, except the Cecil resident who collapsed outdoors. State officials reminded residents to take precautions against the heat such as drinking plenty of fluids, wearing loose-fitting clothing, staying in the shade or air conditioning and checking on neighbors who may need assistance.

WEATHER The National Weather Service is calling for Tuesday to be mostly cloudy in the Baltimore area, with a high near 87 and east winds 5 to 7 miles per hour. There is a 30 percent chance of precipitation. There is a 30 percent chance of precipitation. Tuesday night is expected to be mostly cloudy, with a low around 72 and southeast winds around 5 miles per hour or less. TRAFFIC Check our traffic updates for this morning's issues as you plan your commute.

Four heat-related deaths were reported to state health officials on Independence Day , three of them in Baltimore, bringing the death toll from the recent stretch of heat and storms to 11. Two men over age 65 and one man between the ages of 45 and 65 died in the city, according to a daily report on heat deaths released Thursday. A Montgomery County man over age 65 also died. The heat-related deaths come during nine straight days of 90- to 100-degree high temperatures, and as Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. workers seek to reconnect power to about 26,765 customers who are still without electricity as of early Friday, six days after a powerful storm struck the state June 29. No further information on the deaths was available.

State health officials confirmed five more heat-related deaths Monday as a cool-down ended one of the longest heat waves on record for the region. The heat killed a total of 18 people during a 12-day stretch of 90- and 100-degree heat, state health officials reported Monday. The latest casualties include an elderly Baltimore County woman, a Baltimore man, two Prince George's County men and a St. Mary's County man. Three other people died during the derecho storm, characterized by powerful winds, on June 29. Many of the heat victims had underlying chronic conditions such as heart disease or diabetes, and many also may have lacked air-conditioning because of extended power outages, a state health official said.

Alex and Laura Garcia slogged back to their car after visiting the Baltimore Farmer's Market on Sunday, wiping sweat from their faces. After days of record-breaking, three-digit heat, the Bolton Hill couple agreed that what typically passes for hot would feel like paradise. "If it was 90, it's sad to say, but I'd feel like that would be pretty nice," Alex Garcia said. The region's reward for making it through 11 straight days of temperatures hovering around 100 degrees is a full week in the 80s starting Monday, National Weather Service officials said Sunday.

Global warming will cause the number of heat-related deaths in Baltimore and other cities to more than double within 50 years, according to a report paid for by environmental groups. The number of summer days in Baltimore with temperatures above 101 is expected to rise from about six a year to 16 annually by the middle of the century, says the study co-written by climatologist Laurence S. Kalkstein of the University of Miami and a colleague. As a result, more people will die, Kalkstein predicts.

Two more heat-related deaths were reported in Maryland this week, bringing the state total to 10, up from a total of six reported last year, officials said. One victim was a Baltimore City senior who died this week, and a Prince George's county senior who died in June, according to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Both victims had serious underlying health conditions and were found inside their residences without air conditioning and with room temperatures above 90 degrees, department officials said.

WEATHER The National Weather Service is calling for Friday to be sunny, with a high near 102 and north winds around 5 miles per hour or less. A heat advisory is in effect from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, with heat index values expected to be around 105. Friday night is expected to be mostly clear, with a low around 83 and southeast winds around 5 miles per hour or less. TRAFFIC Check our traffic updates for this morning's issues as you plan your commute.

Thirty-two people in Maryland have died because of extreme heat so far during 2011, according to a report released Tuesday by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Health authorities reported the same number of confirmed heat-related deaths in 2010. There were six deaths in 2009; 17 in 2008 and 21 in 2007. July was the hottest on record for Baltimore, with an average temperature of 81.7 degrees. Twenty-four days reached 90 degrees or more, a record for any July. Six of the first 10 days of August topped 90 at BWI, but the next 21 days did not. It was the longest stretch of sub-90 summer weather since 2009.

Four more deaths in Maryland have been linked to the summer's hot weather, Maryland health officials said Tuesday. The state's total for the year is now 25. Three deaths occurred in Baltimore between Aug. 2 and 8. Two — a man and a woman — were aged 65 or older. A third was a middle-aged woman. All three had underlying illnesses that made them more vulnerable to the heat, according to the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The fourth death involved a middle-aged man who died in mid-July.

Leaders of Maryland's seven most populous jurisdictions say utilities couldn't immediately pinpoint the addresses of power outages during the cleanup from the deadly June 29 derecho storm, hindering their efforts to send out emergency crews. In a letter Tuesday to the Public Service Commission, the leaders asked the state's utility regulator to explore improving disclosure of outage locations, burying power lines and evaluating power companies' staffing. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and the executives of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's counties signed the letter.

Alex and Laura Garcia slogged back to their car after visiting the Baltimore Farmer's Market on Sunday, wiping sweat from their faces. After days of record-breaking, three-digit heat, the Bolton Hill couple agreed that what typically passes for hot would feel like paradise. "If it was 90, it's sad to say, but I'd feel like that would be pretty nice," Alex Garcia said. The region's reward for making it through 11 straight days of temperatures hovering around 100 degrees is a full week in the 80s starting Monday, National Weather Service officials said Sunday.

Four heat-related deaths were reported to state health officials on Independence Day , three of them in Baltimore, bringing the death toll from the recent stretch of heat and storms to 11. Two men over age 65 and one man between the ages of 45 and 65 died in the city, according to a daily report on heat deaths released Thursday. A Montgomery County man over age 65 also died. The heat-related deaths come during nine straight days of 90- to 100-degree high temperatures, and as Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. workers seek to reconnect power to about 26,765 customers who are still without electricity as of early Friday, six days after a powerful storm struck the state June 29. No further information on the deaths was available.

Thirty-two people in Maryland have died because of extreme heat so far during 2011, according to a report released Tuesday by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Health authorities reported the same number of confirmed heat-related deaths in 2010. There were six deaths in 2009; 17 in 2008 and 21 in 2007. July was the hottest on record for Baltimore, with an average temperature of 81.7 degrees. Twenty-four days reached 90 degrees or more, a record for any July. Six of the first 10 days of August topped 90 at BWI, but the next 21 days did not. It was the longest stretch of sub-90 summer weather since 2009.

Four more deaths in Maryland have been linked to the summer's hot weather, Maryland health officials said Tuesday. The state's total for the year is now 25. Three deaths occurred in Baltimore between Aug. 2 and 8. Two — a man and a woman — were aged 65 or older. A third was a middle-aged woman. All three had underlying illnesses that made them more vulnerable to the heat, according to the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The fourth death involved a middle-aged man who died in mid-July.

Maryland really began to turn in the roaster Thursday, joining much of the rest of the country, now deep in the summer's worst heat wave. The mercury reached 103 degrees in downtown Baltimore, with a heat index reading of 117 degrees. It was 100 at BWI-Marshall Airport, four degrees short of a record. And there is little relief in sight. The region could see scattered thunderstorms Friday or Saturday afternoon, but forecasters don't expect a palpable break from the suffocating weather until a weak cold front arrives late Sunday.

The temperature at BWI-Marshall Airport reached 91 degrees Tuesday, setting a record for the most 90-degree days in a calendar year and topping off more than eight months of weather extremes in Maryland. Since last winter's blizzards and record accumulations, 2010 has brought drought, crop losses, rising numbers of heat-related deaths and the hottest summer on record for Baltimore. Many of these events can be traced to natural climate variability, enhanced by the influence of global warming, according to Kevin Trenberth, head of the climate analysis section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.

The temperature at BWI-Marshall Airport reached 91 degrees Tuesday, setting a record for the most 90-degree days in a calendar year and topping off more than eight months of weather extremes in Maryland. Since last winter's blizzards and record accumulations, 2010 has brought drought, crop losses, rising numbers of heat-related deaths and the hottest summer on record for Baltimore. Many of these events can be traced to natural climate variability, enhanced by the influence of global warming, according to Kevin Trenberth, head of the climate analysis section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.