Heat Wave

Thank you for the "Our View" piece on not complaining about the heat ("Heat: stop griping, start describing," July 7). Five years ago my family and I moved to Wyoming from Maryland. Wyoming has four seasons--Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter and what they call Summer. The only thing that gets me through is knowing I can come spend a good chunk of my summer in Maryland, where I have vowed to never complain about it being too hot! When I am here and the temps top the 90's, I go outside and soak up all the heat and humidity, so next May when it's 30 degrees and snowing, I might avoid going totally insane!

Cooler temperatures, though still well above normal for this time of year, are forecast in the Baltimore area Thursday, with cloudy skies and highs in the mid-70s, according to the National Weather Service. Partly to mostly cloudy skies are forecast, with calm winds for most of the day. But winds could be increasing and thunderstorms moving through in the evening and through Friday morning as a cold front passes through. Winds could reach 15-20 mph in the evening. Forecasters predict an 80 percent chance of thunderstorms after midnight, with about three-quarters of an inch of rain possible.

The hot weather spell arriving Wednesday could break multiple records. With high temperatures predicted in the upper 90s Wednesday and Thursday, records of 100 degrees for both days could be challenged. The National Weather Service was predicting highs of 98 degrees Wednesday and 100 degrees Thursday, as of Monday night, though the predictions have fluctuated as the heat gets closer. A heat advisory could be issued Wednesday. Lows are forecast at 80 and 79 degrees overnight, also vying to top records for the highest low temperatures of 78 degrees Wednesday and 79 degrees Thursday.

Midweek Madness wonders, like the rest of you, what's up with this weird weather? In Baltimore, we're expecting 90 or thereabouts, and it's only the second week of April. Seems like a great excuse to drag out Irving Berlin's "Heat Wave. " And this being Midweek Madness, that means a great excuse to find a delicious performance from the vaults of 1960s TV.

Ciy pools in Laurel will remain open until 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday to provide relief during the current heat wave. The city operates two pools: Municipal Pool at Ninth and Main streets and the Greenview Drive Pool, located in Patuxent Greens at 11415 Greenview Drive. For more information on Laurel's city pools, call Laurel Department of Parks and Recreation at 301-725-7800.

Midweek Madness wonders, like the rest of you, what's up with this weird weather? In Baltimore, we're expecting 90 or thereabouts, and it's only the second week of April. Seems like a great excuse to drag out Irving Berlin's "Heat Wave. " And this being Midweek Madness, that means a great excuse to find a delicious performance from the vaults of 1960s TV.

The tall ships moored around the Baltimore harbor for the Star-Spangled Sailabration will depart just ahead of a brief heat wave setting in Wednesday, meaning one last day of pleasant weather to watch the ships sail away on Tuesday. The tall ships are scheduled to raise their sails and breeze southward in the "Parade of Sail" between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tuesday. Navy warships will depart before that, from, 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Winds will be coming from the south-southeast, potentially hampering the tall ships from departing under sail.

Public health authorities urged Maryland residents to take precautions against heat exposure this week as temperatures head back into the mid-90s, with plenty of humidity to add a sticky factor to the misery index. High temperatures Wednesday and Thursday are expected to reach 96 and 98 degrees, with high humidity making it harder for the body to cool itself by evaporating sweat from the skin. "Extreme heat can be deadly," said state Secretary of Health Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein.

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.

With temperatures topping off Wednesday at 95 degrees in Baltimore, forecasters say Thursday's conditions could dwarf anything felt so far during this current heat spell, as the mercury is expected to climb into the upper 90s and a heat index of more than 100 is predicted. Add in an expected 10-mph to 15-mph wind that could gust up to 25 mph, and walking outside Thursday could feel "like a glass furnace," according to Bryan Jackson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Sterling, Va. Jackson said the area caught a minor break Wednesday as humidity remained relatively low, keeping the heat index — a combined measure of heat and humidity — in line with temperatures.

Cat's looking even more beautiful than usual (which I didn't think was possible) as she welcomes us to tonight's episode with 16 dancers still left in the competition. The opening number has all the dancers dressed like Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp and they're using a weird filter to make most of the picture black and white while leaving the open umbrella red. It reminds me of a precious greeting card your grandmother might send you. The routine is a little meh overall, with music that never seems to rise and fall.

With the scorching heat, derecho storms and power outages, keeping your home cool this summer is looking like a brutal challenge. Hundreds of thousands of homes in the Baltimore-Washington region lost power from the ferocious storm in late June. That was a bummer. But when temps soared past 100 degrees in the week that followed, what started as a bummer became much more serious. Indoor temperatures were stifling, making sleep nearly impossible and daily activities unbearable. Dozens of deaths nationwide were linked to the heat wave, including at least 20 in Maryland.

Health officials said Tuesday they have linked two more deaths to the heat wave and derecho storm that struck Maryland earlier this month, and heat contributed to three other deaths since that crisis ended. A Baltimore man and Worcester County man brought to 20 the total heat-related casualties from a 12-day stretch with temperatures 90 degrees and higher, which also included the powerful windstorm. Another three Marylanders died during the storm June 29. Two men from Montgomery and Harford counties and an elderly Prince George's County woman have died amid continuing heat, a spell of which is forecast to last through Thursday.

Temperatures had reached the lower 90s already by lunchtime Tuesday, but relatively low humidity was keeping the heat index in check in the Baltimore area. A temperature of 95 degrees was recorded at BWI Marshall Airport about noon, but the dew point, a measure of humidity in the air, was 58 degrees. That is on the low side this time of year, and it is keeping the humidity from adding to any perception of heat. During the heat wave earlier this month, dew points topped 70 degrees, bringing the heat index upward of 110 degrees.

Severe weather has quieted, so there's not much else for meteorologists to chat about but a few guessing games. And AccuWeather severe weather blogger Henry Margusity's hunch is that there is a link between this month's heat waves across the U.S. and the climatic phenomenon known as the North Atlantic Oscillation. The NAO, which measures the atmospheric pressure difference between the typical low pressure system near Iceland and high pressure south of the Azores, hit its lowest point since 1950 in June, an AccuWeather reader pointed out to Margusity.

This week was forecast as a return to the 80s, but there ended up being a one-day reprieve before what looks like another extended return to the 90s. The forecast doesn't approach 100 degrees like the deadly heat wave that ended Sunday. But it calls for a continued simmering of the region. The National Weather Service is calling for highs in the low 90s through the weekend and into early next week, at least through Tuesday. Monday, with a high of 86 at BWI, is the only day so far this month not to break 90. Baltimoreans may have gotten used to this sort of heat by now, though it is sure to be above-average.

Three days of record high temperatures in Central Maryland were forecast to end overnight with a round of strong but scattered thunderstorms and the passage of a cold front. The state's late-spring heat wave climaxed with a record-breaking 98 degrees Wednesday at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, with stifling humidity and a heat index deep into triple digits. Forecasters said the cold front would usher in several days of more typical early June weather, with highs in the 80s, clear skies and low humidity.

Last week's heat, which reached a record 101 degrees on Friday, contributed to the deaths of 11 Maryland residents, state health authorities said Wednesday, raising the season's total to 21. The unusually high number was due in part to the long stretch of hot weather. Temperatures had topped 90 degrees for nine days before the week began, reaching 106 degrees July 22 at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and 101 degrees July 29. "The cumulative effect of day after day of this sort of heat takes a toll, particularly on people who have weakened circulatory systems," said Fran Phillips, deputy secretary for public health at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

The weather pattern that brought heat that lingered around 100 degrees has passed, but it won't be forgotten soon. It brought some notable weather extremes and set at least three records in the Baltimore area. Here's a review of the past two weeks or so, by the numbers: 67 : Wind speed, in mph, at BWI Marshall Airport during the derecho storm June 29. 675,000 : Power outages the storm caused in the territory Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. serves; later, heat and smaller storms raised the number as high as 748,000 outages within a week.

An excessive heat warning is in effect for central and southern Maryland and part of the Eastern Shore from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday. High temperatures could reach a record-breaking 104 degrees, according to the National Weather Service, with heat index values up to 110 degrees. A high of 101 degrees from a heat wave in 2010 is the record for BWI Marshall Airport on July 7. That means a high risk of heat exhaustion or other heat-related illnesses, the weather service warns.