Heat wave set to tie 110-year-old record

Predicted high would be the 17th straight day with temps above 90.

Staff photo by Nick Daggy Devon Geisz grabs a drink during Hamilton’s first day of football practice Monday

A member of the Middletown football team gets a drink of water Monday during a break in the first official day of practice.

Contributed photo by David A. Moodie A member of the Middletown football team gets a drink of water Monday during a break in the first official day of practice.

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By James Sprague, Staff Writer Updated 3:38 PM Tuesday, August 2, 2011

The forecasted high of 94 degrees today is expected to be the 17th consecutive day with temperatures above the 90-degree mark, tying a 110-year-old record, according to the National Weather Service.

And that record set in 1901 “most likely” will be shattered Wednesday, said Mike Kurz, meteorologist with the weather service in Wilmington, with no relief until late in the week.

A hazardous weather outlook has been issued for Butler and Warren counties and no one is spared from the excessive heat taking its toll on local farmers, the elderly and homeless, and through increased energy demands for residents and businesses.

“It’s been intense,” said Don Kobert, manager of Garver Family Farm Market in Monroe. “It’s hurting the field crops (corn and soybeans) and the pumpkin crops. We are in desperate need of moisture.”

With fall sports practices under way this week, keeping student-athletes safe will be a challenge amid excessive heat and a smog alert extended through today.

“We educate our coaches and the students about hydrating and eating properly,” said Diana Ivkovich, Fairfield City School District’s athletic trainer.

The training staff provides ice water, ice bags and iced towels at each football practice, she said, and also have water breaks and regular monitoring of students.

Dr. Dawn Staehling, a physician at Atrium Medical Center, said the heat has been harsh on the elderly, a group that also is more susceptible to air quality issues.

The Air Quality Index for a seven-county region in Ohio and Kentucky, including Butler and Warren counties, is “unhealthy for sensitive groups” for today, said Kristy Kim of the Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services.

While Staehling said the hospital has treated patients for dehydration, heat exhaustion and bad sunburns, despite the heat wave there has not been any cases of heat stroke or an increase in heat-related illnesses, she said.

“We have seen some sports-related injuries, mostly from not getting out of the sun and not drinking enough water,” Staehling said. “Hopefully people are listening to the heat advisories.”

The heat also has led to a shortage of beds in local homeless shelters. The Hope House Rescue Mission in Middletown is filled to capacity, said Steve Sparks, men’s director.

“The last few summers we haven’t seen much of a difference (between summer and winter capacity),” Sparks said.

The shelter, however, is directing those it turns away to other shelters in the area, he said.

“It’s a taxing situation on our system,” said Sally Thelen, spokeswoman for Duke Energy, which provides electricity to portions of Butler and Warren counties. “The heat is certainly a challenge for us.”

Duke is still able to meet customer demand, though, due to its planning for peak usage times such as summer, Thelen said.

“We plan (electrical) maintenance during non-peak months and haven’t needed to request any citizen conservation,” Thelen said. “We’re not in that situation — we’re prepared.”

The city of Hamilton Utility Service Department also is not requesting residents cut down on their electric usage, but rather is encouraging energy conservation to save on rates for next year, said Doug Childs, manager of energy operation.

“We’ve had a lot of usage,” Childs said. “We’ve had the highest peaks (of electricity usage) we’ve seen in probably five years this summer.”

Most of that usage has been from home air conditioners instead of businesses. “We’ve had no widespread outages, thankfully, because of the load,” he said.

The heat also is taking its toll on the fields and livestock of local farmers.

Minverva Schappacher of the Schappacher Farm in Lebanon said they are hauling in water to fill cistern tanks for the cattle.

“The pastures are beginning to dry up and we have to supplement (feeding the cattle) with hay bales,” she said.

Contact this reporter at jsprague@coxohio.com or at 513-483-5226.

July weather by the numbers

17 consecutive days of temperatures above 90

8th hottest July on record since 1876

80.9 average temperature (4.6 degrees above normal)

2.22 inches of rain; 1.53 inches below normal

Source: National Weather  Service

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