Heat Wave

The first heat wave of 2011 has officially come and gone, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures spiked into the low 90s Monday and continued scorching the area through Wednesday afternoon.   A cold front that brought more thunderstorms along the Mason-Dixon Line was responsible for ending the spring heat wave Wednesday, the weather service said. Three straight days of temperatures above 90 degrees constitute a heat wave, said Joe Ceru, a weather service meteorologist in State College, Pa.   In Harrisburg, Pa., the nearest measured point to Franklin County, Pa., temperatures have been above 90 degrees since Monday, he said.

Allegheny Power's distribution system is designed to serve its customers on hot summer days, but a string of extremely hot days might cause equipment problems, a company spokesman said Tuesday. Hot days followed by nights that still require air conditioning can lead to transformers getting extremely hot, Allegheny Power spokesman Todd Meyers said. If the equipment doesn't have a chance to cool down, some might malfunction, he said. Two or three days into a heat wave, air conditioning has to work harder than usual to cool off a home because heat can build up in attics, Meyers said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- Health risks for seniors rise with the temperature and the hot days this week are especially hard for the elderly. The Franklin County (Pa.) Area Agency on Aging offered these tips Tuesday for staying cool: o If you have elderly neighbors, friends or family, check-in with them. Take a moment to help the seniors in your life by calling or stopping by to see if they need help staying cool. o If you need to get away from the heat for a while, take a trip to the mall, go to the grocery store, stop by the library.

As an oppressive heat wave continues to besiege the area with no signs of letting up, kids and counselors at area summer camps have had to slow down their outdoor activities. “It's been really hot all week,” said Marty Snook camper Jordan Gardner, 12, of Hagerstown. “I drink lots of water.” Members of the Marty Snook and Williamsport Camps went to the skating rink at Turner's Skating Palace on Virginia Avenue on Friday, something they do every week. But during the rest of the week, the campers had to find other ways to cool off. Marty Snook camper Nichole Sherman, 11, of Hagerstown said they found some less heated outdoor activities.

Area temperatures are expected to hover in the upper 90s Wednesday and Thursday as a heat wave envelops the mid-Atlantic region, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a heat advisory for part of Maryland. A heat advisory will be in effect for Frederick County from noon to 8 p.m. today, but a similar advisory had not been issued for Washington County as of Tuesday afternoon, said Heather Sheffield, a weather service meteorologist in Sterling, Va. The expected heat wave prompted the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to activate its state heat plan for Central Maryland today and statewide for Thursday, the agency said in a news release.

  Tips to reduce air conditioner's en ergy usage With hot and humid weather expected to continue across the area, FirstEnergy Corp.'s utility companies, including Potomac Edison, offer the following tips to help customers save money and conserve electricity: Consider setting air conditioners a few degrees warmer on hot days. Every degree you add to your interior temperature in the summer can reduce your energy usage by up to 3 percent.

TRI-STATE An attending physician at Washington County Hospital said doctors there have been treating patients who get overheated and don't keep themselves hydrated in the hot weather. Heat exhaustion and the more dangerous heat stroke pose a danger as temperatures rise, Dr. Thomas Gilbert said. "The next couple of days are the real scorchers," AccuWeather.com meteorologist John Feerick said Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday's high temperature could reach 95 degrees, but it will feel warmer, according to AccuWeather.

WASHINGTON COUNTY - It's going to feel like 110 degrees. Maybe hotter when standing in direct sun. A heat wave is heading to Washington County that should stay for about three days, said Accuweather meteorologist John Gresiak. He said the high today will be 98 degrees, and the temperature is expected to reach 100 degrees Wednesday. These will be the hottest days recorded this year in the county. The hottest day in July was 93 degrees; in June it was 92 degrees. On May 31, the temperature reached 96 degrees, Gresiak said.

On a bank clock Monday afternoon in Hagerstown, the temperature read 95 degrees ? but the official high for the day was a mere 89.7. Still, that made it the hottest October day in Hagerstown for at least 10 years, according to local weather observer Greg Keefer's Web site, which said the high temperature in Hagerstown was reached at 3:29 p.m. And, at 88 degrees, Sunday also was a steamer. It was so hot that "we had a customer in here this morning who said he was in his pool yesterday," said Valerie Divanna, a sales associate at Bair Pool & Supplies off Jefferson Boulevard near Smithsburg.

Friday marked the eighth straight day in which the high temperature in Hagerstown reached at least 90 degrees, according to i4weather.net, a website maintained by local weather observer Greg Keefer. On five  of those days, including Friday, the high temperature reached at least 95 degrees, Keefer's records showed. The heat is expected to continue through the weekend, with temperatures in the 90s forecast through Sunday, the National Weather Service said. On Friday, Washington and Frederick counties in Maryland and and Berkeley and Jefferson counties in West Virginia were under an extreme heat watch, according to the National Weather Service.

As an oppressive heat wave continues to besiege the area with no signs of letting up, kids and counselors at area summer camps have had to slow down their outdoor activities. “It's been really hot all week,” said Marty Snook camper Jordan Gardner, 12, of Hagerstown. “I drink lots of water.” Members of the Marty Snook and Williamsport Camps went to the skating rink at Turner's Skating Palace on Virginia Avenue on Friday, something they do every week. But during the rest of the week, the campers had to find other ways to cool off. Marty Snook camper Nichole Sherman, 11, of Hagerstown said they found some less heated outdoor activities.

Friday marked the eighth straight day in which the high temperature in Hagerstown reached at least 90 degrees, according to i4weather.net, a website maintained by local weather observer Greg Keefer. On five  of those days, including Friday, the high temperature reached at least 95 degrees, Keefer's records showed. The heat is expected to continue through the weekend, with temperatures in the 90s forecast through Sunday, the National Weather Service said. On Friday, Washington and Frederick counties in Maryland and and Berkeley and Jefferson counties in West Virginia were under an extreme heat watch, according to the National Weather Service.

What is expected to be a sweltering weekend in the Hagerstown area got off to a steamy start, with the temperature threatening to set a record high and the heat index soaring well into triple digits by early Friday afternoon. At 10:15 a.m. the National Weather Service issued an updated heat advisory for Friday in Washington and Frederick counties, Morgan County, W.Va., and Franklin and Fulton counties in Pennsylvania, lasting until 9 p.m. Temperatures approaching 100 and the heat index - a measure factoring air temperature and humidity - of 105 degrees.

A new weather record was set in Hagerstown on Friday. The temperature reached 100.7 degrees at 3:57 p.m., the hottest day in June ever recorded in Hagerstown, according to i4weather.net , a website operated by local weather observer Greg Keefer. It broke the old record of 100 degrees set in 1934 and 1988. HMTV 6 meteorologist Brittany Beggs said a heat wave has gripped Washington County. “This weekend will consist of temperatures in the mid- to upper-90s, and overnight lows near 70,” Beggs said.

The Edward P. Thomas swimming pool on Flemming Avenue was immediately closed Thursday after broken glass was found in it, the Frederick Police Department said. It is unclear if the broken glass was a deliberate act or if it was accidental, a news release said. The pool will be closed for the weekend while it is cleaned and drained, according to police, who responded to the pool at 8:50 a.m. The pool will be closed as the region endures a heat wave with temperatures expected to be in the 90s.

After a few days of pleasant spring-like weather, summer is expected to return with a vengeance Thursday in the first of a string of hot and humid days in which temperatures are expected to climb into the 90s. Temperatures in Hagerstown are expected to hit 92 degrees today, followed by 97 on Friday, and highs of 95 on both Saturday and Sunday, said Calvin Meadows, a meteorological technician with the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va. ...

Area temperatures are expected to hover in the upper 90s Wednesday and Thursday as a heat wave envelops the mid-Atlantic region, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a heat advisory for part of Maryland. A heat advisory will be in effect for Frederick County from noon to 8 p.m. today, but a similar advisory had not been issued for Washington County as of Tuesday afternoon, said Heather Sheffield, a weather service meteorologist in Sterling, Va. The expected heat wave prompted the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to activate its state heat plan for Central Maryland today and statewide for Thursday, the agency said in a news release.

Temperatures were slightly lower Saturday, but Washington County still was feeling the effects of a heat wave that has engulfed much of the Northeast. Saturday's high temperature in Hagerstown was 97 degrees, according to i4weather.net , a website maintained by Hagerstown weather observer Greg Keefer. The temperature was five degrees lower than Friday's high of 102 degrees. That temperature tied the record high for July 22, which was set in 1926, according to Keefer's website.

  Tips to reduce air conditioner's en ergy usage With hot and humid weather expected to continue across the area, FirstEnergy Corp.'s utility companies, including Potomac Edison, offer the following tips to help customers save money and conserve electricity: Consider setting air conditioners a few degrees warmer on hot days. Every degree you add to your interior temperature in the summer can reduce your energy usage by up to 3 percent.

The first heat wave of 2011 has officially come and gone, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures spiked into the low 90s Monday and continued scorching the area through Wednesday afternoon.   A cold front that brought more thunderstorms along the Mason-Dixon Line was responsible for ending the spring heat wave Wednesday, the weather service said. Three straight days of temperatures above 90 degrees constitute a heat wave, said Joe Ceru, a weather service meteorologist in State College, Pa.   In Harrisburg, Pa., the nearest measured point to Franklin County, Pa., temperatures have been above 90 degrees since Monday, he said.