THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 7, 1994 TAG: 9407070463
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
The dictionary says this season is spelled ``summer,'' but a lot of folks may be spelling it ``simmer'' after yet another day in the sauna.
Wednesday was the hottest day this year in Hampton Roads. The mercury hit 100 at the Norfolk Naval Air Station and 98 at the National Weather Service office at Norfolk International Airport - the official high for the region.
When the mercury hit the century mark at Norfolk Naval Air Station, it combined with high humidity to create a heat index reading of 118. Throughout the region, the heat index was between 100 and 110 most of the day.
And more of the same is likely for the next few days.
Today, Friday and Saturday are expected to be partly sunny, very hot and humid with highs in the mid- to upper 90s. There will be only a hint of a breeze for relief.
Tonight will be warm and humid, with a low in the lower to mid-70s and southwest winds at 5 mph.
There is a chance of afternoon and evening thunderstorms.
The earliest chance of relief will come Sunday, when skies should be a little cloudier and the air a little cooler - or, as the Weather Service puts it, ``not quite as hot.'' The high will be about 90. There is a chance of thunderstorms. The low is expected to be in the upper 60s to mid-70s.
Wednesday's official high of 98 in Norfolk fell four degrees short of the record, 102 degrees, set in 1881. But it was about 12 degrees above the normal high temperature for this time of year.
Some records might be in jeopardy in the next few days. Today's record is 99, set in 1900; Friday's is 100, set in 1993; Saturday's is 100, set in 1986; and Sunday's is 103, set in 1876.
A large area of high pressure over the mid-Atlantic region is expected to stay put for the next several days, keeping the heat on. ILLUSTRATION: A classic way to cool off
[Color photo] PAUL AIKEN/Staff
Cynthia Skinner of Newport News runs through one of the ``rain
rooms'' Wednesday at Kingsmill Golf Club in Williamsburg during
preparations for today's start of the Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic
tournament. Spectators will be sprayed with mist from overhead pipes
in the tents.(Tournament coverage, Page C1.)
by CNB