Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 15, 1995 TAG: 9507170066
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SHANNON D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"It's really hot," said Penelopie Perdue, who was just coming home from the store with 2 gallons of punch while watching her son, Detwawn, run through the sprinklers.
Friday was only a sample of the heat wave that is rolling into the East.
The Roanoke Valley and surrounding areas can expect the heat index to reach 100-plus degrees today, as high as 105, according to the National Weather Service in Blacksburg. Temperatures will be in the mid-90s.
Buckingham County and all areas to the east have been placed under a heat advisory for today with an expected heat index of 105 to 110 degrees. Washington, D.C., registered a heat index of 110 on Friday.
The heat index conveys how hot it feels when the humidity is calculated with the air temperature, said Jim White of the Weather Service in Blacksburg. When the heat index is expected to be higher than 105, a heat advisory is issued.
The heat should not have as great an impact on Western Virginia livestock as it did in the Midwest, where many died, as long as they have enough shade and water, said Botetourt County Farm Management Agent Andy Allen.
He said cramped space and a lack of shade contributed to the deaths of Midwestern cattle. Virginia cattle may gain less weight because of the heat, "but they'll survive," Allen said.
Farmers in Western Virginia should be a little more concerned about crops, however, especially if it doesn't rain soon, said Virginia Tech horticulture Professor Ronald Morse.
Morse, who specializes in vegetable crops, said that with the excess rain this summer, the roots of plants have not extended very deep into the ground. Therefore, with a lack of rain the plants will not be prepared to live off the water as it sets below the roots.
He said it would almost be as if "Mother Nature tricked the plants" during the heavy rainfall witnessed last month into believing that there is plenty of rainfall for this month also.
"The roots become very shallow," Morse said.
Western Virginia merchants are hoping to cash in on the heat as the public demand for items such as ice and beverages increases.
Friday was definitely the day to be in the frozen lemonade business. Debra Castelli, manager of Deb's Frozen Lemonade on Brambleton Avenue in Southwest Roanoke, said she sold about 160 gallons of lemonade between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.
On an average day, she sells 70 to 80 gallons, she said.
Also, her mobile venue in downtown Roanoke sold about 40 gallons in 31/2 hours, she said.
Cassco Ice has built up its supply to keep up with the increased demand from the heat, Cassco President Jack Broaddus said. The company has a distribution site in Salem, and is based in Harrisonburg.
"This is the first heat spell we've seen so far this year," he said.
Ice deliverers for Cassco said they noticed an increase in demand as it got hotter.
"Everybody's drinking a lot of ice tea, I guess," said Jimmy Wood, a Confeddy's restaurant worker, who bought 400 pounds of ice from Cassco on Friday for the restaurant.
A few minutes later, Mike Snellings from the Patrick Henry Radisson Hotel bought 440 pounds of ice after the hotel's kitchen ran out.
The heat also puts a strain on air conditioners, which are more likely to break down if they are running around the clock, said Steve Nelson, owner of Nelson Repair and Maintenance. Business at his shop was up about 20 percent.
Grand Piano & Furniture Co. Inc. in downtown Roanoke advertised its window-unit air conditioners in the store's window to overheated passersby.
"When the weather gets hot, air conditioners go out the door," said assistant store manager Joel McCan. The store doubled its inventory of air conditioners in anticipation of the hot weather, he said.
by CNB