ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, May 20, 1996 TAG: 9605200117
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JON CAWLEY STAFF WRITER
Blacksburg's heat broke temperature records today for the second consecutive day.
Temperatures reached 89 degrees, breaking the previous record of 86 degrees set in 1962, said Jan Jackson, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Blacksburg.
Roanoke Regional Airport reported a high of 93 degrees today, three degrees short of the city record, also set in 1962.
Although these temperatures are definitely hot, they are not quite up to the heat index or apparent temperature of 100 to 105 degrees when a heat advisory would be issued, Jackson said.
"People should still watch themselves - stay inside, drink plenty of fluids and take it easy, you could still be susceptible to heatstroke," he said.
When the heat index, which factors in humidity, reaches 105 degrees, sunstroke, cramps and exhaustion may occur. At 115 degrees, the advisory is upgraded to an excessive heat warning and symptoms are more likely to occur.
"These record-breaking temperatures are not unusual and last only three days or so when occasionally a summertime weather pattern enters the area. Since it is spring, the heat will not hold," Jackson said.
Relief from the unseasonable heat is not likely until Wednesday, when a cold front is expected to bring showers and thunderstorms into the state.
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