THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: Wednesday, May 22, 1996 TAG: 9605220166 SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER LENGTH: 30 lines
A second day of record heat forced about 40 local schools without air conditioning to close early Tuesday but today's cooler weather should return the classroom schedules to normal.
The cooler weather - or somewhat cooler weather - should hang around through the weekend as penance for the two days of intense heat and humidity that briefly baked Hampton Roads.
We didn't bake alone.
Tuesday's 94-degree high tied a record set in 1877, and Monday's high of 97 broke the record set that same year. Dozens of cities along the Atlantic Seaboard also hit record highs on Monday and Tuesday, but a large cold front was predicted to squelch the sweltering by dawn today.
The front, stretching from Maine to the Gulf Coast, is also expected to bring scattered showers here and more severe storms to the north. The high temperature today in Norfolk should be in the mid or upper 80s with the overnight low in the mid-60s.
The mini heat wave that broiled the area came barely a week after daytime temperatures fell into the low 60s followed by night chills in the mid-30s.
But the temperatures quickly rebounded and shot into the 80s and 90s over the weekend and peaked at 97 Monday.
By the Memorial Day weekend, the high temperatures could settle into the mid-70s, which is normal for this time of year. Overnight weekend temperatures should fall to the 50s or 60s with a chance of showers each day. by CNB