DATE: Monday, August 18, 1997               TAG: 9708180072

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE AND LOUIS HANSEN, STAFF WRITERS 

                                            LENGTH:   70 lines

``LITTLE LESS HOT'' FRONT COULD SPELL HEAT RELIEF

It wasn't as bad as it might have been, but then, it was bad enough.

The mercury again climbed toward the century mark on Sunday. And high humidity again combined with the sun's work to make it feel hotter. Heat index readings of 105 to 115 were common Sunday.

Sunday's high of 96 at the National Weather Service office at Norfolk International Airport fell two degrees shy of the record for the date, set in 1988.

The hottest period came at mid-afternoon, between about 3 and 4 p.m.

Peak heat index readings included 107 at the Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, 109 at the Norfolk Naval Air Station, 116 in Newport News and 119 in Petersburg.

Elsewhere, the temperature hit 98 in Richmond. And at National Airport in Washington, the high of 105 shattered the old record of 102, set in 1988. It was less humid there, however, and the index topped out at 110.

Today, however, things may finally begin to get back to normal - if a cold front that was slowly moving across Virginia from the Midwest on Sunday night passes through as expected this afternoon.

And with that, guys can turn in their skirts.

Huh?

A long-held tenet of fashion is that skirts catch wonderfully cool undercurrents, even during the leaden days of summer. And on Sunday afternoon, Brandon Hill could attest to that.

The 21-year-old Ghent resident wisped along the sidewalks of Colley Avenue in an ankle-length, batik-print skirt.

``Guys don't really react as well to it,'' he said, ``but girls understand.''

He said he owns a few different skirts and wears them out a couple times a week during the summer.

``The chicks love the skirt,'' chimed in Lorraine Heilman, Hill's brunch-mate at San Antonio Sam's.

The pair wore Woodstock-ready tie-dyes and sandals. Hill billowed down the street in the translucent fabric. ``When it's really hot, it's a nice way to keep a little cooler,'' Hill said.

Among the few who braved the heat to take the normally popular sidewalk seating at Colley Avenue's cafes was Ken Gideon, who drove from Virginia Beach for a day free of tourists.

The 27-year-old rested under a green umbrella outside Starbucks with John Krivjansky, also 27, from Ghent.

Where was everyone else?

``My guess would be at the malls,'' Gideon said. Enjoying air conditioning.

Hopes are that nature will turn on its own cool-air compressor by tonight, as the cold front moves through.

Of course, it might more practically be called a ``little less hot'' front, given that temperatures are just expected to fall to normal levels. The big assist of the frontal system may be a gentle nudge to push moist, humid air away.

It's a forecast similar to what was expected last week, when another frontal system was approaching and expected to bring cooler weather. But that front stalled at the Virginia-North Carolina border before lifting back to the northeast on Friday, leaving Hampton Roads with no relief.

This time, the Weather Service expects it to make it to central North Carolina. And it was chugging on through Virginia on Sunday night.

At National Airport, for instance, the mercury had dropped back to 78 by 9 p.m., a drop of 27 degrees in 5 1/2 hours, from the day's high of 105.

By Thursday, however, that same front is expected to have reversed, crossing back over the area as a warm front.

In the meantime, today should bring variable cloudiness with a chance of showers or thunderstorms and a high in the upper 80s. Winds should be shifting to the north at 10 mph by this afternoon.

Clearing skies are expected tonight with a low in the upper 60s.

Tuesday should be sunny, with a high in the low to middle 80s.

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