Post by visionary on Aug 1, 2006 6:54:14 GMT -5
CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- The blowtorch heat that blistered California last week gripped the Midwest on Monday, prompting communities to throw air-conditioned buildings open to the public and endangering millions of people with outdoor jobs -- including NFL players in training camp.
Temperatures throughout the Midwest and Plains rose into the upper 90s and in some places exceeded 100 degrees.
The heat index, a measure of temperature plus humidity, climbed as high as 110. The National Weather Service issued heat warnings for such cities as Chicago, Cincinnati, Dayton, Ohio, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Cheryl Harriston struggled to stay comfortable as she handed out fliers supporting an increase in the minimum wage at an intersection in Columbus, Ohio.
"I have my water, my hat, and I stand in the shade a lot," Harriston said. "And, when I feel that cool breeze, I really take a minute to appreciate it."
The Midwest could get some relief by Wednesday, but the worst of the heat was expected to drift into the Northeast on Tuesday, bringing scorching temperatures to New York, Washington and Boston.
NFL teams closely monitored players for signs of heat-related illness. The heat prompted the Chicago Bears to cancel morning practice at training camp in Bourbonnais, Illinois. On Sunday, the Tennessee Titans let defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth leave practice early with dizziness.
Chicago resident Tony Tesfay, 43, left his basement room at a halfway house first thing Monday and rode his bicycle to one of the city's cooling centers -- air-conditioned recreation centers and other buildings that were opened to the public to prevent a repeat of 1995, when a heat wave killed 700 people in Chicago.
"I was pedaling slow, not too hard, so I could keep hydrated," he said. "It took me about 15 minutes. It wasn't too bad."
www.cnn.com/2006/WEATHER/07/31/heatwave.ap/index.html
Temperatures throughout the Midwest and Plains rose into the upper 90s and in some places exceeded 100 degrees.
The heat index, a measure of temperature plus humidity, climbed as high as 110. The National Weather Service issued heat warnings for such cities as Chicago, Cincinnati, Dayton, Ohio, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Cheryl Harriston struggled to stay comfortable as she handed out fliers supporting an increase in the minimum wage at an intersection in Columbus, Ohio.
"I have my water, my hat, and I stand in the shade a lot," Harriston said. "And, when I feel that cool breeze, I really take a minute to appreciate it."
The Midwest could get some relief by Wednesday, but the worst of the heat was expected to drift into the Northeast on Tuesday, bringing scorching temperatures to New York, Washington and Boston.
NFL teams closely monitored players for signs of heat-related illness. The heat prompted the Chicago Bears to cancel morning practice at training camp in Bourbonnais, Illinois. On Sunday, the Tennessee Titans let defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth leave practice early with dizziness.
Chicago resident Tony Tesfay, 43, left his basement room at a halfway house first thing Monday and rode his bicycle to one of the city's cooling centers -- air-conditioned recreation centers and other buildings that were opened to the public to prevent a repeat of 1995, when a heat wave killed 700 people in Chicago.
"I was pedaling slow, not too hard, so I could keep hydrated," he said. "It took me about 15 minutes. It wasn't too bad."
www.cnn.com/2006/WEATHER/07/31/heatwave.ap/index.html
