Heat relief nears
Facing another sweltering day in the 90s today was made a little easier with a forecast that promises to drop temperatures into the 80s on Friday and to the upper 60s over the holiday weekend.
After not having a day above 83 degrees last September, Butler today braced for temperatures in the 90s for the second time in September's first two days in 2010.
Temperatures this week have been well above normal, with highs in the 90s on Tuesday, as well.
In August, Butler had six days with temperatures in the 90s, with highs of 93 on Aug. 10 and 11. The average high temperature for the month was 84.9 degrees.
Last year, temperatures hit 90 degrees just twice in August, with an average high temperature of 80.9 degrees.
Besides swimming pools, a logical alternate choice would be ice, specifically an ice skating facility.
However, that's not the case with Ice Connection of Pittsburgh in Middlesex Township, where owner Bob Simpson is wondering why his rink isn't attracting more people.
"You would think if it's a 95-degree day, you'd want to go where there's ice," Simpson said.
He said he and his family spent a few months in Florida this summer, and he noticed a nearby ice rink was very busy during the daytime public skating sessions.
"I don't know," Simpson said of his lack of customers.
Most of his customers are made up of summer hockey leagues and individual skating lessons, Simpson said.
At BladeRunners, with a rink in Warrendale, workers try to keep the ice at 18 degrees to 19 degrees, a job made more expensive during hot weather. The expense is tied to greater use of electricity.
Jim Lybarger, director of hockey operations for the rink, said figure skaters prefer softer ice in the low 20s so their toe picks plant into the ice on a jump rather than shatter the ice.
Lybarger said hockey players prefer the hardest ice possible for speed.
"Hockey players would like it to be zero," Lybarger said.
On the farm, the heat has presented farmers with pros and cons.
The warmer weather is sweetening up fall fruit like apples and shielding off cooler weather woes, like tomato blight, said Bert Schramm of Schramm's Farm Market in Penn Township.
Sunny skies also have pushed in early pumpkins."You will be seeing orange (for sale) this weekend," Schramm said.Mid-season and late-season pumpkins will be right on target for sale at the Criswell Road market, he said.Other crops, such as Concord grapes for example, also are doing well. The sun is ripening them, but the grape vine's deep roots still find all the water they need.What is the downside of the heat to farmers like Schramm?It's awfully hard to do farm and field work. Schramm said his workers can only stay out about four hours at a time.The hot weather has coincided with the start of some schools.Members of the Butler High School band finished three weeks of band camp Aug. 20, so their 45-minute practice sessions are relatively easy, said Andy Yaracs, director. Band camp ran from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Yaracs said.The band rehearses in street clothes or gym clothes and only wears uniforms during parades or performances, Yaracs said.In the Moniteau School District, the higher-than-usual temperatures will mean somewhat higher electric bills, said Jeff Campbell, director of building and grounds."This is July-type weather," Campbell said.Ordinarily, air conditioning systems are on an energy-conserving schedule, Campbell said, with a 4 p.m. shutdown and 6 a.m. startup. However, Campbell has had to adjust the cooling systems as a result of the heat and humidity. Now, they start up two hours earlier, at 4 a.m., and in carpeted areas, air conditioning is running around the clock, Campbell said.Campbell said the hot weather does not present any water concerns since the district has its own well and plants for treating water and sewage.The district uses between 3,000 and 4,000 gallons of water per day, about 25 percent of its previous usage before water-conserving toilets and urinals were installed.Eagle staff writers Paula Grubbs, Ed Biller, Kim Paskorz and Sandy Pontius contributed to this report.
