Round-the-Clock Heat Wave; As Deaths Mount, Midwest Can't Shake High Temperatures, Humidity

From Chicago to Memphis, from Cincinnati to Kansas City, thenation's heartland continued to broil yesterday, weathering astubborn, sticky heat wave that has claimed more than 30 lives, putstress on power companies and tested the sanity of sweat-torturedcity dwellers and farmers alike.

Since July 19, when a "blocking high pressure system" anchoreditself over the Midwest, stopping the flow of cool air from Canada, ahuge swath of the country has been suffering day and night, not fromrecord temperatures, but from continuous heat and humidity, miseryround the clock.

"It's been unbearable," said Shannon White, a National WeatherService meteorologist in Wilmington, Ohio. "I mean, it stays hot for24 hours, and the heat builds up and builds up, and it's taking atoll."

From July 19 through Monday, Cincinnati's main airport recordedpersistently high daily temperatures of 93, 90, 94, 96, 96, 95, 97and 94, with sopping humidity. As of yesterday afternoon, the localcoroner's office said, at least 10 people had died from the heat inCincinnati and its suburbs.

As in other heat-stricken states, the Ohio temperatures were notexcessively above normal and not nearly record setting,meteorologists said. But so many consecutive days and nights oftemperatures in the mid- and upper-90s, combined with oppressivehumidity, is rare, they said.

Through Monday, the weather service said, St. Louis had enduredtemperatures of 94 or above every day for a week, as had Louisville,where the temperature Sunday hit 100 for the first time since 1991.All over the Midwest map--in Iowa, Kansas, Illinois--the "heatindex," a combination of temperatures and humidity, has been hoveringat blistering levels for more than a week.

"It looks like the middle of the country will get a break bySaturday, but not before," said Mike Looney, the weather service'schief meteorologist for the central United States. The blocking highpressure system "is breaking down enough so that we'll get cooler airthis weekend," he said. "Not cool--but cooler."

In the meantime, the region can only wait, wipe sweat from itsbrow and bury its growing numbers of dead, many of them elderly.

Near Peoria, Ill., the body of 82-year-old Helen Lane was found inher home Saturday. The windows were shut, the air conditioning wasoff, and the temperature in the house was 102, authorities said. Shewas among at least 11 people in that state reported dead from theheat as of yesterday.

In Hamilton County, Ohio, which includes Cincinnati, two peoplewere found dead yesterday, a 34-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man.Eight people already had died over the weekend, said Terry Daly, ofthe county coroner's office. "They ranged in age from 64 to 98, andmost of them were very elderly. Many of them were overweight, aswell, which is a big contributor."

Like officials in other states--including Illinois, where twotoddlers perished in their parents' sweltering car--Daly said almostall the deaths in his jurisdiction were preventable. He said many ofthe elderly victims lived by themselves and contributed to their owndeaths. In one instance, a wealthy 91-year-old woman was found deadin her spacious home, with the air conditioning off and windowslocked.

"She was bundled in clothing," Daly said. "The neighbors said shealways wore layers of clothing. She was always saying she wascold."

When she was found, Daly said, her body temperature was 110.6degrees.

As farmers and ranchers tended to crops and livestock threatenedby the unrelenting sun, other people afflicted by the heat stayedindoors, cranking up their air conditioning, putting a strain onpower companies from Michigan to Louisiana to the East Coast.

The electricity transmission network for Pennsylvania, New Jerseyand Maryland warned that shortages may occur in the nation's largestpower grid, which has been strained by the heat wave.

At the weekend Woodstock '99 music festival in Rome, N.Y.,officials said, more than 1,000 people were treated for heatexhaustion and dehydration.

Todd Luna, 19, was passing through Chicago yesterday on his wayhome to Iowa after attending the festival. "It was three days withno shade," he said. "The medical tents were always full."

Letha Oliphant, a 38-year-old office manager in Chicago, said shehas changed her schedule to avoid being outdoors.

"I try to stay inside and just come out later at night, like avampire," she said. "People need to realize how hot it is and knowtheir limitations."

Special correspondent Kari Lydersen in Chicago contributed to thisreport.

Round-the-Clock Heat Wave; As Deaths Mount, Midwest Can't Shake High Temperatures, Humidity

From Chicago to Memphis, from Cincinnati to Kansas City, thenation's heartland continued to broil yesterday, weathering astubborn, sticky heat wave that has claimed more than 30 lives, putstress on power companies and tested the sanity of sweat-torturedcity dwellers and farmers alike.

Since July 19, when a "blocking high pressure system" anchoreditself over the Midwest, stopping the flow of cool air from Canada, ahuge swath of the country has been suffering day and night, not fromrecord temperatures, but from continuous heat and humidity, miseryround the clock.

"It's been unbearable," said Shannon White, a National WeatherService meteorologist in Wilmington, Ohio. "I mean, it stays hot for24 hours, and the heat builds up and builds up, and it's taking atoll."

From July 19 through Monday, Cincinnati's main airport recordedpersistently high daily temperatures of 93, 90, 94, 96, 96, 95, 97and 94, with sopping humidity. As of yesterday afternoon, the localcoroner's office said, at least 10 people had died from the heat inCincinnati and its suburbs.

As in other heat-stricken states, the Ohio temperatures were notexcessively above normal and not nearly record setting,meteorologists said. But so many consecutive days and nights oftemperatures in the mid- and upper-90s, combined with oppressivehumidity, is rare, they said.

Through Monday, the weather service said, St. Louis had enduredtemperatures of 94 or above every day for a week, as had Louisville,where the temperature Sunday hit 100 for the first time since 1991.All over the Midwest map--in Iowa, Kansas, Illinois--the "heatindex," a combination of temperatures and humidity, has been hoveringat blistering levels for more than a week.

"It looks like the middle of the country will get a break bySaturday, but not before," said Mike Looney, the weather service'schief meteorologist for the central United States. The blocking highpressure system "is breaking down enough so that we'll get cooler airthis weekend," he said. "Not cool--but cooler."

In the meantime, the region can only wait, wipe sweat from itsbrow and bury its growing numbers of dead, many of them elderly.

Near Peoria, Ill., the body of 82-year-old Helen Lane was found inher home Saturday. The windows were shut, the air conditioning wasoff, and the temperature in the house was 102, authorities said. Shewas among at least 11 people in that state reported dead from theheat as of yesterday.

In Hamilton County, Ohio, which includes Cincinnati, two peoplewere found dead yesterday, a 34-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man.Eight people already had died over the weekend, said Terry Daly, ofthe county coroner's office. "They ranged in age from 64 to 98, andmost of them were very elderly. Many of them were overweight, aswell, which is a big contributor."

Like officials in other states--including Illinois, where twotoddlers perished in their parents' sweltering car--Daly said almostall the deaths in his jurisdiction were preventable. He said many ofthe elderly victims lived by themselves and contributed to their owndeaths. In one instance, a wealthy 91-year-old woman was found deadin her spacious home, with the air conditioning off and windowslocked.

"She was bundled in clothing," Daly said. "The neighbors said shealways wore layers of clothing. She was always saying she wascold."

When she was found, Daly said, her body temperature was 110.6degrees.

As farmers and ranchers tended to crops and livestock threatenedby the unrelenting sun, other people afflicted by the heat stayedindoors, cranking up their air conditioning, putting a strain onpower companies from Michigan to Louisiana to the East Coast.

The electricity transmission network for Pennsylvania, New Jerseyand Maryland warned that shortages may occur in the nation's largestpower grid, which has been strained by the heat wave.

At the weekend Woodstock '99 music festival in Rome, N.Y.,officials said, more than 1,000 people were treated for heatexhaustion and dehydration.

Todd Luna, 19, was passing through Chicago yesterday on his wayhome to Iowa after attending the festival. "It was three days withno shade," he said. "The medical tents were always full."

Letha Oliphant, a 38-year-old office manager in Chicago, said shehas changed her schedule to avoid being outdoors.

"I try to stay inside and just come out later at night, like avampire," she said. "People need to realize how hot it is and knowtheir limitations."

Special correspondent Kari Lydersen in Chicago contributed to thisreport.