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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Heat wave broils eastern half of U.S.

Temperatures climb above 100 in some areas; deaths reported

An art installation of a melting fan sits on display in a subway station Thursday in Atlanta. Heat across half the country had people doing what they could to stay cool. (Associated Press)
Stephen Singer Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – A third day of unseasonable heat blistered the eastern half of the country Thursday, making tornado cleanup miserable in Massachusetts and sending country music fans in Tennessee to hospitals, while the surge in demand for energy knocked out power to sections of downtown Detroit.

Relief was on the way in the Northeast, however, as an approaching cold front triggered evening thunderstorms. Tens of thousands lost power in parts of New England as the storms passed through.

The persistent heat has been blamed for at least seven deaths from the Great Plains to the East Coast, where authorities prepared emergency rooms and encouraged neighbors to check on the elderly as temperatures soared above 100 in spots.

Detroit officials intentionally cut power to city hall and a convention center Thursday to prevent the municipal power system from crashing from high energy demand – even though temperatures had tapered to the 70s after two days above 90.

“Because there was a short window of time, we had to make a decision to take some of our customers off to prevent a blackout of the entire city,” Detroit mayor’s spokeswoman Karen Dumas said.

Some Northeastern schools canceled classes or closed early for a second day Thursday so students would not have to suffer with no air conditioning. Cooling centers opened in Chicago, Memphis, Tenn., Newark, N.J., and other cities as a refuge for those without air conditioning.

In New Jersey, records of 102 degrees were recorded at the Newark and Atlantic City airports, beating their respective previous records of 99 degrees and 98 degrees set in 2008. The temperature also reached 102 degrees at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, matching a record set in 1874. Philadelphia hit 99 degrees, one degree higher than a record set in 1933.

In Springfield, chain saws whirred amid high heat and humidity as workers cleared tree branches and other messes left by tornadoes that struck the area last week. The temperature hit 92 on Thursday.

While the Northeast began seeing some relief late Thursday as a cold front swept through with cooler, drier air, the scorching heat was to linger for days in the South. Music fans in Tennessee had that to keep in mind as three major festivals commenced.

The four-day Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival began Thursday, with 80,000 general admission tickets sold for the event being held on a 700-acre farm about 60 miles southeast of Nashville. In Chattanooga, 600,000 people are expected over nine days at the Riverbend Festival.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center spokesman Jerry Jones said Thursday that about 50 people at the CMA fest were treated Wednesday, about half for heat-related conditions.