Folks find ways to keep cool as heat wave hits Cecil County

CECIL COUNTY — The first heat wave of this summer hit over the weekend, driving people willing to leave the comfort of their air-conditioned homes to swimming pools, ice cream stands and other such places in Cecil County that offered cool respites.

A heat wave is a “period of abnormally hot weather generally lasting more than two days,” according to the National Weather Service. Those in the overall community of meteorologists agree, however, that the term “heat wave” applies when, more specifically, there have been at least three consecutive days in which the temperature reaches 90 degrees Fahrenheit or above.

So based on those definitions, the heat wave in Cecil County hit on Friday when the highest temperature recorded that day was 91 degrees. Making it even feel even warmer, the humidity was flirting with 40 percent at that zenith-point temperature.

Mother Nature turned up the heat even more on Saturday, when the temperature reached 95 degrees at approximately 5 p.m., and the humidity climbed to 43 percent. It’s important to note that, while the temperature dropped into the 80s during the hours of Saturday night and early Sunday morning, the muggy conditions worsened as the humidity rose slightly above the 60 percent level.

By late Sunday morning — Day Three — the temperature already had reached 85 degrees, with the 67 percent humidity level and other factors making it feel like 92 degrees. Sunday’s high temperature climbed to 94 degrees by late afternoon, when scattered thunderstorms hit this region and brought some relief that continued into Monday, which had less humidity and a high temperature in the low 80s.