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Temperature rises to 95, tying record

E-mail|Link|Comments () August 18, 2009 05:24 PM

David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

One way to beat the heat -- Ursula, a northern fur seal at the New England Aquarium who hails from a much cooler neighborhood in the northern Pacific, cooled off on a block of ice today.

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The temperature soared to a record-tying 95 degrees this afternoon, one degree higher than Monday's season high of 94.

"If you were waiting for summer, it’s here,” said Bill Simpson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton.

The temperature rose to 95 at 2:22 p.m., tying the all-time high for the day set in 2002. The weather service also reported that the temperature of 93 recorded at T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island tied the all-time record there, set in 1987.

"It was too hot. I was melting," said Adara Rodriguez, 3, who was standing in the shade this afternoon at the Hynes Playground on VFW Parkway in West Roxbury after an hour of running through fountains.

The state Department of Environmental Protection issued an air quality alert for ground level ozone. The wave of oppressive weather prompted Boston to declare a heat emergency, which keeps dozens of cooling centers open until 10 p.m. and city pools open until 9 p.m.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino urged residents to check on elderly neighbors. Seniors can also call the Elderly Commission at 617-635-4366 or the city's 24-hour hotline at 617-635-4500.

Still, not everyone was bothered by the weather. At Ceylon Park off Columbia Road in Dorchester this afternoon, Carla Stokes, 42 of Dorchester, was relaxing in the cool shade with another Dorchester resident, Brian Jenkins, 42.

"I'm not complaining," she said.

"My month of June was all rain, so I'm not complaining about this, either," said Jenkins.

ISO New England, which runs the power grid in the region, has said it expected today to be the highest electricity demand day of the year, eclipsing yesterday but far shy of the electrical usage record set in August 2006. At its peak this afternoon, ISO is predicting electrical usage at 26,010 megawatts, said ISO spokeswoman Erin O'Brien. (For perspective, one megawatt is generally enough to power 700-1,000 homes, she said).

The hot weather is expected to break Wednesday night, when storms are expected to move in and break the current weather pattern. On Thursday, the expected high will be in the 80s.