It's gettin' hot in here: New London attempts to keep cool in heat wave
Jul. 22—NEW LONDON — Some say that the summer season runs its course between Memorial Day and Independence Day. July had other plans this year.
While a heat wave technically consists of three consecutive days of 90-degree temperatures, per Western Connecticut State's Chief Meteorologist Gary Lessor, the heat index across the state will be in the triple digits over the weekend.
Inland portions of the state will reach that threshold this weekend, while in New London and along the shoreline temperatures will peak in the upper 80s. Lessor pointed out with high dew points, or humidity, throughout Connecticut, it's going to feel like it's "well into the 90s" no matter where you are.
"Humidity wise, today and Sunday are going to be oppressively humid with dew points in the 90s," Lessor said.
The high heat index numbers prompted Gov. Ned Lamont to activate the state's Extreme Hot Weather Protocol, which began Tuesday and will run through 8 p.m. Sunday, July 24.
The heat index is how hot the air "feels like on your body," Lessor explained. It's a combination of actual temperature and the dew point. That number has to be over 70 for the level to be considered "oppressively humid," like Thursday's mark of 73, which felt like 103 degrees even though the temperature was actually in the 80s, he said.
He explained that, although scattered thunderstorms may hit the state Thursday afternoon and late Sunday night, it will feel like 90 degrees on the shoreline over the weekend. Inland, it will feel like 100 degrees.
North of Interstate 95, it looks like the heat wave will last at least through Sunday and possibly into Monday, Lessor said.
Stay cool, stay out of the ER
The emergency room at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London has seen an uptick in patients with such heat-related symptoms as dizziness, dehydration and weakness, according to Jennifer Foss, director of emergency services.
Patients don't always associate the symptoms with excessive heat, she said.
It's important to distinguish heat exhaustion from heat stroke, a far more serious condition. While the former is marked by profuse sweating, a stroke may occur when a person has stopped sweating, signaling the body has shut down, Foss said. At that point, the body's core temperature may be rising dangerously high.
People who don't have access to air conditioning or another way to stay cool, including geriatric and pediatric populations as well as those with disabilities, are most at risk, Foss, a registered nurse, said.
"That's why we have to make sure to check on our neighbors," she said.
In extreme heat, people should take commonsense precautions; they should avoid being outdoors during especially hot periods and drink plenty of water, she said. A person who develops dizziness or nausea should consider getting help.
"If you're disoriented and you're able to cool off and it goes right away, OK, but if the disorientation is persistent, you should go to the emergency room," Foss said.
The state's protocol also permits state agencies and municipalities to connect with United 211 to distribute cooling center information to residents. Those in need of a cooling center are asked to call 211 or visit 211ct.org.
Some work, some play
New London county businesses, camps and public services are implementing measures to deal with heat. The combination of the high heat and the Stage 2 drought across the state has not been kind to Will Mitchell, owner of Outdoor Property Services LLC in Groton.
"It's really crispy out there," Mitchell said.
When temperatures on Wednesday peaked, he pulled his crews from their work sites in an effort to avoid injuries, though the crews were back in action Thursday. The company, which typically mows a lot of lawns, has shifted its focus to projects, such as bulk cleanups, fence installations and hedge trimming, as the grass "has pretty much stopped growing."
Instead of mowing lawns every eight to 10 days, the timeline has shifted to 12-14 days, and that has shaved off 50% of Mitchell's lawn-mowing income compared to last July. Mitchell said he's had to trim profit margins all around as a way to secure other jobs, just to keep his guys busy.
Mitchell said he's down one worker, but can't afford to replace him between the heat and the time for training someone mid-season. He has three weeks' worth of work lined up for his crews and can't afford to be inefficient. He's monitoring his crews and making sure he provides cases of water in addition to whatever the crews bring with them.
"Our insurance company sponsored training for us to properly keep people hydrated in hot temperatures," Mitchell said.
The city of New London's recreation department is making sure kids in its Summer Playground Program are staying cool and hydrated, as well.
"We're a fortunate community that we have the options to change our schedule because we also provide swimming lessons, beaches within New London," Director of Recreation Tommie Major said.
The camp, which runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., has a flexible schedule that allows campers to play outside in the mornings when it's cooler before heading inside to an air-conditioned building or the pool, Major said.
He noted the camp is making sure campers are staying hydrated and is communicating with parents and guardians "more so now."
Police and firefighters lean on manpower
Like Major and his campers, police and fire departments in the region are paying close attention to the weather and their personnel.
"With outside details such as the Waterford Speedbowl, road construction and the Summer Music at the beach, we continue to monitor and will make adjustments if appropriate," Waterford Police Department Chief Marc Balestracci said late Thursday morning.
East Lyme police Chief Michael Finkelstein said that if a situation were to arise that would require officers to be outside for an extended period of time, such as a crime scene or serious accident, the department would evaluate the situation for safety and ensure officers remain hydrated.
Ledyard police Chief John Rich said his department is monitoring personnel on calls and traffic details and advising everyone to remain hydrated. In a major incident or crash, when an officer would have to be outdoors for an extended period, the department provides relief, water and food, and shifts can be called in early to help provide coverage. The department also checks in on officers working private-duty traffic details, providing breaks as necessary.
"Our supervisors do a good job of taking care of our officers and providing relief as needed," Rich added. Dispatchers routinely check in with officers on calls, and the department has bottled water on hand to bring to officers.
Flanders fire Chief Chris Taylor said the fire department takes the same precaution in hot weather as it does every day: making sure all firefighters are drinking plenty of water. The department has big coolers filled with ice and water in every fire apparatus. If the department had to respond to a fire, "We'll call our surrounding towns for mutual aid" due to the hot weather, he said.
Poquonnock Bridge fire Capt. Jason Pollard said hydration is important, as well as making sure the department has extra resources, including manpower, equipment and mutual aid, when firefighters have to work in the heat. Staff members checking in on one another also is key, he said.
Pollard said the department gets heat-related calls, mostly emergency medical services calls, during hot weather.
Utilities aren't sweating the heat
Local and statewide utility companies said Thursday there are no plans or need to enact rolling brownouts due to the heat wave, and all systems are handling the peak electricity demands.
Norwich Public Utilities on Wednesday issued power alert days through Friday asking customers for voluntary conservation measures to help keep costs down and reduce the strain on the city's electrical infrastructure. NPU spokesman Chris Riley said some posts on social media wrongly interpreted the power alert as a call for rolling blackouts or brownouts.
NPU had two brief, minor power outages Thursday, neither caused by the extreme heat. One momentary outage was due to maintenance, and a second one that affected about 500 customers for about 20 minutes could have been caused by a fallen branch or an animal, Riley said.
Daniel Bourges, Groton Utilities spokesman, said the utility always suggests customers conserve energy, and a heat wave is "just the best days to do that." The utility is a nonprofit and tries to save customers as much money as possible, he said. GU had no power outages Thursday.
Eversource spokesman Mitchell Gross said there has been a high demand for electricity all week, and crews are responding to "any problems, where they occur." While it had no heat-wave-related outages, the utility company responded Thursday to thunderstorm outages in western Fairfield County, Waterbury and Watertown areas. Utility line crews are trained for all sorts of weather, he said.
Riley said NPU crew members are being instructed to take frequent breaks and watch out for one another. "This is every bit as dangerous as a blizzard when the linemen are working outdoors in these conditions," he said.
Both NPU and GU reported their water system reservoirs were in good shape. Norwich reservoirs are above 80% capacity, about normal for late July, Riley said. Groton Utilities has a new water treatment facility and can store millions of gallons of water, Borges said and is "super efficient."
Don't forget your furry friends
State Rep. Mike France, R-Ledyard, issued a "Hot Asphalt Awareness" memo for pets in an email Thursday. A graphic in the email converts the outside temperature to the equivalent temperature of the asphalt. When temperatures reach 87 degrees, like they will this weekend, the asphalt is 143 degrees.
"Place your bare hand or foot on the ground for 10 seconds," the graphic reads. "if it's too hot for you it's too hot for your pup."
The email lists a number of precautions, provided by American Red Cross, that pet owners can follow with the prevalent heat. Some of the suggestions include: Never leave your pet in a hot vehicle, limit exercise on hot days and walk your pet in the grass if possible.
Day Staff Writers Claire Bessette, Brian Hallenbeck and Kimberly Drelich contributed to this report.
