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Weather Heats Up, Life Slows Down

BY STEVE BIGHAM

Like opening up the oven door, this week's heat wave took your breath away.

The air exceeded blood temperature, and people seemed to want to jump out of

their skins in search of relief. Sure, there was air conditioning, but you had

to come out eventually. The same was true for the town's swimming pool where

people emerged looking like prunes, and the water was like a bath tub anyway.

Yes, the sheer madness of it all was a hot topic of conversation no matter

where you went. "Hot enough for you?" was the usual question people asked. And

similar to a big snow storm, the hot weather had people bogged down. The golf

courses were empty, softball games were postponed and any activity that called

for even the slightest movement was avoided. It only led to a pool of sweat,

dehydration and sheer exhaustion. The pools were crowded, but not as crowded

as Parks & Recreation Director Barbara Kasbarian had expected.

"It was too hot even to lie out by the pool. It was just brutal," Mrs

Kasbarian said.

Those without air conditioners in their homes headed for the movie theaters on

Monday only to find that most movies were sold out. The ticket was well worth

$8.25 for two hours of coolness. For those who headed for the restaurants,

many arrived only to learn the air conditioning was broken.

On Tuesday, the mercury made its way to 103 degrees Fahrenheit at the weather

center at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury. That was a record

high according to WestConn weather student Mike Erickson, a Dr Mel protege.

"The heat wave was caused by the Bermuda High which was centered over the

Atlantic, and helped pump in warm southwesterly winds," Mr Erickson explained.

The humidity made it seem even hotter as the heat index rose to between

110-115 degrees. The heat index is derived by combining the temperature with

the humidity, much like the wind chill factor, which combines the temperature

with the wind speed.

In the end it was the wind that finally blew this week's sweltering heat out

to sea. The swift-moving storm that ripped through town Tuesday night left

behind numerous fallen trees and broken branches in its wake, littering

roadways. Sandy Hook appeared to be hit especially hard as one tree on Route

34 (near Great Ring Road) landed on a house and another fell across Cherry

Street.

The storm and the high pressure behind it pushed the heat out to sea and to

the south making life much more comfortable. Temperatures later in the week

were still close to 90 degrees, and the absence of all the humidity made it

feel even warmer.

"When the cold front came down from the north, it met the hot, unstable

atmosphere, and thunderstorms developed," Mr Erickson said.