Hot Zone: Relief from Soaring Temps Expected Tuesday

Foster Lewis, 9, cools off from an afternoon of batting practice at McLean Little League on Saturday. Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post. Below, right: This snapshot from Dupont Circle on Sunday isn't an ad, we swear. Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post

I'VE BEEN SITTING in my air-conditioned office for about a half hour after a sweltering trudge from the Metro to the office. I still haven't stopped sweating.

It's downright nasty out there — and it has been since Friday.

How long will it last? According to the Capital Weather Gang, till Tuesday. (Sorry.)

After that — and a spate of nasty thunderstorms — temps will hover in the far-more-palatable mid-80s. For now.

The brain-melting heat has been particularly tough on vulnerable folks like the elderly — especially those left without power due to last week's barrage of thunderstorms.

The Post's Pamela Constable and Matt Zapotosky tell the story of one group of local seniors:

At Waverly House, a senior housing facility in Bethesda that lost its air conditioning, 73 residents voluntarily moved out over the weekend, finding refuge with relatives and friends. One resident complained of heat-related stress Saturday night and was examined by rescue workers, said Tedi Osias, a spokeswoman for the agency that manages the facility.

Portable air conditioners were set up in the facility's lunchroom, where residents who hadn't left sipped lemonade, sweating but in good spirits.

"I miss it very, very much," Bessie Evans, 65, said of the air conditioning, which broke down Tuesday. "I'll be glad when it's back on."

If you've got to venture back out into the muck, just try to visualize yourself in the middle of the scene in the picture below.

» "Pre-Summer Sizzle Heads Into Third Day" [WaPo]

Posted By Greg Barber at 12:30 PM on June 9, 2008 Tagged in Free Ride , Maryland , News , The District , Top Stories , Virginia , Weather

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