The heat wave washing over the eastern U.S. pushed the mercury in State College to 102 degrees late Friday afternoon, according to several weather agencies — matching the town’s hottest temperature on record.
State College last reached 102 degrees on July 8, 1932, and July 16, 1988, AccuWeather.com senior meteorologist Tom Kines said.
‘What we’re seeing right now, this is record-breaking stuff,’ Kines said.
He said State College’s earlier high-temperature record for July 22 was 96 degrees — a number that became ‘a sitting duck’ in this weather.
The official temperature reading for State College is logged on the Penn State University Park campus. Mercury there reached 99 degrees on Thursday, breaking the daily record for July 21, as well, Kines said. (A separate reading Thursday, logged at University Park Airport, put the temperature there at 100 degrees.)
In downtown State College, the heat became so extreme Friday afternoon that the borough government closed some of its offices at 3 p.m. — two hours earlier than usual, borough police Lt. Chris Fishel said.
He said the move was meant to help keep the borough municipal building’s cooling system from being overtaxed. The availability of the borough’s public services, including police patrols, was not affected by the decision, Fishel said.
Penn State also has taken special steps to deal with the heat. Students enrolled in summer classes at University Park may seek, on a temporary basis, air-conditioned rooms in the Eastview Terrace complex, the university announced Friday.
An overview of Penn State’s heat-related special measures, including for sports-camp and conference guests, is available via Penn State Live.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory in the State College area; it will remain in effect through 8 p.m. Friday. Another heat advisory will take effect from noon through 8 p.m. Saturday.
Back at AccuWeather.com, based in Ferguson Township, Kines said the State College area is likely to get a break from the heat early next week, perhaps as early as Sunday.
‘I think there will be a couple days next week when we’ll all be able to take a deep breath and say, ‘Yay,” he said.
Still, Kines added, high temperatures may return in the second half of next week. They probably won’t be as severe as what the area is seeing now, he said.
‘It’s hard to get that two times in a row,’ Kines said. ‘Having said that, we could easily be looking at the 90s’ again.
For now, AccuWeather.com is forecasting an eventual high of 103 degrees Friday in State College. The humidity will make it feel like 106 degrees, according to the weather agency.
Temperatures are forecast to dip to 76 overnight in State College, then reach 94 on Saturday. Sunday’s high is expected to be 89 degrees, according to AccuWeather.com.
It said thunderstorms are possible both Saturday and Sunday.
Anticipating the rest of the summer, Kines said he thinks ‘the overall weather pattern does favor above-normal temperatures during that timeframe.
‘That’s not to say we can’t have some cool days built in. I’m sure we will,’ he went on.
But on the whole, Kines said, he expects the remainder of summer 2011 will continue, on average, the warmer-than-normal streak.
Related coverage
