Cooling off?

Jul 8, 2010 — Foster's Daily Democrat

Jake O'Donnell

Jul. 8, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- ROCHESTER -- Some relief, albeit small, is arriving today for the weeklong regional heat wave.

Brian Edwards, Accuweather.com meteorologist, said high temperatures for the Tri-City area will not crack 90 degrees today and Friday, and will be in the mid-80s for coastal areas.

"For Rochester we are forecasting highs of 88 for Thursday and 86 for Friday, but the humidity is going to remain just about the same," said Edwards.

Edwards also expects some thundershowers to pass through the region on Saturday, and the worst of the humidity will pass following the showers.

"There's this weak cold front that's passing through off the ocean right now, and that is causing the lower temperatures along the coast," said Edwards. "Another cold front is going to cause the showers Saturday."

Edwards acknowledged what's coming is small consolation, but "it's something," he said.

Officials are warning residents to watch their energy and electricity use during the heat wave. Martin Murray of Public Service of New Hampshire Communications said demand for energy from their customers is extremely high right now, given the amount of energy used by air conditioners and other cooling mechanisms. He said the state nearly broke its record for electricity demanded by PSNH customers at one time this week.

Murray said PSNH customers called for 2,180 megawatts of electricity between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Tuesday, and that the average for a summer day is usually between 1,600 and 1,800 megawatts. The record remains 2,240 megawatts used at one time on Aug. 2, 2006.

Despite the high demand for energy and the high temperatures, Murray said there is a "sufficient amount" of energy available to meet the demands of their customers. As long as it stays hot, Murray said, the demand for electricity will continue to rise. He added there are often significant problems for their electrical equipment this time of year.

"Demand for electricity can put higher demand on equipment, and sometimes it cannot handle more than what it was designed for," said Murray. He said this leads to "localized power outages" that lead to the replacement of transformers.

On Tuesday there were around 10 localized power outages across the state, Murray said, including one in Rochester that affected around 100 customers and another in Farmington that affected around 150. Both outages lasted around 90 minutes.

"We are trying to educate members of the public to be more energy efficient right now," said Murray. "Some of these are common sense steps, like closing windows and putting off using appliances like washing machines or dishwashers as much as possible."

In a statement from the Rochester Fire Department, Capt. Dominick Bellio asked citizens to "exercise caution in plugging in air conditioners or fans. Do not use extension cords or plug in too many appliances on the same circuit."

Several local towns and cities are offering cooling centers for people without air conditioning to go if they need to beat the heat.

Somersworth is offering the Public Library at 25 Main Street as a cooling center through the end of the week. Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. today and Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Lebanon, Maine Rescue Department announced that Lebanon Town Hall at 15 Upper Guinea Road will serve as their cooling station. It will be available 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday.

Rochester will have cooling stations at City Hall Council Chambers, 31 Wakefield St., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday and the Rochester Public Library, 65 South Main St., 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. today and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday

Cooling stations in Portsmouth will be at the Wentworth Connections Community Center for people aged 60+ at 127 Parrott Ave., open until 4 p.m. (for transportation, call 431-8677); Pierce Island Pool, open until 7:15 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; until 5:15 p.m. Monday, Thursday and Friday; and until 4:45 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; Portsmouth Public Library, 175 Parrot Ave., open until 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and until 5:30 p.m. on Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday.

Newstex ID: KRTB-1268-46797711