Children run through the Compass Fountain whirlpool at sunset in St. Joseph, Michigan, during a heat wave on Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. (Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP)
IRON MOUNTAIN – Storms with high winds downed trees and knocked out power in areas of the Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin late Monday and early Tuesday.
The National Weather Service announced on Tuesday that thunderstorms were again possible during the night from Tuesday to Friday and that there was also a chance of thunderstorms again during the night from Thursday to Friday.
In Florence County, Wisconsin, County Road C in the town of Homestead was temporarily closed to through traffic Tuesday to repair a road washout near the Lamon Tangue Creek, said Amanda Mulvery, Florence County Emergency Management Director.
Numerous trees and large branches fell throughout Dickinson County early Tuesday. Power outages were isolated but widespread.
We Energies reported that nearly 300 customers were still without power in Dickinson County as of Tuesday afternoon. Of those, 230 were in the Iron Mountain area. By 6 p.m., power had been restored to all but 31 customers, with most of the remaining outages in Norway. By 7:30 p.m., only a few outages remained.
The Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office reported late Tuesday morning that its phone lines were back in service after being outaged by storm damage.
Rainfall included 0.25 inches at Ford Airport in Kingsford.
Midwest struggles with heat
CHICAGO (AP) — As hot, humid temperatures just above 100 degrees swirled across much of the Midwest for the second straight day Tuesday, residents looked for ways to cool off and stay indoors.
Darrell Taylor, 61, has no air conditioning in his Chicago apartment. The temperature there reached a record-breaking 37 degrees Celsius. He described it as feeling like being in an oven. Two fans meant nothing good could happen.
“I put a cold towel on my face. It only helps a little.” he said before retreating to a relative’s house, which has air conditioning.
The National Weather Service issued extreme heat warnings and alerts on Tuesday across much of Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and mid-Atlantic states such as Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The weather service warned of “dangerously hot conditions” and forecast heat index values – which take temperature and relative humidity into account and indicate how hot it feels outside — of as high as 110 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit in some places, including Chicago. The city’s high surpassed the record of 97 degrees set for that day in 1973, the weather service said.
However, some relief is expected soon as cooler temperatures are expected from today.
“It is still hot in the central part of the country, but by the end of the month there will be significantly cooler air,” That’s what Josh Weiss, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said.
Many cities, including Chicago, opened cooling centers. Some schools planned to close early because of the heat. A zoo in Indiana reduced its hours, while a zoo in Chicago gave the animals ice cream as a treat. And a church in Chicago collected thousands of water bottles to give away.
Numerous Ohio schools planned to end classes early on Tuesday and Wednesday because of the expected heat, while some schools canceled classes because of power outages. Chicago schools began the school year as scheduled this week, but school officials announced that outdoor physical education classes were canceled through Tuesday. Some schools in the Chicago suburbs had earlier ending classes. Dozens of Philadelphia schools without adequate air conditioning also planned to end classes early on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Members of St. Sabina Catholic Church on Chicago’s south side collected over 4,000 bottles of water to give away as temperatures soared. The National Weather Service said the temperature reached 98 degrees, which
“We are giving people water because it is a very hot day,” Meryle Davie-Hawthorne said as she handed out bottles chilled in coolers full of ice. “We just want to help.”
Elsewhere, residents were warned against using tried and tested methods to cool down.
In Kalamazoo, southwest Michigan, where temperatures of up to 35 degrees Celsius are expected, authorities asked residents to stop opening fire hydrants.
“There has been a sharp increase in unauthorized private use of City of Kalamazoo fire hydrants,” the city announced on X, formerly Twitter. “Some private individuals open fire hydrants without permission. Please note that opening and closing fire hydrants can cause serious injuries.”
A heat warning was issued for much of northern and eastern Missouri on Tuesday. Highs of 100 degrees were expected in St. Louis, with a slight risk of storms. The region, accustomed to hot and humid August weather, took the heat largely in its stride, with only a few cancellations reported.
Meanwhile, a series of severe thunderstorms with high winds swept across the state of Minnesota early Tuesday morning, causing widespread power outages and tree damage. The Minnesota State Fair in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights opened two hours late Tuesday morning so fair officials could assess the damage and clear away debris. Rides on the Midway were temporarily shut down.
Wind gusts of up to 64 mph were recorded in St. Paul, the National Weather Service said. Xcel Energy, Minnesota’s largest electric utility, said more than 144,000 of its customers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area were still without power Tuesday morning.
At Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo, staff made sure the animals had access to shade and distributed ice so they could drink enough fluids.
“People believe that animals are adapted to weather extremes like heat because they come from more tropical areas,” said Dave Bernier, the zoo’s general curator. “But really, they’re Chicagoans like us and they experience the same weather we do.”
In Indiana, the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo announced on its Facebook page that it would close at 3 p.m. on Tuesday due to extreme heat.
The zoo also offers tips on cooling down from its in-house expert, Penny the ostrich.
“Flap and fan your wings to cool down,” the zoo said in a post with Penny pictures. “Use your long, flexible neck to better control your head temperature.”
