With temperatures topping off Wednesday at 95 degrees in Baltimore, forecasters say Thursday's conditions could dwarf anything felt so far during this current heat spell, as the mercury is expected to climb into the upper 90s and a heat index of more than 100 is predicted.
Add in an expected 10-mph to 15-mph wind that could gust up to 25 mph, and walking outside Thursday could feel "like a glass furnace," according to Bryan Jackson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Sterling, Va.
Jackson said the area caught a minor break Wednesday as humidity remained relatively low, keeping the heat index — a combined measure of heat and humidity — in line with temperatures. Still, Jackson conceded that it was "plenty hot out there," and local health authorities opened cooling centers to combat the heat. The facilities that are expected to remain open Thursday.
Already this year, BWI-Marshall has recorded 15 days of 90-degree-plus temperatures, including 10 in June, the hottest start for the warm-weather season since 1994. Today's temperature is expected to approach the June 24 all-time high of 98 degrees set in 1966.
Forecasters expect temperatures at the airport to remain at or above 90 degrees through Monday. The city has issued a Code Red heat alert, and 11 emergency cooling centers were opened.
Ricardo Williams visited one of those centers, the Northern Community Action Center on York Road, on Wednesday. Williams said his house lost power, leaving him with no cool water or air conditioning.
"I got heart trouble and asthma, and I'm not supposed to be out here, but my gas and electric is cut off right now," Williams said. "Some people told me we could come up here to the center so we could get some cold water. So that's why I came."
Williams has been living on McCabe Avenue for 33 years, and he noted that the hot weather was unexpected so early in the season.
"It got hot the second day in the summertime; yes, that's real unusual," Williams said.
Williams was part of a steady stream of people at the Govans center. Director David Smith said many of the visitors come from the bus stop across the street, where they often wait in the heat before boarding.
"Most people just come in [to] get the water," said Smith, who had handed out more than 110 bottles by midafternoon. "It's about beating the heat for a few seconds and then going back to their business."
While the cooling centers remained busy, city emergency medical crews and hospitals fielded few incidents of heat-related illnesses.
"We've had a couple of cases but nothing inordinate," said Gary Stephenson, a spokesman for Johns Hopkins Hospital. "Most people take the appropriate measures to avoid getting themselves in trouble."
Monique Lyle, spokeswoman for the Baltimore County Health Department, said workers at the county's three cooling centers did not expect to see many people seeking relief from the heat. Lyle could not immediately provide the number of people who had used the centers Wednesday, but she said only one or two people used the service last year.
She said county officials had not determined whether they would keep the centers open throughout the week.
Baltimore City's five emergency cooling centers will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and longer if the Code Red alert is extended. Officials say the Commission on Aging and Retirement Education will operate another five centers, and the Jewish Community Center will operate as a center.