Monday's heat was so bad in Harford County, Bel Air resident Clarence Veney said it felt "like my skin's about to burn off."
Veney, 28, headed for the Bel Air branch of the Harford County Public Library, which, along with other library branches throughout the county, served as cooling centers.
"It's just so hot, I felt like passing out," Veney said as he sat in the adult section, starting his third book of the day.
He wore long pants and a long-sleeved shirt to ward off the chill of the air-conditioning.
"I feel calm and cool [now]," Veney said.
He works for a local landscaping company, but he had a day off Monday. He said his boss will not make him and his co-workers work on days like Monday, though, when temperatures stayed in the 90s through the evening and the heat index reached 110 degrees.
The automatic doors slid open as library patrons walked in and out, and there was a stark difference between the hazy, muggy air outside and the cool, refreshing air inside.
"We're here," Jenny Novacescu, the assistant branch manager, said. "If you're hot, come by."
Bottles of water were set out for patrons throughout the building. Novacescu said computer use had been "heavier than usual" Monday, and she noticed every seat was filled in the periodicals section when she arrived in the morning.
Bel Air residents Linda and Michael McManus, who are regular library patrons, visited the branch to beat the heat.
Michael McManus, 65, said the temperature was 97 degrees when he and his wife left their home late in the afternoon. He had been working in the yard, cutting grass and weeding.
"I said, 'Let's go to the library, it's nice and cool there; it's something to do,'" Linda McManus, also 65, recalled.
She said her daughter and her grandchildren visited the branch earlier in the day, since it was too hot to do anything outside.
"You have to take this kind of weather very seriously," Linda McManus said.
Not everyone could stay inside to escape the searing temperatures, which hit a high of 96 degrees at Susquehanna State Park near Havre de Grace and 97 degrees in Aberdeen, National Weather Service meteorologist Andrew Snyder said Tuesday, citing data provided by volunteer observers.
Temperatures hit triple digits in and around Baltimore, where a high of 100 degrees was recorded at the Maryland Science Center in downtown Baltimore and 101 degrees at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, according to Snyder.
At the intersection of Routes 22 and 543 east of Bel Air Monday afternoon, a crew from Comer Construction Company was digging to find underground utility lines.
By then, the temperatures were in the high 90s, but the crew members pressed on, stopping to take frequent hydration breaks and to wipe away sweat from their faces.
A thunderstorm clipped the northern and northeastern edge of Harford County around 8 p.m. Monday, Snyder said.
Delmarva Power, which has about 5,400 customers in northern Harford, handled "normal storm-related outages," but the weather did not cause any other issues, according to utility spokesperson Nick Morici.
"It was certainly manageable," he said.
Because of a mechanical failure, causing an issue with the air conditioning at Patterson Mill High School, scheduled summer school, ESY and parks and recreation activities held at the school were canceled for Tuesday, Harford County Public Schools said.
Heat-related health issues
First responders around the county dealt with several heat-related calls Monday, as well as during the weekend, when temperatures were also in the 90s.
The Harford Volunteer Fire and EMS Association responded to five calls for heat-related illnesses on Monday, spokesperson Jenn Chenworth said via email around 5:20 p.m Monday.
"At this time to our knowledge, none of the patients were reported to have life-threatening heat emergencies, and have all been taken to local hospitals, with the exception of one who refused treatment by EMS," she wrote.
Most of Monday's calls were in the Route 40 corridor from Aberdeen to Joppa, with at least three of them at addresses of large product distribution centers.
One call was Monday morning around 9:15 at Kohl's distribution center in the Edgewood area, according to a county government spokesperson Cindy Mumby.
Andrew Doyle, spokesperson for the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company, which responded, confirmed the call was heat-related and said the patient was in stable condition at a hospital.
Fire and EMS responded to three calls over the weekend for heat exposures, none life-threatening.
The calls included an adult male in Aberdeen and a boy in Havre de Grace on Saturday, between 3 and 4 p.m., and a woman in Joppa on Sunday around 7 p.m. All were taken to local hospitals, said Chenworth, who noted all three people had been outside when they became sick.
"Please remember to hydrate, take frequent breaks and wear light colored loose clothing if you must be out in the heat," she said.
County health officials continue to advise residents to take precautions against dehydration and heat stroke.
According to the Harford County Health Department, heat illness takes many forms including heat fatigue, heat syncope (sudden dizziness after exercising in the heat), heat cramps, heat exhaustion or the most serious, heat stroke.
Heat stroke is an advanced form of heat stress that occurs when the body is overwhelmed by heat and unable to control its temperature.
Anyone with a body temperature above 104 degrees is likely suffering from heat stroke and may have symptoms of confusion, combativeness, strong rapid pulse, lack of sweating, dry flushed skin, faintness, staggering, possible delirium or coma. People with any of these symptoms, especially older adults, should receive immediate medical attention.
Temperatures are expected to be in the low 90s during the day today (Wednesday) and Thursday, according to the National Weather Service website, with a chance of thunderstorms Thursday. The NWS forecast for the Bel Air area shows temperatures moderating to the high 80s Saturday and Sunday, with a 50 percent chance of the thunderstorms both days.
"[Monday] was definitely the peak, but we're not going to see a huge relief from the heat at any point this week," Snyder, of the NWS, said.
He noted staff at the agency's Climate Prediction Center are calling for, "on average, above-normal temperatures for the next three months."
The last time summer temperatures hit 100 degrees in the Baltimore area was July 18, 2012, Snyder said.