Fierce, early-summer heat continued Wednesday to take a harsh toll on Maryland. High temperatures were blamed for one death in Baltimore. They strained the electrical grid, worsened spreading crop damage and exhausted some who had to be outdoors.
The afternoon temperature at BWI-Marshall Airport peaked at 101 degrees, breaking the day's 99-degree record, last reached in 1993.
It was the second straight day of record-breaking, triple-digit weather. It also marked the 25th day of 90-degree-plus temperatures this year, and the fifth 100-degree day. Both marks are new records for Baltimore temperatures through July 7.
Triple-digit temperatures were also reported again from Richmond, Va., up through Washington, Philadelphia and New York City.
The forecast does promise a little relief for beleaguered Marylanders. Temperatures on Thursday and Friday are predicted to hold in the low 90s as low pressure off the Carolina coast backs more clouds into the region, providing a bit of shade from a brutal July sun.
On the other hand, the humidity is expected to climb, keeping heat index numbers close to 100 degrees.
"There's going to be no dramatic cool-down in the next couple of days," said Howard Silverman, senior forecaster at the National Weather Service's Baltimore-Washington forecast office in Sterling, Va. "It will be just a few degrees each day."
Further relief is likely when the next cold front passes by late Friday or early Saturday. That could bring some showers and thunderstorms, and will return the weekend highs to the upper 80s to near 90 degrees.
But "any cold front that tries to make it this far south at this time of year has a bit of difficulty moving through," Silverman said. We won't see this week's extremes, "but it is still going to be summer weather."
State health authorities reported two more heat-related deaths in Maryland, bringing the season's total to eight.
One of those deaths occurred in May, but the determination of its cause had been pending since. The deceased was described as an Anne Arundel County adult who collapsed at home after working outdoors.
Danger to health
The second fatality was that of a Baltimore adult who was found this week inside a city home where air temperatures exceeded 90 degrees.
Maryland Secretary of Health John Colmers reminded residents to take steps to protect themselves from the excessive heat. "The most important one is to stay out of the heat and take the time to stay in touch with family, friends and neighbors," he said in a news release.
That was not an option for four Naval Academy midshipmen who were taking part in a six-week summer training program in Annapolis on Wednesday morning.
An hour after they completed a two-hour obstacle course, in which they were required to climb rope ladders and jump over logs, they began showing signs of heat exhaustion. Symptoms of heat exhaustion include extreme weakness, muscle cramps, nausea or headache. It is treated with plenty of fluids, and rest in a cool, shaded area.
Naval Academy spokeswoman Judy Campbell said medical help was summoned about 10 a.m. The students were treated and monitored, she said.
The high demand for electrical power prompted BGE and the PJM Interconnection — managers of the Mid-Atlantic region's power grid — to issue an "electrical power advisory." The advisory asked consumers in the region to "use energy prudently," especially during the peak demand hours of 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
PJM officials reported that energy demand from northern New Jersey to Washington peaked Tuesday at 136,398 megawatts. It was the third-highest on record for the PJM grid, and it topped the forecast peak for this summer.
PJM described the supply picture in its Mid-Atlantic region, which includes the BGE and Pepco service areas, as "tight." Electrical transmission dispatchers were told Tuesday to prepare for voltage reductions, but the "brown-out" warning was later canceled as demand fell.
Wednesday's demand was forecast to run higher than Tuesday's, to 137,800 megawatts.
By midafternoon Wednesday, BGE had responded more than 10,000 power outages since Tuesday afternoon and had restored service to most of those customers. A few hundred outages remained.
Crops suffer
The scarcity of rain in recent weeks has begun to take a toll on the state's farms.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that 38 percent of Maryland's corn crop was in "poor" or "very poor" condition last week. Forty-two percent of the soybean crop was in a similar state, as was 42 percent of the state's pasture land.
Apples and peaches were in the best condition, with 98 percent of apples and 86 percent of peaches in "good" or "excellent" condition.
Maryland Secretary of Agriculture Earl "Buddy" Hance said Southern Maryland and the Lower Eastern Shore have been experiencing "a pretty significant drought," while the rest of the state is unusually dry.
The dry weather, winds and extreme temperatures "have been having a devastating effect on crops," Hance said.
"Some areas have experienced significant to total loss of corn," he said. The heat is preventing the tasseling corn from pollinating, which in turn prevents the ears from developing. "And this week we're hearing from vegetable and produce farmers without the ability to irrigate of some significant losses in production," Hance said.
Fruit growers as far north as Cecil County have begun reporting the heat has pushed their fruit to "over-mature," becoming too soft to be marketable.
"At least the weather forecast is talking about a chance for showers in the next couple of days," Hance said.
"The corn crop in some areas is beyond the point where it could recover," he said. But "some soybeans are still at a stage of growth that they could recover." Some vegetables and other produce also could bounce back with adequate rainfall, as could some parched pastures.
"But crops at that point of maturity where they are making seeds or grain, there's just no recovery," Hance said.
The state's farmers were being urged, if their corn or soybean crops fail or mature early, to work closely with their crop insurance agents and to sign up for the state's cover crop program. That makes it possible for them to plant small grain crops that will take up the fertilizer and nutrients that would otherwise wash into the Chesapeake Bay.