Heat Emergency In Boston; Cooling Centers Open To Residents
BOSTON (CBS) - Our third straight day over 90 degrees made the "heat wave" official, and quickly pushed the job of staying cool to the top of the priority list.
When the sun finally set, darkness proved to be a better companion for a jog along the Charles.
"The sun is like an oven," said one jogger. "Super-hot."
But during the afternoon heat, many a kid was bugging mom about a trip to the splash pad – and some were pretty busy.
"It was a little toasty at our house," said Stephanie Miller as she kept a watchful eye on her son at Charlesbank Park in Boston.
It was certainly toasty in schools that don't have air conditioning.
"We had all sorts of fans going in my classroom and it was still hot," an elementary school student in Watertown told us.
In fact, several school systems sent kids home after half a day – including Worcester – rather than have them endure sweltering classrooms with their masks on.
"I mean I think we've got to keep everybody safe," said mother Liz Lawson, "because heat exhaustion is a real thing."
Some schools might have canceled classes altogether had it not required a make-up day later this month.
At Lexington High School, the girls' softball team didn't want to miss a practice – but opted to scrap the outdoor diamond.
"We're going to be indoors today just hitting in the batting cages," said coach Marissa Gable. "So we'll do what we can without sitting in the sun."
In Cambridge, residents of a public housing complex on Erie Street complained their apartments were unbearable.
"I got two fans going and it's still hot," said James, a resident who – like many – didn't want to give their name for fear of retribution.
The problem – apparently – is a state regulation that requires tenants to have the option of using their heaters through June 15th – meaning building staffers can't make the switchover enabling residents to use the A/C in their rooms until then.
But the air conditioning is on in the lobby.
"You have seniors in here who can't stand the heat," James told us, "and they say 'Oh, well come downstairs and sit in our air conditioned area."
For the record, the Cambridge Housing Authority told us it would "strongly support a change" in that policy.
In any event – back at the splash pad in Charlesbank Park – summer seemed a little more welcome.
Boston opened up several emergency cooling centers, but at least three of them told us they had no takers today. A heat emergency is in effect in Boston through Tuesday.
WBZ Meteorologist believes this heat will break Wednesday, and it'll be cooler though the weekend.
