Hot temps, bad air on tap for metro Atlanta

By Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

As if today's hot weather, with temperatures expected to climb into the upper 90s, isn't bad enough, a "Code Orange" smog alert has been issued for metro Atlanta.

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John Spink, jspink@ajc.com With possible record high tempertures in store for Atlanta on Thursday, Atlanta firefighter Lt. Gary Robb of Engine 31 wiped away sweat as he dragged 3-inch hose across the parking lot of a shopping center while fighting a restaurant fire. Atlanta firefighters responded to an early morning restaurant fire at 3131 Campbellton Road at Atlanta’s Figure 8 Restaurant.

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The alert, issued by the state Environmental Protection Division, means that the outdoor air is more likely to be unhealthy for children, people sensitive to ozone and people with heart or lung disease.

Today's high temperature in the Atlanta area will reach 98 degrees, but areas such as Eatonton and Rome could hit 100 degrees, WSB-TV meteorologist Glenn Burns said.

Noon temperatures across metro Atlanta ranged from 93 in Marietta and at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to 97 in Chamblee.

The National Weather Service said the relative humidity should remain low enough to prevent the heat index from rising above 105 degrees, the threshold for issuing a heat advisory.

Atlanta's record high for July 8 is 100, set in 1986. So far this year, the city's hottest reading has been 95 degrees on June 14 and 15, during a stretch when highs reached the 90s on 19 consecutive days.

Highs will be in the mid-90s on Friday, before scattered thunderstorms on Saturday keep temperatures in the middle 80s, Burns said.

The City of Atlanta is working on a plan to distribute fans to low-income senior citizens during the heat wave. A spokeswoman said the program should be in place by the end of the week.

Senior Citizen Services is asking for people to donate window air-conditioning units so the organization can give them out to seniors who need them, spokesman Steve Hargrove said. Senior Citizens Services gave out 10 window units earlier this week and are officially out of those and the fans that they had, Hargrove said.

The organization is also asking people to check in on their elderly neighbor, friends and family members to make sure they do not show signs of dehydration or heat stroke, Hargrove said.

As hot as this week will be, temperatures would have to climb considerably higher to come close to the summer that long-time Atlantans sweated through 30 years ago.

In 1980, the city's hottest temperature on record -- 105 degrees -- was set on July 13, then matched again just four days later. Those two 105-degree readings came amidst a summer when the mercury hit triple digits on nine days.

Atlanta's worst heat wave in more recent years came just three summers ago, in August 2007. That's when the city registered highs in the 100's nine times in a single month, with the temperature topping out at a sweltering 104 degrees on August 22.

Staff writers Kristi E. Swartz and Alexis Stevens contributed to this story