By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
The third straight day of 90 degree or greater temperatures had people on Monday trying to cool off in the pool, under the shade or where ever they could get relief during a mini-heat wave hitting Mercer County.
The temperature through much of the county was forecast to reach a high of 94 degrees, according to the National Weather Service’s Mt. Holly monitoring station. Records for Trenton showed that July 19 and 28 were the two hottest days of the summer, both at 94 degrees, so Monday would equal that mark.
Construction crews and others who worked outdoors had to endure a hot, sweaty start to their workweek. Others who could hit the pool did so.
Princeton municipal recreation director Ben Stentz said he expected a “pretty hearty” crowd Monday at Community Park Pool, which averaged 1,300 visitors over the weekend.
Still, some area towns opted against opening cooling centers for residents. Officials in one community use a set of criteria when making that decision.
Princeton Municipal Health Officer Jeffrey D. Grosser said Monday that a combination of the heat and humidity has to be above 100 degrees, with the duration of the heat wave also factored in. He said the heat spell is due to break in less than 36 hours.
So far, the weather service said the average temperature for this summer has been about two degrees higher than last year. For its tracking purposes, the weather service counts summer as the period between June 1 and Aug.31.
For that span this year, the average temperature has been 74.5 degrees so far, compared to 72.7 last year and 74 in 2013, National Weather Service meteorologist Sarah Johnson said on Monday.
