Heat in Talbot, Maryland

July started with unseasonably hot and humid weather across the Maryland Eastern Shore. The hottest and most humid weather occurred on Independence Day before a cold front quietly moved through the region during the night of the 4th. Highest temperatures were around 100 degrees and heat indices reached around 105 degrees. An 80-year-old man in Talbot County died from the excessive heat. The heat also caused an increase in demand for electricity and contributed to a six hour blackout from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m. EDT on the 3rd in Kent County. About 3,000 Conectiv Power Delivery customers were without power from Chestertown to Rock Hall. The power outage affected operations at the Kent County Office of Emergency Management. The high temperatures combined with more concentrated nutrients and thus more algae caused a fish kill in Kent County. Dozens of dead gizzard shads were found in a pond adjacent to the Chester River Yacht Club just south of Chestertown. The implementation of tunnel ventilation systems in chicken houses prevented any heat related deaths. Highest temperatures included 100 degrees at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport and Easton (Talbot County) and 99 degrees in Salisbury (Wicomico County).