Heat — Kent, Delaware

2006-08-01 to 2006-08-03 · Kent, Delaware

Wider weather episode

A strong area of high pressure anchored over the East Coast and the western Atlantic, resulted in a stretch of excessive heat for the entire region to start off August 2006. The very hot air mass was accompanied by humid conditions as the dew points surged into the upper 60s and lower 70s for a time. It could have been worse, but the dew points lowered a little bit for most areas during the afternoon hours as the sunshine dried the air mass out for a time. High temperatures topped out at 96 degrees on August 3rd at the New Castle County Airport near Wilmington. In Georgetown, the mercury climbed to the century mark on August 3rd, which set a new record for that date. The beaches did not escape the true aspect of the heat as Bethany Beach topped out at a sultry 103 degrees on August 3rd. The combination of temperatures well into the 90s and moderate to high humidity pushed heat indices into the 105 to 110 degree range across the state.Delmarva Power set a new record for electricity usage, of 4,228 megawatts at 5 PM EDT on August 2nd, which was 54 megawatts higher than the previous record set back in July 2005. Delmarva Power used an estimated 4,243 megawatts of power per hour at the peak on August 3rd (between 4 PM EDT and 5 PM EDT).The heat and humidity took its toll on two Dover, Delaware area men, who were in their mid 50s. They died on August 2nd due to the excessive heat. They were both outside when they died, and at least one of the men had some pre-existing health conditions. At least four people were treated for heat stroke in Wilmington, Delaware on August 1st. In Delaware City (New Castle County), the extreme heat contributed to the collapse of a refinery worker. Also on August 1st, Police in Wilmington rescued a child who locked himself in a car with the windows rolled up.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5529324. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.