Record Heat Closes Baltimore County Schools Early

Once Baltimore County Public School officials announced they would be dismissing early Tuesday due to the excessive heat, Five Oaks Swim Club manager Barbara Bates was ready for a crowd to start rushing in.

“The schools let out early; it was like the floodgates opened,” said Bates, manager of the swim club on Frederick Road in Catonsville.

Hundreds of people, many of them parents with school-aged children, were scattered about the fenced-in club, which opened early, at noon, because of the heat.

Most lounged in the cool water or sunned themselves in the surrounding grass. Others played volleyball on a sand court or sought the shade of trees.

With record temperatures hitting the Baltimore area in the last two days, the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory until 8 p.m. Tuesday and also from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Baltimore County Public schools have already announced classes will close three hours early Wednesday, according to a recorded message on the BCPS school status information line.

With temperatures in the mid-to-upper 90s, folks have had to find some way to cool off.

William Darby, 9, came to the Five Oaks pool with his little brother, Jordan Darby, 5, and their father, Clif Darby. A third grader at Hillcrest Elementary School in Catonsville, William said his school was dismissed at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“I just hope the water’s cold,” William said as he led his father and brother to the pool’s entrance.

Nancy Cohen, a Catonsville resident and eighth grade English teacher with Howard County Public Schools, brought her 5-year-old daughter, Gavrielle, to the swim club almost immediately after school let out. The two had been at the club since 2 p.m., Cohen said.

Cohen, a native of Buffalo, NY, said Tuesday was plenty warm when compared to the mild summers she spent in Buffalo.

“I’m still not used to the heat (here),” she said.

The oppressive heat began to smother Central Maryland Monday, with a record-tying 98-degree measurement at BWI-Marshall Airport, the highest-such reading for that day since 1991, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Those who did not have a pool to jump into were finding other ways to cool off. At the Eskimo Shack ice cream stand on Carville Avenue in Arbutus, the owner said more than 120 customers were served in an hour’s time Monday night.

On Tuesday, a line formed just before 4 p.m. at the shack, and people sitting in vehicles at the town’s biggest intersection shouted orders across two lanes so they would be ready by the time the customers made a U-turn and parked at the ice cream stand.

“Right around Memorial Day, business picks up,” said Aaron Saradpon, 31, part-owner of the family business he and his mother started eight years ago. “We’re kind of that weather vane for spring and summer.”

Saradpon said “at least 100” people had stopped by to order frozen treats by 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Temperatures are expected to stay high on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service, rising into the high 90s. The service recommends spending the hottest part of the day in air conditioning. If someone is required to be outside, frequent breaks in the shade and lots of water are recommended.