As temperatures rise to near record-breaking highs starting Wednesday, locals across the Historic Triangle will be looking for ways to stay cool.
“It’s going to be pretty uncomfortable the next couple days,” said Alec Butner, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Butner said temperatures will soar into middle to upper 90s this week, which is about 15 degrees higher than average this time of year. As a result, public areas such as libraries and recreation centers in Williamsburg, James City County and York County will most likely see an influx of people trying to escape the heat.
Two of the three localities do not offer official cooling centers. James City County residents can find cooling centers at the following locations:
- James City County Recreation Center
- Human Services Center
- Williamsburg Regional Library
- James City County Library
Those locations are the county’s designated cooling centers, providing air conditioning and seating for guests. Except for service animals, pets are not allowed in the centers. To learn more about James City County cooling centers, visit the county online.
In Williamsburg, Lee Ann Hartmann, spokeswoman for the city, said the Williamsburg Regional Library and the Quarterpath Recreation Center were most likely where people would go to cool off, but these are not designated cooling centers.
York County participates in the Peninsula Agency on Aging Senior Cool Care program which provides elderly individuals with a fan, said Gail Whitaker, spokeswoman for the county.
The fans help circulate air so an individual’s air conditioning doesn’t have to work as hard which lowers the electric bill. This is also important because elderly individuals have a more difficult time regulating body temperature, she said.
York County and James City County participate in federal programs through Social Services that provide households based on age and income money toward electricity bills during the summer.
Jo Johnson, assistant director of York-Poquoson Social Services, said those services are available to households with members younger than 6 or older than 60 because those are people considered particularly vulnerable to heat related health issues.
Applications for the assistance program begins June 15 and runs through Aug. 15. Johnson said usually the application process only takes a few days at most for approval.
The busiest two weeks of applications are the first two weeks after they are available, Johnson said, adding she did not have numbers for the amount of households served last year, but total costs for the program in York County came to $30,941.67, all federally funded.
While the weather continues to climb throughout the summer, Johnson said she encourages all individuals across the Historic Triangle to learn more about the assistance program through CommonHelp, which provides information about government assistance benefits.