COLUMBUS – Summer officially arrived at 5:14 Tuesday morning, bringing with it another round of stifling temperatures for central Ohio residents still recovering from the previous week’s heatwave.
A heat advisory was in effect Wednesday and forecasters warned of the threat of severe storms.
The National Weather Service issued a Heat Advisory for parts of central, southern and western Ohio from noon until 7:00 Wednesday as index values of 100 to 104 degrees were expected.
Tuesday’s high is forecast to reach 94 and, though Wednesday’s high temperature may be lower, the National Weather Service says higher humidity will make it feel much warmer and will also help fuel a few afternoon and early evening thunderstorms, especially south of I-70.
Barnett
Beatty
Dodge (Red Cross shelter)
Douglas
Glenwood
Linden
Marion Franklin
Pools, fountains and spraygrounds will also be open with extended hours.
The city and Gateway Film Center are teaming up to provide two days of free movies.
Moviegoers can choose from eight films, including Lightyear, Jurassic World Dominion and Top Gun: Maverick from noon until 6:00 p.m. each day.
Columbus Metropolitan Library branches also provide a refuge from the heat.
DeWine: Electric companies have some explaining to do
Governor Mike DeWine wants answers from Ohio’s electric suppliers about last week’s power outages in the midst of triple-digit heat indices.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio announced on June 15 that it was investigating the power failures that left thousands of AEP Ohio customers without electricity and DeWine says he hopes regulators find out, among other things, what steps utilities are taking to ensure that a similar situation does not happen again.
“I support this review and note that many of the questions Ohioans are asking in the light of these power failures should be reviewed as part of the PUCO process,” DeWine said.
He also hopes to find out why certain central Ohio neighborhoods lost power while others did not, why it took so long for some parts of the state to have service restored, and whether the utilities are doing enough to communicate with customers about planned outages, considering electronic communications do not work without electricity.
American Electric Power says it is making $1 million available for community organizations to help residents affected by the outages.