Christine Cifelli relaxed on a white chair at Community Park Pool in Princeton, a plastic container of homemade strawberry sorbet in her right hand and the early afternoon sun of Aug. 6 beating down on her.
Cifelli doesn’t report for work until later in the day, so she could get some time in at the pool, where she is a regular. As children played in the water a few feet away, she said being at the pool, or in air conditioning, was the best way to beat the heat.
Staying cool was the challenge this week as Princeton and the rest of the state battled through a heat wave that Alex Staarmann, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, Mount Holly, said was due to break on Aug. 9.
The string of days with temperatures at 90 degrees and over began on Aug. 5 and lasted through the first part of the work week. From public works employees laboring outdoors in the heat and humidity to pool-goers covered in sunscreen catching some rays, people in Princeton found relief where they could.
Community Park Pool pool had nearly 2,000 visitors on Aug. 5, said Benjamin Stentz, executive director of the municipal Recreation Department. Yet he said if it gets too hot, pool attendance “bumps down,” as people decide it’s best to stay inside.
“On a day like this, it’s going to be busy at the pool,” he said on Aug. 6.
The pool is where Aine Casey found herself that afternoon. With a blue baseball cap on to shield her from the sun, she said she had been there since 10 a.m. The cold water, she said through her Irish accent, “feels good.”
As it turned out, Princeton officials picked this week to reopen the renovated Mary Moss Playground, complete with a water “sprayground” to play in. The first group of children to play there whooped it up and made sure they got soaking wet on a hot morning on Aug. 8, the day of the grand opening.
For older residents, officials advised that during hot weather like this week, seniors should find places to get cool, such as in a mall or a public library.
Susan W. Hoskins, executive director of the municipal Senior Resource Center, said on Aug. 6 that people should also manage when they go out, so they stay inside during the hottest parts of the day. She also advised that they drink plenty of liquids.
So how hot has it been this summer?
In July, the average daily temperature was 78.9 degrees, or eight tenths of a degree higher than normal, Staarmann said. By comparison, the average daily temperature in June was 72.7 degrees, or six tenths of a degree below normal, he said.
It has also been wet summer, said Tom Sereduk, a flower grower who was setting up shop on Aug. 9 at the Princeton Farmers Market.
“The rain has been a plus and a minus,” he said in the morning. “On the plus side, (there’s) no need for irrigation and everything is growing nicely. But on the minus side there are a lot of problems with disease and the weeds are growing faster than the flowers.”
