Summer at Harvard, and the Heat is On

It wasn't quite like last summer, but the first heat wave of July 1989 was officially declared in the Boston area yesterday, as weather officials recorded the third straight day of 90-degree-plus temperatures.

Actually, yesterday's recorded high of 93 degrees Farenheit was higher--slightly--than the 92 degrees the National Weather Service recorded on August 5, 1988, when for the first time ever, high temperatures forced Harvard to close down.

But don't head for the beach just yet. Vice President for Administration Sally Zeckhauser said yesterday there was little chance that the current onslaught of high temperatures would result in a replay of last year's shutdown.

That decision, she explained, was made largely on the basis of "personnel relations." By shutting the University down on a Friday, employees gained an unexpected bonus--a three-day weekend.

In addition, the longer duration of last summer's heat wave made it more difficult to meet the University's power needs, Zeckhauser said.

"So far, we've been able to cope with the chilled water plant and MATEP [the Medical Area Total Energy Plant]," said Zeckhauser. "It gets harder as the week goes on, but I haven't heard any discussion [about closing down]," she said.

Since the end of the three-day heat wave arrived last night in a burst of thundershowers, there is likely to be little discussion. According to weather service spokesperson Todd A. Patstone, today's storms are likely to be "pretty severe, but [how much] is going to be determined later."

No beach. No closed doors at the nation's oldest university. A memory of the summer's first real heat wave is all that's left.

Although Boston's unseasonably mild winter caused many this year to worry that the summer would break all records for the area's hottest, meteorologist Jeffrey S. Waldstreicher of the National Weather Service said there is little cause to worry.

"One has nothing to do with the other," Waldstreicher said. "Weather patterns just don't last that long."

Similarly, he said, fears that the past year's weather might have signalled the beginning of a global warming process are probably misplaced.

"Global warming is something that occurs over a very long time--decades," said Waldstreicher. "You can't even say last year had anything to do with global warming. It was just a warm summer."

And this summer, he said, has been much closer to the norm. Six days in 1989 have been hotter than 90 degrees, compared to 13 at this time in 1988. On average, a total of 12 days break the 90-degree mark each year, so this summer is right on schedule.

Nonetheless, this summer has set a few records of its own. Wednesday's high of 96 degrees was the highest ever recorded on that date. And an extremely unscientific set of readings taken at several locations around campus by The Crimson revealed that while Summer 1989 may not measure up to its predecessor, yesterday's temperatures were still pretty impressive. Or oppressive, depending on your perspective.

Acting on a tip from a source in Harvard's facilities and maintenance department, The Crimson determined that temperatures on the fifth floor of Claverly Hall reached an all-campus high of 114 degrees.

Harvard Square felt positively arctic by comparison: the Crimson thermometer registered only 99 degrees at 1:20 p.m. And in the climate-controlled environs of Lamont and Pusey libraries, the thermometer read only 76. But in the lightless depths of the Widener Library stacks, a set of open windows prefigured a 94 degree reading.

Students said they had a variety of methods for dealing with the heat. Some stayed inside, in the air conditioning. Others stayed outside, vainly searching for a slight breeze.

"Obviously, I'm outdoors, so I prefer the outside," said summer-school student Karen Jenkins, 21, of New York City.

"I've been wandering back and forth, between Widener and Pusey," said Michael B. Cooper '91, a rising junior working at the Kennedy School of Government for the summer. "There's this one piece of hall that's got to be about 60 degrees."

When informed that the Crimson's temperature readings were considerably higher than his estimate of 60 degrees, Cooper replied that he was sure such a passageway existed.

Still others maintained that the heat just wasn't that bad.

"I don't really think its all that hot," said Obediah R. Edwards '90, a native of Jackson, Miss. "Everybody keeps making a big deal about the heat."

And for many area merchants, the high temperatures proved a blessing.

"The heat wave is great. We love it," said Jessica J. Leahy, the owner and manager of Herrell's Ice Cream on Dunster St.

Sales, she said, just about double during long periods of heat, and cool ice cream stores tend to attract hot patrons.

"It is nice and cool--the air conditioner is really running great," she said. "People just come in and sit in here."

Fans have suddenly become one of the Square's most valued commodities. Harvard Student Agencies, which leases fans to students, ran out Wednesday, they said. And Robert S. Toro, manager of Tags Hardware in Porter Square, said that the store was having a hard time meeting the demand for fans and related items like air conditioner cords and fuses.

"After probably the second day of a heat wave, the demand becomes really high," Toro said. "It becomes so hot in people's apartments that they just can't stand it. People still have a bad memory of last summer, of its being hot forever."

The most popular model, he said, is the 20-inch box fan--the largest the store sells.

When asked if his store was selling an unusually high number of fans, Dickson's Hardware manager Edward Santamaria said, "I don't know. I'm not down here a lot."

But the two salespersons running the cash registers responded with an immediate "yes."

Environmental experts said that the current heat wave is far less damaging than last summer's. Although two heat-related deaths were reported Wednesday in Quincy, the shorter duration of this heat wave has put less strain on area residents, according to Dr. Peter J. Zuromskis, a clinical advisor to environmental health and safety at University Health Services (UHS).

And Marcia L. Spink of the federal Environmental Protection Agency said that although the summer's increased smog had pushed ozone levels above the recommended safety limits in many New England states, Boston thus far has had few violations.

Zuromskis said that although UHS treated several heat-related cases last year, few have been reported this year.

"I think the biggest problem at UHS is that our air conditioning isn't working," said Zuromskis. "But that's just endemic to the functioning of Harvard."

Harvard Hot Spots Location  Temperature Harvard Square  99oF. Adams House E-Entry  92 Claverly Hall, fifth floor  114 Weld Hall, fifth floor  94 Widener Library stacks  94 Pusey Library  76 Lamont Library  76 Stone steps outside Lamont  112 President's house, 17 Quincy st.  84 Steamiest corner of the Harvard Union kitchen  110 Production shop at The Crimson  92

Measurements were taken between 1:30 and 3:00 p.m. yesterday.