Jennifer Klein of Crestview Hills cooled off in the Tyler Davidson Fountain on Fountain Square Friday. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        Cincinnati health officials declared a heat emergency on Friday, the first since the 1999 summer heat wave that claimed 18 lives in Hamilton County.

        The Accuweather weekend forecast highs: 92 today, 94 on Sunday, 90 on Monday. The high Friday was 96.

        A lower-level heat alert has been in effect since Thursday, the day 77-year-old Mamie Brown was found dead in her sweltering Over-the-Rhine apartment. The coroner's office has not ruled whether her death was heat-related.

        “We need to help people understand this is a dangerous time,” Cincinnati health director Dr. Malcolm Adcock said at a press conference at the Over-the-Rhine Community Center, about two blocks from Ms. Brown's apartment.

        Dr. Adcock said a heat alert usually means two straight days of 95-plus temperatures.

        An emergency usually means three or more such days straight, with an emphasis on the heat index, which measures the heat's impact on the body.

A sign downtown told the story of Friday heat.

        When the air outside reaches the body's normal temperature of 98.6 degrees, the circulatory system struggles to produce cooling through evaporation of sweat.

        That process is further slowed by alcohol and caffeine, Dr. Adcock noted.

        The Over-the-Rhine facility is one of eight air-conditioned “cool centers” that will have expanded hours this weekend, open from noon to 6 p.m. both days. The others are: Price Hill, Millvale, McKie, Camp Washington, Corryville, Hirsch and Evanston.

        “It's extra hot out,” 11-year-old Georthen Wilkins, said as he played billiards at the OTR center with his friend, Demarco Wilford, 11. “I mean, real hot.” Normally, the boys would be outside playing basketball on a summer afternoon.

HEAT TIPS

Decrease physical activity, especially advisable for joggers and high school and junior high school athletes.     Wear loose, lightweight and light-colored cotton clothing.     Drink plenty of water, and eat lighter meals.     Use a circulating fan to ventilate your living space, but if the temperatures exceeds 95 degrees, don't sit directly in front of it. Blowing such hot air directly on you will impede the body's ability to produce sweat.     Source: Cincinnati Health Department

        The heat might have slowed some outdoor sports activities, but tee times at the Boone County Golf Course at Lassing Pointe are booked today, partly because a large group has an event there.

        The schedule lightens up Sunday afternoon, “and I'd attribute that to the weather,” said Denny Overman, pro shop clerk.

        Like many local courses, they've taken precautions. Typically, they'd have a few water containers out.

        “Now, they're at every other hole,” Mr. Overman said.

        Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken said Friday that the heat-emergency declaration was a key to heightening awareness, and urged people to look out for each other, especially the elderly.

        “This is something that is critical over the next couple of days,” he said. “Every Cincinnatian has a neighbor, a friend, a family member who can look in on someone at-risk, the elderly.”

        “One of your classic groups is the elderly who don't tolerate the heat well, especially if they're on medications,” University Hospital emergency medicine Dr. Steve Baxter said Friday. By late afternoon, Dr. Baxter said the ER hadn't seen a heat-related case, but that continued warnings are warranted.

        He urged people “to not leave children and small pets in closed areas, like cars. It may be 100 outside, but it'll get well over 100, and that'll happen quickly.”

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