Seeking shade
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Eddie Stevens, 13, and his cousin Melody Rohm, 14, both of Canonsburg, keep cool by crayfish hunting in Chartiers Creek Thursday morning. “As long as you’re in the shade, it’s not bad,” said Christina Stevens, Stevens’ mother. “They spend as much time as they can in the water.”
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
A bicyclist creates his own breeze Thursday morning as he pedals along West Pike Street in Canonsburg.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Juan Pesquero, 6, leads his grandmother, Daphne Ocando, over the hill and to Town Park Pool Thursday morning. Local pools and creeks were a source of refreshment from hot temperatures all week long.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
She expected to catch minnows and crayfish, but 14-year-old Melody Rohm wasn’t anticipating finding a baby snapping turtle at Cecil Park Thursday. Rohm, her aunt, Christina Stevens, and cousin Eddie Stevens spent the hot day playing in a shady area of Chartiers Creek.
As temperatures soared into the high 80s on Thursday, area residents sought cool waters and shade – anything to beat the heat. Some headed to local pools while others dipped their toes in area creeks. This summer is set to be the hottest on record: on Tuesday, Earth recorded its hottest day in decades and, scientists believe, centuries, according to the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer tool. Both Tuesday and Wednesday were scorchers in Southwestern Pennsylvania, and highs in the low 80s are expected into the weekend.