Public cooling centers pop us as heat wave roasts Central Pa. 

• Katie Knol
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  Katie Knol is WITF's summer newsroom intern for 2024. She was in the same role for summer 2023.
  
  She graduated from Penn State University in 2024, earning bachelor's degrees in journalism and political science. She has also worked at WPSU, the News Lab at Penn State, The Daily Collegian and CommRadio.

Central Pennsylvania is experiencing a heat wave through this Sunday, with temperatures reaching the mid-90s each day. 

Matt Steinbugl, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said the region will get a few days of cooler temperatures — highs in the 80s — before the heat will come back until the end of June. 

He said it’s being caused by a system of high pressure that has settled over the Mid-Atlantic states.

“It’s nearly stationary,” Steinbugl said. “So the heat’s just kind of continuing to build underneath that dome of high pressure.” 

Though heat waves aren’t uncommon in Central PA, it’s unusual for them to happen so early in the summer. Steinbugl said high temperatures typically settle in during July and August. 

Heat can be dangerous, causing heat exhaustion or heat stroke if the body cannot cool itself down. 

The American Red Cross website recommends people stay in air conditioning whenever possible, wear light and loose-fitting clothing when outside and drink water and electrolytes to stay hydrated. 

Many public buildings are also offering their space as cooling centers where people can enjoy the air conditioning — especially if they don’t have cool air available at home.

In Cumberland County, all libraries are available for a place for people to come inside, sit and cool off. 

Jeffrey Swope, the executive director of Bosler Memorial Library in Carlisle, said libraries are always open to the public and wanting to provide assistance, and extreme heat and cold are opportunities for staff to help.

“On days like this, if it’s a place that makes it safe for you, and if it keeps you out of this completely oppressive heat, we are that gathering space,” he said. 

People don’t always come in looking for a book on these hot days, Swope said. Usually, they are just looking for a place to relax in the cool air.

Though library staff don’t push for people to get a library card, he said new visitors often discover what the library has to offer anyway. 

“They discover our newspapers, or our magazines, or they grab a book off the shelf, or they discover our community puzzle that we have,” he said. “We are about resources, and a resource can be an organization and a community that can provide someone assistance.”