Water usage, ER visits, ice cream sales among stats that jump during heat wave

This "word cloud" was created using the text of LJWorld.com forecasts from July 10 to Aug. 9. The words displayed are the ones used most often during that time period. Words shown in bigger text appeared more frequently than the words in smaller text. Storms and descriptions of the heat highlight the word cloud.

Yes, it’s been hot; a lot hotter than last year. And the July and August heatwave of 2010 has been good for the ice cream business.

Photo by Mike Yoder

Riley Hicks, a sophomore at Lawrence High School, enjoys a Maddy’s Mud ice cream cone last Wednesday with her mother, Shari Hicks. The two were cooling off at Sylas & Maddy's Home Made Ice Cream store after Riley’s first day at LHS. Ice cream has been a popular treat during this summer’s excessive heat.

Over at Sylas and Maddy’s Homemade Ice Cream, 1014 Mass., manager Kyleigh Garman said the business has seen a bump this year, as area residents have been eating ice cream in droves. The store has had to add staff for the busiest periods, when area shoppers stop by and cool off in the air conditioning and enjoy an ice cream cone.

“It gets pretty nuts in here,” she said.

And while statistics aren’t needed to tell us it’s been blazing here in Lawrence during the past month, the numbers give a good sense of how much hotter it’s been in 2010 compared to last year’s milder summer weather. Here’s a look at a few factors affected by the summer heatwave.

Lawrence Outdoor Aquatic Center attendance

July 10- Aug. 9, 2009: 17,892

July 10- Aug. 9, 2010: 25,155

Weather comparison, July 10 to Aug. 9:

2009

Average high: 77.3 degrees

Average low: 66.8 degrees

High: 97.5 degrees

Low: 59.2 degrees

Number of days in the 90s: 7

Number of days in the 100s: 0

2010

Average high: 81.9 degrees

Average low: 72.6 degrees

High: 103.1 degrees

Low: 65.1 degrees

Number of days in the 90s: 20

Number of days in the 100s: 4

Weather figures provided by the Weather Underground

Heat-related ER visits at Lawrence Memorial Hospital:

July 2009: 3

July 2010: 11

Gallons of water pumped into distribution in Lawrence from July 10 to Aug. 9

2009: 374.8 million gallons

2010: 441.5 million gallons

Numbers aren’t for actual usage, but an indicator of demand for water.

Electricity usage in Westar Energy coverage area

Up 11 percent in summer of 2010 compared to 2009

Archive for Tuesday, August 17, 2010