(NEWSnet/AP) — Local officials urged residents to take precautions as a blast of heat and humidity hit the Midwest and Northeast this week - but alternatives in some places have been limited.

Because of the federal holiday of Juneteenth, some community locations where people could seek relief via cooling shelters were closed Wednesday.

That was the situation in Toledo, Ohio, where city officials noted that the county library branches, normally part of the community's cooling center plans, were closed for the holiday. In Chicago, only one public cooling center was open on the Juneteenth holiday.

And unrelated bacteria issues in recreational waters have left some public swimming areas inaccessible.

 

The dangerous temperatures were expected to peak in the eastern Great Lakes and New England on Wednesday and Thursday, and in the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic on Friday and Saturday, the National Weather Service said.

Impact on community services from the heat wave and unrelated issues this week include:

  • In Toledo, Ohio, the city canceled a weekly fitness event and a neighboring suburb called off a street fair as temperatures reached the mid-90s.
  • In upstate New York, a food bank canceled deliveries for Wednesday out of concern for staff and volunteers.
  • In Syracuse, N.Y., schools in New York canceled field trips Tuesday to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, where workers turned on water misters for visitors and the animals.
  • In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul said admission and parking fees at state parks, pools and beaches would be waived on Wednesday and Thursday.
  • In Massachusetts, some of the public recreational beaches and swimming areas remain closed because of high bacteria tests.

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