High temps can’t ruin good time

Amy Fitzpatrick was headed to only one place after spending Sunday in the 90-degree heat at Spokane’s annual Hoopfest.

“The pool,” said Fitzpatrick, of Spokane.

And she might want to stay poolside for the rest of the week.

Temperatures in the Inland Northwest could reach record highs today and Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.

“A strong ridge of high pressure is building up over the area,” causing a spike in temperatures, said Jeffrey Cote, a meteorologist with the weather service.

In Spokane, the temperature is forecast to reach 94 today and 97 on Tuesday. In Spokane Valley the high is expected to reach 99 degrees Tuesday.

The record of 100 degrees for today was set in Spokane in 1925.

“Our average high (for this time of year) is 77 degrees,” Cote said.

Sunday’s official high, measured at the airport, was 90, Cote said. But the temperature reached more than 90 in downtown Spokane by late afternoon, sending fans and players at the three-on-three basketball tournament searching for respite.

Along Main Avenue, the sidewalks and curbs were empty as sun beat down on the north side of the street. Instead, spectators crowded on the south side, where tall buildings provided shade.

“Most of the folks in Spokane aren’t acclimated to this weather yet,” said Spokane Fire Department Battalion Chief Craig Cornelius.

Hoopfest officials reported no serious injuries, but several red-faced people flocked to first aid stations for heat exhaustion.

“They get dizzy and tired,” said Becky Reidy, a registered nurse from Deaconess Medical Center. “We try to cool them down.”

And it wasn’t just the hoopsters who were trying to stay cool.

Someone cut a hole in the fence at the Liberty Park pool in southeast Spokane in an attempt to take a swim.

A few hours later, two boys who refused to give their names were trying to climb over the fence at the pool.

One boy said with a shrug of his shoulders, “It’s hot.”

They fled after being questioned by a reporter, but not before taking a look at where the hole in the fence had been repaired.