If you can believe it, it got hotter on Friday.
For the third straight day, the mercury hit an all-time high.
The thermometer reached 102 degrees Friday afternoon in South Bend, breaking the old record of 100 set in 1988 and 1911.
WSBT StormTracker also listed 102 in Elkhart.
It was the third consecutive day of 100 degree temperatures, tying two other years for the third longest streak.
Racing in the Heat
The dangerous heat isn’t stopping some people from heading outdoors. Between 20,000 and 30,000 motocross racing fans are expected to converge at RedBed in Buchanan for the second largest motor sports event in Michigan.
Some spectators tried making their own shade with umbrellas or pop up tents. Others hopped into their air conditioned motor homes and campers and some even popped up their own tents and slept outdoors.
The Berrien County Emergency Disaster team was on standby all day Friday and scheduled to remain at RoseBud Saturday when 1,500 racers take to the track. The team included an ambulance, paramedics and EMTs. A special air conditioned cooling tent is also on site with cots and chairs designed to quickly but safely cool a person’s body temperature if they get too hot.
Last year, a 23-year-old racer suffered heat stroke and collapsed on the track. He died two days later at a local hospital. Temperatures were in the low 90s that weekend.
Hot, But Not By Choice
A few miles down the road in Galien, about 120 customers lost power around 10:30 Friday morning.
“I was just gonna turn the TV on and I looked up at the clock and said, ‘I guess I won’t. We don’t have electric,’” said Lila May Truhn.
The 85-year-old said she’s lived on the same farm in rural Galien 46 years.
“I think [the weather] is terrible,” she laughed. “I don’t remember it being this hot this long, you know?”
WSBT caught up with Don Tompkins about 40 minutes after his lights went out. The thermostat inside his home said 76.
“It should be 73 in here,” he said. “There’s a lot of other people out here that are worse off than I am so I’m going to be grateful for what I have and what I can do.”
Hotter Than Texas
In the middle of the dog days of summer, the air conditioning broke at the Conway residence in South bend.
“When I moved to South Bend, I promised I would never complain about being hot in South Bend because there’s plenty of times I complain about being cold,” explained Karen Conway. “But I have to say I complained a little yesterday.”
Conway and her family moved from Dallas, Texas four years ago. Thursday night when friends from Dallas arrived, her air conditioner gave out.
“We were getting ready for bed and all of a sudden the air went off and the house started cranking up to about 90 degrees,” she recalled.
The worst part?
“It was cooler in Dallas than it was here,” she laughed.
“This is not good,” added Conway’s friend and house guest Kara Gehan.
The temperature inside Conway’s home was 82 degrees and climbing Friday morning while they waited for a repair man to show up.