Musician Ralph Tourkow is fondly remembered as a talented musician who had a jovial sense of humor and a schedule of dinner dates.His family and friends agree that to meet Tourkow was to instantly meet a friend.
FORT WAYNE – Hot enough for you?
It was hot enough for the record books: The National Weather Service reported late Thursday afternoon that Fort Wayne had reached 106 degrees, breaking the old record for June 28 – a mere 102 degrees set in 1934.
Not only that, but we tied the all-time record high temperature, which has been reached only three other times: July 22, 1934; July 14, 1936; and June 25, 1988.
How hot was it? It was so hot the pavement on East State Boulevard buckled.
It was so hot that the city’s pools were declared free of admission charges for both Thursday and today, and the pools were at capacity even before people knew they were free. The pool at McMillen Park hit capacity just 15 minutes after opening.
The pool at Northside Park was at capacity for several hours, and officials there expect to be at capacity again today. The city also opened four cooling centers Thursday. They’ll be open again today for anyone who needs to get out of the heat.
Not surprisingly, officials announced that the drought continues: The U.S. Drought Monitor map released Thursday shows the driest conditions in the state exist in much of the area between Fort Wayne and South Bend and in counties in the Evansville area. Last week’s report had about 5 percent of the state in extreme drought; now 87 percent of Indiana is listed as in at least moderate drought.
How hot was it? Sorry, but at least a few others had it worse: Death Valley, Calif., clocked in a cool 117 degrees Thursday. But we weren’t alone: desert oasis Las Vegas was also 106 degrees Thursday, but you can bet they probably didn’t complain as much.
