Rain and cooler temps bring relief from record heatwave

After at least three days of record high temperatures well over 100 degrees last week, rain clouds and cooler temps were a welcome sight this week.
Ozark County recorded three record-high days last week. According to Dora weather-watcher Eddie Howard, new high temperatures were recorded on Aug. 1, Aug. 2 and Aug. 7.
On Aug. 1 the high was 105 degrees, breaking the old record of 103 set back in 1980. On Aug. 2 the high was 108, smashing the old record of 102 set back in 1980. On Aug. 7 the high was 102, which surpassed the 101-degree high set in 1980. In all, according to Howard, there were five days last week when the mercury soared beyond the century mark.
On Monday, storm clouds entered from the northwest, bringing with them rain showers and cooler temps. Highs on Monday were in the 80s, with some areas receiving more than an inch of rain. Highs for the week were supposed to range in the 80s to low-90s.
The recent heatwave has challenged the two electric cooperatives serving Ozark County to meet increased demand as residents struggle to keep cool.
Howell-Oregon Electric Cooperative, which serves eastern parts of the county, reports that a peak demand for electricity was set during the afternoon on Wednesday, Aug. 3, when heat index readings reached as high as 113 degrees.
Early that afternoon HOE issued a "peak alert" on area radio stations, asking coop members to voluntarily limit their use to one major electrical appliance at a time and turn off unnecessary lights, TVs and small appliances.
An HOE statement said, "If members had not responded to the peak alert, the new peak demand for power would have been much higher."
A peak demand means HOE members used a higher level of power then ever before, according to the statement. "Setting a new peak forces the cooperative to make the higher level of power available to members at any given time, even if it is not needed again. This new level will result in a higher cost of power to the cooperative."
White River Valley Electric Cooperative, which serves Gainesville and all areas of the county not served by HOE, did not set a new peak "nor have we issued any peak alerts," said spokeswoman Amy Rosier, who added that the closest WRVEC came to a peak was on Aug. 6.
"We don't typically issue peak alerts as we have a generator program in place to help control peak," she said. "Several of our large, commercial accounts have generators they keep on stand-by. We monitor our system load closely, and if it is determined we could approach our peak, these businesses switch to generator power, which eases the usage on our system. Thus we are able to control our peak."

<p>Zane Anderson jumps out of his shoe while splashing in a puddle
following a brief rain shower Monday evening in Gainesville.
Late-summer rains have helped break what was an almost unbearable
heatwave that saw three record-high days with temperatures well
over 100 degrees last week in Ozark County. Cooler weather is
forecast for the rest of the week.</p>