The National Weather Service has issued an Excessive Heat Warning for the Central Jersey area from Wednesday morning through Friday afternoon, and Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes is reminding residents that many cooling sites are open.
Temperatures Wednesday through Friday are expected to hover in the mid 90s with heat indexes (a measure of the combination of heat and humidity) reaching 100 degrees. Children, older adults, people with disabilities and pets are most at risk during excessive temperatures.
Hughes said residents should drink water regularly even if they are not thirsty, try to stay indoors, preferably in an air-conditioned space, and wear light-colored, loose-fitting clothing when going outdoors.
He also urged residents to check up on elderly relatives, friends and neighbors, and people with disabilities, who may need assistance keeping cool. Pets are also very vulnerable to excessive heat. Animals should never be left unattended in a vehicle, even with the windows down or for short periods of time, and pets should be provided with plenty of fresh water to drink, and a shaded or sheltered area.
Mercer County also offers designated summer cooling sites including all municipal senior centers and all Mercer County Library System Branches. Please note that Senior Centers are only open Monday through Friday. Call individual locations for daily hours of operation. Library branches are closed on Sundays throughout the summer. These locations are open to all residents.
The following Mercer County library branches are cooling sites: Ewing, Hickory Corner, Hightstown, Hopewell, Lawrence, Robbinsville, Twin Rivers and West Windsor. (The Hollowbrook branch is closed for building repairs.)
The following municipal senior centers are cooling sites: Hamilton, Ewing, Hopewell Valley, Jennye Stubblefield, Lawrence, Princeton Senior Resource Center, Reading, Sam Naples and Robbinsville.
For more information or to contact your local cooling site, please call the Mercer County Office on Aging at (877) 222-3737. In addition to making cool sites and home cooling appliances available, the county also offers a “Warmline” via the Office on Aging. During daytime hours, residents can call (609) 989-6661 or toll-free (877) 222-3737 for assistance in coping with the heat. During non-business hours, residents are encouraged to call 911 if they experience heat-related problems.
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