Heat wave causes Upper Valley closures and cancellations

Fire Inspector Charlie Barker refills a cooler with bottled water at the Lebanon Library, one of four cooling stations in the city, including Kilton Library, the Upper Valley Senior Center and the Lebanon Airport, in Lebanon, N.H., on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Valley News — James M. Patterson

Staff Report

Published: 09-08-2023 8:52 AM

CLAREMONT — This week’s heat has inspired several cancellations and closures across the Upper Valley.

Stevens High School sent students home at 11 a.m. on Thursday due to heat, with temperatures rising into the 90s in the afternoon. A meeting the Claremont School Board had scheduled for Thursday evening at Stevens High to discuss the state’s draft public school standards was postponed to Thursday, Sept. 21.

Elsewhere, a Hartford High School boys soccer game at Otter Valley Union High School in Brandon, Vt., was postponed, as was a Hartford and Woodstock girls soccer match. Those followed the postponement on Wednesday of a cross country meet between Hartford and Thetford Academy, also due to high temperatures.

Lebanon School District Superintendent Amy Allen sent out a message to families on Wednesday informing them that administrators were monitoring conditions and had brought in additional fans. She also urged students to wear light-weight, loose-fitting clothing and to bring water bottles. Among Thursday’s cancellations were all Lebanon sports practices, as well as two soccer games and a field hockey game.

Meanwhile, Silver Lake in Barnard was closed to swimming due to a cyanobacteria outbreak, which was reported on Monday. The beach is closed until the blue-green algae bloom dissipates and water is confirmed free of toxins. Conditions are similar on Lake Morey in Fairlee, where the town beach has been closed since Tuesday due to a bloom, according to the town’s website. Such blooms, which can cause illness in people and animals, are more common in warmer temperatures.

Heat advisories were in effect for much of the region through the evening. The warnings issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recommended that people drink fluids, stay in air-conditioned spaces and out of the sun and check on relatives and neighbors.

Temperatures are expected to be below 90 on Friday and through the weekend, with highs on Monday expected to be in the upper 70s.

CORRECTION: The superintendent of the Lebanon School District is Amy Allen. Her last name was incorrect in a previous version of this story.

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