Better Settle In For a Sizzler

Kenneth McCracken, operations supervisor at the D.C. Emergency Management Agency, said yesterday that it is "more than likely" that the heat emergency plan will be implemented early this week, given the forecast. Authorities will decide each morning whether the temperature warrants the extra measures, he said.

Many suburbs don't have such extensive plans because air conditioning is so widely available.

"We encourage folks, if they need to cool off, to use places normally open to the public: libraries, malls, things like that," said Debra Bianchi, a spokeswoman for Fairfax County.

Mary Anderson, a spokeswoman for Montgomery County, said free electric fans are available for low-income residents who call the county's Senior Information and Assistance unit at 240-777-3000.

"We don't generally get a lot of requests for them, but they're certainly available," Anderson said. "They're for people if they're in need."

Although it will be hot, temperatures are not expected to exceed all-time highs. "I hope we don't break these records," said Smith, of the weather service.

For today's date, the record high at Reagan National Airport is 102, set in 1980, he said. Tomorrow's record is 103, set in 1887.

Smith noted that the sun, only a few weeks past the summer solstice, remains at a high angle in the sky and produces more than 14 hours of sunlight -- a long time for the day to heat up.

On the Mall yesterday, despite a pleasant breeze, the temperature eased toward the low 90s. "It's terrible in the sun," Roger Yost, 77, of Clermont, Fla., said as he maneuvered his electric scooter into some shade at the World War II Memorial.

But the Brumleys, of Michigan, were coping. "You drink a lot of fluids," said Tony Brumley, 40, "and the breeze, when it comes, feels nice."

"I like it, myself," said Colleen Brumley, 44. "It's summer. It's how it's supposed to be."