(NECN: Julie Loncich, Boston) - The first official day of summa - is it hot enough for you?
"Just manage it," said Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. "It's the first heat wave of the year, we all get a little nervous about it."
By mid-morning Thursday, the sun was blazing and temps were already in the mid-90s. While many of us were fortunate to be trapped inside the office with the AC cranking, many more were trapped out in a concrete jungle with little to no relief in sight.
"It's pretty unbearable," said Latoyia Weaver of BBQ Smith.
And just when we were feeling sorry for these guys - we met this trio.
"Drink a lot of water, stay hydrated," said Weaver.
They were sizzling in a steamy silver toaster, surrounded by each other and a convection oven. All the water in the world and an antiquated fan can't do much on a day like Thursday.
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"We've got 500 degrees on top of the 98 outside and it just gets a little overwhelming, but we make do. It's what I love to do," said Weaver.
Public health officials say keeping water handy and avoiding strenuous activities are 2 musts when the mercury rises. Heat stroke can happen to anyone, but especially to the elderly or the chronically ill.
"Feeling nauseous, feeling a headache, not feeling well," said Dr. Lauren Smith, the director of Mass. Public Health. "Feeling like they are woozy or dizzy and then a more worrisome sign is when they stop sweating."
Over at NSTAR, power crews are working around the clock to make sure your air conditioning can run around the clock. Officials say aside from the 1500 or so outages in Boston's Alston/Brighton neighborhoods Wednesday night, the system has handled the high demand well today.
"So far the day, although we're looking to exceed yesterday by a couple hundred megawatts, the number of interruptions is relatively small," said Werner Schweiger of NStar.
