UPDATE: Heat stifles Pasco schools, outdoor workers

The first heat wave of the summer season made itself felt across the Mid-Columbia on Tuesday, causing two Pasco schools to close and outdoor workers to suffer.

Longfellow Elementary School lost power early in the morning, cutting off its air conditioning. All of its roughly 550 students were eventually sent to Ellen Ochoa Middle School to wait as Franklin PUD workers tried to restore power.

Students returned to the school about 2:15 p.m. though what led to the power outage was not immediately clear.

Later in the morning a programming error for the HVAC system at Rosalind Franklin STEM Elementary School forced administrators to send its estimated 800 students to Chiawana High School to wait until the building could be cooled down.

Students returned to Franklin by the end of the school day in order to return home. District workers were still working Tuesday evening with a contractor to get the air conditioning system back online.

“We’re hopeful they’ll be able to correct whatever is wrong,” said district spokeswoman Leslee Caul. The district will notify parents if the school isn’t able to hold classes.

While parents with children at those elementary schools were able to pick them up before the end of the school day, many remained at Ochoa and Chiawana. The students ate lunch at their temporary host schools and were kept mostly in gyms or in available classrooms and instruction continued.

“The teachers took what they could with them,” Caul said. “Art supplies and projects they were working on.”

Many other schools around the Mid-Columbia kept children inside during recess because of the extreme heat.

The temperature hit at least 100 degrees Tuesday afternoon in the Tri-Cities. But Wednesday temperatures should drop about 10 degrees. Highs should be about 90 as a cold front sweeps east of the Cascades in the afternoon.

The heat advisory issued for earlier in the week will be replaced with a red flag fire warning from 2 to 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Windy weather combined with low relative humidity and dry vegetation could cause any fire that starts to spread quickly. A 20 percent chance of thunderstorms is forecast Wednesday.

The cold front will bring winds that build to 13 to 18 mph with gusts as high as 25 mph in the afternoon. Wind speeds could reach 20 to 25 mph with gusts as high as 36 Wednesday night before midnight.

Temperatures are expected to continue to cool through the week, with highs dropping into the 70s Friday and Saturday. Temperatures will increase Sunday and Monday, but highs still be about 20 degrees cooler than Tuesday at about 80.

Despite Tuesday heat, golfers at the Tri-City Country Club don’t skip their rounds. They just take earlier tee times, said Clint Ables, head pro for the Kennewick golf course, which opens at 7 a.m.

“All it’s really done is push my players to come in early,” he said.

House painter Brad Nelson, owner of Atomic Painting, takes a similar approach.

When temperatures go above 85 to 90 degrees, paint dries too fast, affecting the final result. Nelson starts earlier and ends earlier to avoid the hottest parts of the day.

The Kennewick Police Department’s motorcycle officers don’t have the luxury of choosing their hours, or their attire. The officers wear full-length dark-colored uniforms with protective vests while on duty.

“We drink a lot of water,” said Sgt. Ken Lattin.

This story was originally published June 7, 2016 at 12:16 PM with the headline "UPDATE: Heat stifles Pasco schools, outdoor workers."