Summer heat wave sees the season out in the Pine Belt

PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) - The heat’s made its way back to the Pine Belt, making it unseasonably warm.

“During this time, it’s more draining; the heat drains you,” said Dionne Rhodes, a landscaper for the City of Hattiesburg. “It like literally drains you. The plants are suffering more than I am, but it is hot.”

Many Pine Belt residents, like Rhodes, said they are just ready for the fall weather to stick around.

“When it’s a good type of weather, I have no problems, no problems at all, not one,” said Rhodes. “I think I could do a little bit more when it’s not so hot.”

Other residents are making do with the warmer temperatures and finding ways to stay cool.

“Because of the heat, we’re going to pop into these amazing shops, and we’re also going to pop in and have some lunch, as well,” said Teri Roddy with the Alzheimer’s Association in Jackson.

September and October are typically the perfect months to eat outside, but with the current heatwave, nobody can enjoy the comfort of an outdoor meal.

Roddy said she also worries about others’ health during this excessive heat.

“It affects anybody,” said Roddy. “Of course, you need to stay hydrated. You need to worry about a lot of different things; you need to worry about your electrolytes. And, of course, since I work for the Alzheimer’s Association, I start to worry about elders.

“Make sure that we take care of everyone. It’s a lot harder for us to control our temperatures, our internal body temperatures, so when it’s this hot outside, especially this late in the year, we take it seriously.”

The average high for this time of year is around 87 degrees. However, the Pine Belt hit an average of 97 degrees in cities across the area on Wednesday, Sept. 21.

The cooler fall temperatures aren’t expected to move in and stick around until the end of October.

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