Heat Wave Round Two: How to Beat the Heat

Last weekend’s heat wave reached sweltering temperatures of up to 103 and left southeastern Pennsylvanians pouring half-marathon portions of sweat while walking to their mailboxes.

It’s not over yet.

The National Weather Service says we’re “possibly in the midst of another lengthy heat wave.”

Temperatures for are expected to climb to the mid-90s tomorrow and stay in that ballpark for the next week.

Fatalities due to overheating is the number weather-related one killer in the U.S., the National Weather Service says. It offers the following tips to keep safe in this heat:

• Keep your dress summer weather appropriate: wear lightweight and light-colored clothing.
• Regulate your diet: foods high in proteins, like meat, increase metabolic heat and keep you from retaining as much water.
• Drink water, and cut the caffeine and alcohol: caffeine and alcohol dehydrate. Drinking plenty of water, even if you’re not thirsty, keeps you cool.
• Put on sunscreen, or keep out of the sun altogether: sunburns reduce the body’s ability to dissipate heat.
• Adjust your exercise schedule: reschedule exercise to the coolest parts of the day, such as early morning or toward the evening. Or simply take it inside to a gym or your living room.
• Spend more time in air conditioning: especially for sensitive groups, this is key.

For help with the last tip, Patch has some ideas to help keep cool and get out of the house while you're at it.

Catch a Flick

If you’re late to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, it may be the weekend you want to catch up.

Vegging out at AMC in Woodhaven will cost only $5 before noon and $7.50 before 4 p.m., as opposed to the regular $9.50. 

Laser Tag

What more could you want than to run around an air-conditioned obstacle course and competing to be the most stealthy sharp shooter?

At Ultrazone, it’s $6.50 per game and there's a $5.50 deal for kids aged 6 to 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

Check the Web site for hours and prices as both vary daily. 

Ice Staking

It can’t get cooler than this.

Located a hop and a skip over Woodhaven Rd. in Northeast Philadelphia, Flyers Skate Zone has open skate from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on a daily basis.

Admission is $7 and skate rental is $3. 

Shop Til You Drop

Franklin Mills Mall in Northeast Philadelphia is a power walker's dream at over a mile round-trip.

Complete with a skate park, a movie theatre and more than 100 retailers, it's easy to spend an entire day going through this  colossal  — and air conditioned — mall.