On Aug. 23 Cincinnati began enduring a heat wave. Wednesday brought a forecast with a high of 97, and the heat continues to be projected throughout the week with highs of 93, 90 and 91 to come in the next few days. 

July of 2021 was the hottest recorded month on Earth, athletic teams have been subjected to the heat all summer, however this heat wave in particular is affecting their ability to practice leading up to important league contests. 

The unexpected heat follows slightly cooler temperatures during the first week of school, causing the high temperatures to significantly impact the WHHS community. 

“It’s not really the heat itself that’s the problem, the mugginess and humidity is what makes it bad,” SENIOR Angel Wright, junior athletic trainer, said. 

Students were assigned to indoor lunch on Tuesday and Wednesday after enduring the extreme heat during Monday’s afternoon lunches.

“[It was] outrageous, they knew it was too hot for us to be out on the field,” SENIOR Jaia Mitchell said. 

In addition to the unanticipated indoor lunch days, student athletes participating in sports such as cross country and football were not able to have outdoor practices due to the heat advisory and guidance from the athletic department earlier in the week. 

“The heat made running more difficult than it should have been so we were forced to do easier runs and get behind on training,” SENIOR Denny Geeding, a cross country runner, said. 

Sports such as volleyball have not been impacted due to their indoor settings, but other programs are suffering due to lack of indoor space. Some outdoor sports have however continued to practice. 

“Our practice wasn’t cancelled this week, but we were not allowed to run, we did have pictures and it was very hot,” Mitchell, who’s a member of the Varsity cheer team, said. 

In addition to indoor sports still conducting practice, the marching band has continued to practice regularly this week as they are not advised under the athletic department. 

“When you stand at attention or march, you have your head up and weight forward, and it makes it much more hot and tiring that you can’t move to shake out your arms and legs until a water break. You really have to stay hydrated and sunscreened,” SENIOR Lily Canter, who’s a member of the marching band, said. 

This week’s indoor setting for both lunches and athletics poses an issue with students being able to properly socially distance themselves while unmasked for eating and physical activity.

Temperatures are projected to fall back into the 80s as early as Monday Aug. 30. Next week is also expected to bring rain and lows in the 60s. 

Hopefully, students will be able to return to outdoor lunch and regular practices despite next week’s forecasted rain.