East and Midwest Swelter While Parts of West Shiver

It was a day of weather extremes Thursday as the East and Midwest baked in a record-setting heat wave while parts of the West shivered in record-tying low temperatures.

Several cities set record highs for the date, including Ft. Wayne, Ind., with 96 degrees; Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., 88; South Bend, Ind., 95; La Crosse, Wis., 94, and Pittsburgh, Pa., 95.

Milkwaukee reported a high of 100 degrees, breaking the mark of 93 reached in 1939 and 1922 and setting a record for the second straight day.

Many other cities tied record highs, including Rochester, N.Y., at 93 degrees; Toledo, Ohio, 98; Madison, Wis., 93; Youngstown, Ohio, 91, and Washington, D.C., 98. Green Bay, Wis., reported a high of 93 degrees, matching a mark set in 1891.

Chicago officials opened public pools 10 days early to help residents cope. Schools in Washington, D.C., and its suburbs closed two hours early.

Heat-related advisories and warnings were again posted for parts of the East, including Philadelphia, southwestern New Jersey, central Virginia and the eastern part of West Virginia.

Meanwhile, the West was experiencing the opposite problem.

The temperature fell to 36 degrees in Great Falls, Mont., tying a 100-year-old record. Another record low was tied in Havre, Mont., at 34 degrees.

Temperatures fell into the 30s and 40s across the northern Rockies and the Pacific Northwest, weather officials reported.

Elsewhere, thunderstorms produced strong winds and hail that downed trees and power lines in Maryland, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri and Virginia. Winds gusted to 58 m.p.h. in Indiana and 76 m.p.h. in Virginia.