Tracking Heat

It is hot in Princeton.

Really, really hot.

When TigerBlog looked up the definition of a heat wave, he saw that it is five consecutive days where the temperature is more than nine degrees above normal. That means you could have a winter heat wave quite easily, no? 

A little more investigating suggested that in the Northeast United States, a heat wave is defined as five straight days of temperatures above 90. 

Welcome to the heat wave.

If you look at the 10-day forecast, there's only one day where the temp won't hit 90 — and that's when it will be 89 Tuesday. Today's high of 96 will be the lowest high temperature of the weekend, when it might hit 100 degrees both tomorrow and Sunday.

Whatever the definition, that's very hot. 

Here's what Shelley Szwast, the Princeton Athletics' men's and women's hockey photographer among other sports, had to say on the matter:

I’m ready for Baker Rink. 🥵 pic.twitter.com/f9U0O96F8H

— Split Second Photo (@Split2ndPhoto) July 19, 2022

If you like Princeton sports and Princeton sports photos, you definitely need to be following Shelley on Twitter. 

By the way, the men's hockey home opener is still more than four months away, but it's a good one. Cornell will be at Baker Rink on Nov. 4 in the first home hockey game for the men's team.

Also, if you're looking ahead for the men's hockey season, this year will mark the the 100th anniversary of the opening of Hobey Baker Rink. You can circle Jan. 6 and 7, when Harvard and Dartmouth are at Princeton for Hobey 100 Weekend.

Back here in the summer, if the six Princeton athletes who are competing at the World Athletics Championships thought that they'd be beating the heat, well, no, that doesn't look like it'll be the case. The World Championships, the second-most important track and field event in the world behind only the Olympic Games, will be held at Hayward Stadium at the University of Oregon, where temps will also be pushing 90.

As TB said, there will be six Princetonians there, four men and two women. Of those six, there were five who competed in the Olympics last summer.

The women both had extraordinary Olympic showings. Julia Ratcliffe of New Zealand, who won an NCAA hammer throw championship in 2014 as a Tiger sophomore, placed ninth in Tokyo in the event. Lizzie Bird of Great Britain also finished ninth in her event, the 3,000-meter steeplechase, setting a British record in the process.

There haven't been too many Princeton athletes who have ever dominated something the way that Ratcliffe dominated the hammer throw. Every single throw she attempted at Princeton, from her best to her worst, is better than any other Ivy athlete has done even once. TB knows he's written that before, but it's extraordinary each time. 

As for the men, the Guttormsen brothers will both be competing in the pole vault for Norway. Sondre, the older brother, was also an Olympian a year ago, and he went on from there to win both the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships. 

Simen, his younger brother, finished fourth at the NCAA championships both indoors and outdoors. As you may recall, TB watched the entire NCAA outdoor pole vault competition with no commentary and was riveted by it for four hours. 

The other two Princetonians are Ed Trippas in the steeplechase, because what an Olympics or World Championships be without a Princeton men's steeplechaser, and Nathan Crumpton in the 100 meters. Both Trippas and Crumpton were Olympians last year.

Actually, Crumpton was an Olympian last year and this year, since he also did the skeleton in the Winter Olympics. He competes internationally for American Samoa.

For more information and for broadcasting information, you can click HERE for the women and HERE for the men. The women's link includes just an incredible picture of Ratcliffe.

The track and field championships are inviting TV due to the heat. Whatever it is you do this weekend, stay hydrated and be careful. 

So have a great weekend. 

And, like Shelley says, keep in mind that it'll be hockey season soon enough.