THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, July 25, 1995                 TAG: 9507250277
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   66 lines

NORFOLK SIZZLES WITH RECORD HIGH: 99 FOR 13 DAYS THE HIGH HAS TOPPED 90. THREE MORE DAYS LIKE THAT - WHICH SEEMS LIKELY - WILL SET A RECORD.

Like slow torture, the heat is pressing on, day after torrid day - some days breaking high-temperature records. And forecasters say there is no relief in sight.

Monday's sauna-like 99 degrees wilted a 97-degree record set in 1883. The other record-breaking day this month was July 15, with a high of 101.

Add humidity to Monday's 99, and the heat index hit 108, according to the National Weather Service.

The forecast for the rest of the week sounds familiar: hot and humid, with highs in the mid- to upper 90s.

The mercury has inched to at least 90 degrees every day for 13 days. If the trend continues - and the weather service in Norfolk predicts it will - another record will topple.

It's a safe bet that the Norfolk area on Wednesday will tie the record of 15 days of 90-plus highs set in 1980. The record will fall on Thursday, the weather service predicts.

``There's a very good chance,'' said Mark Deutschendorf, a spokesman for the National Weather Service. ``The (forecast) high is in upper 90s on Tuesday and the mid-90s on Wednesday.''

The old heat-wave mark was set between July 29 and Aug. 12, 1980, Deutschendorf said. It broke the 14-day streak set between July 13 and July 26, 1961.

Despite the heat, there are no problems reported from Norfolk Botanical Garden.

``Nothing is suffering too severely,'' said spokeswoman Jill Doczi. ``All of our plants do well in our climate and are surviving.''

But some field crops, such as soybeans and corn, could be damaged if there is not sufficient rain, said Melvin Atkinson, extension agent with the Virginia Beach Department of Agriculture.

The area has had 1.74 inches of official rainfall in July, down 2.13 inches from normal, according to the weather service. Rainfall is about 6 inches below normal for the year. Scattered thunderstorms are forecast daily for the remainder of the week.

``If we could maintain our moisture levels, the crops will not be suffering,'' Atkinson said.

A hot spell occurs every season, he said, but this heat wave may be earlier than most.

``It's nothing that's unusual,'' he said. ``It's just unbearable.'' ILLUSTRATION: MORT FRYMAN

Staff

Robert Demnicki of Virginia Beach swims to cool down after a

long-awaited but frustrating fishing trip Monday. His boat broke

down in the Chesapeake Bay, and after much yelling he got help, and

a tow.

THE FORECAST

Graphic

[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm for this date.]

[July calendar of temperatures]

KEYWORDS: WEATHER by CNB