Mercer County Cooling Sites Open As Heat Advisory Takes Effect

Cooling centers are open throughout Mercer County amid a Heat Advisory issued by the National Weather Service on Monday, June 18, county officials announced. The advisory is in effect until 8 p.m.
Temperatures were expected to reach the mid-90s with a heat index of up to 102 degrees. Children, older adults, people with disabilities and pets are most at risk during excessive temperatures.

Residents are advised to drink water regularly even if they are not thirsty, try to stay indoors preferably in an air-conditioned space, and wear light-colored, loose-fitting clothing when going outside. Residents should check up on elderly relatives, friends and neighbors, and people with disabilities, who may need assistance keeping cool.

Pets are also very vulnerable to excessive heat. Animals should never be left unattended in a vehicle, even with the windows down or for short periods of time, and pets should be provided with plenty of fresh water to drink, and a shaded or sheltered area.

Mercer County also offers designated cooling sites including all municipal senior centers and all Mercer County Library System branches. Call individual locations for daily hours of operation. These locations are open to all residents.

The following Mercer County library branches are cooling sites: Ewing, Hickory Corner, Hightstown, Hollowbrook, Hopewell, Lawrence, Robbinsville, Twin Rivers and West Windsor.

The following municipal senior centers are cooling sites: Hamilton, Ewing, Pennington/Hopewell Valley, Jennye Stubblefield, Lawrence Township, Princeton Senior Resource Center, Reading, Sam Naples and Robbinsville Township.

For assistance in coping with the heat or to contact your local cooling site, call the Mercer County Office on Aging at 609-0989-6661 or toll-free (877) 222-3737. During non-business hours, residents are encouraged to call 911 if they experience heat-related problems.

Additionally, the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management offers the following:

“Heat is often referred to as the “silent killer,” in contrast to tornadoes, hurricanes and other natural hazards with more dramatic visual effects. For more information regarding heat-related emergencies and a list of the County Emergency Management Offices, visit www.ready.nj.gov or the National Weather Service Heat Safety page: www.weather.gov/om/heat/index.shtml. Call 2-1-1, New Jersey’s toll-free, confidential helpline, for information about heat safety resources.”

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