"Though it'll be a touch cooler, we'll be trading heat for humidity, so it will still feel pretty hot," said Jim Hayes, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.
With Wednesday's forecast calling for a second day of temperatures over 100, the Philadelphia School District announced it would dismiss classes early.
Classes for students in the district's summer school program and the city's summer camps will be sent home at 12:30 p.m., said spokesman Fernando Gallard.
The Philadelphia Corporation for Aging activated its Heatline, a telephone service for callers to talk to nurses about medical problems related to the heat. It was last activated June 24 through 26, when four people died of heat-related causes.
The staff, with Spanish and Russian speakers, will be available from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at 215-765-9040.
Heatline supervisor Heidi Gambino suggested that people check on elderly neighbors.
"Sometimes they don't even realize they're hot," she said.
In West Philadelphia, a neighbor went to check on 92-year-old Euretha Knotts and found her dead on the second floor of her home Monday, said Jeff Moran, spokesman for the Medical Examiner's Office.
Though windows were open and a fan was operating on the first floor, only one window was open about four inches on the second floor where she was found.
Knotts, who lived alone, was the fifth person to die from heat-related causes in the city this year.
For SEPTA and New Jersey Transit, Tuesday's extreme heat was not enough to buckle the rails, but it caused overhead catenary wires to sag. The drooping wires caused delays of up to 45 minutes on evening rush-hour trains. Amtrak took extra precautions, putting technicians aboard trains and storing rescue locomotives every 30 to 50 miles in case of problems.
Throughout the region Tuesday, people did their best to cope.
