HEAT CLAIMS 15TH VICTIM IN MISSOURI

It's not the heat, it's the humidity.

That cliche is proving true in much of Missouri this summer. Although it may not feel like it, the state has actually had normal high temperatures since June. But high humidity has left most residents feeling hotter, weather forecasters say.

Blame all the rain that has fallen in northern and southwest Missouri since January, said Greg Koch, a National Weather Service forecaster in Pleasant Hill.

Although Southeast Missouri received below-average rainfall earlier in the year, the region earned its nickname of Swampeast Missouri last month when a record 11.17 inches of rain fell. The amount was more than 8 inches above average for the month.

Rainfall amounts are important because the humidity rises as water evaporates from the rainsoaked ground.

"The air temperature just hasn't been that outstanding this summer," Koch said. "But the humidity makes it feel much worse."

Heat has been blamed for at least 15 deaths in Missouri so far in 2001, though the number was inflated by an April incident in which four women at the Leland Health Care Center in University City died when temperatures in the home rose to 95 degrees.

On Wednesday, a 52-year-old Kansas City, Mo., man was found dead in his sweltering home. His identity was not immediately released.

And on Friday, health officials said a 61-year-old man found dead on Tuesday in a Kansas City parking lot had also died from the heat. His name also was not immediately released.

On July 9, the body of 79-year-old Sellars Allen was found in his Cape Girardeau home three days after he died from heat stroke. There was no air conditioning in the home, and Allen had nailed the windows of the home shut for safety.

In July, Kansas City and St. Louis had average temperatures -- which includes high and low temperatures over a 24-hour period -- of about 80.7 degrees. That's 2.2 degrees higher than normal in Kansas City and only .09 degrees higher in St. Louis.

Cape Girardeau's temperatures were 0.63 degrees below average for July, despite a majority of days over 90 degrees.

"That doesn't even put this summer in the top 30 hottest summers since we started keeping records in 1888," Koch said.

A lot of rain

Kansas City has recorded 36.18 inches of rain since January, 13.83 inches above average by this time of year. In contrast, St. Louis has had only 18.73 inches since Jan. 1, 4.02 below average.

"It's a mixed blessing," Koch said. "We've enjoyed green yards, lush vegetation and positive news on agriculture issues. But we're going to pay with the higher humidity. St. Louis, they could use some more rain."

The same recipe for uncomfortable conditions has existed in the southwest this summer, said Steve Lindenberg, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Springfield, Mo.

Normally, the area gets 2.92 inches of rain during July. This year, 4.87 inches fell at the Springfield airport, with some areas getting much more, Lindenberg said.

"It hasn't been as bad as Kansas City or St. Louis, but the humidity has been tough this summer," he said.

Slightly cooler

Although temperatures are expected to drop to the upper 80s or mid-90s in most of the state Saturday, the humidity is not expected to improve much, Koch said.

"Unless we have a prolonged period of dry weather, the humidity will continue to be bad," he said. "It looks like a hot, sticky August. But really, Missourians are used to that."

They may be used to the heat, but that doesn't mean Missourians have to like it.

At Boone Tavern in downtown Columbia, Mo., hostess Jacqueline Putnam said diners were opting for inside seating rather than the empty patio, even though it has table umbrellas and a shady gazebo with a ceiling fan.

"All week, I have had just one party ask for lunch seating outside, and they came back in within five minutes, said it was just too blazing hot," Putnam said.

At Star Heating and Air Conditioning in Columbia, general manager Steve Oetker said he is keeping the heat in mind when scheduling his repair crews. For example, he is trying to pack repairs to attic air conditioning units into the morning hours.

"It sometimes gets to 140 degrees in those hot attics with the heat rising, and you get just sopping wet, so we try to get those wrapped by the time we have to work outside in the afternoons," Oetker said.

Roger Gibson, a project coordinator for the Missouri Department of Health, said people should continue to look out for the elderly, children or the disabled even if temperatures drop.

"Watch out for anyone who goes a long time without being accounted for," Gibson said. "One of the major symptoms of heat exhaustion or heat stroke is becoming disoriented, so folks in high-risk categories need to be kept tracked of."

Tamara Zellars Buck of the Southeast Missourian contributed to this report.