On a day that saw the mercury at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport reach 104 degrees - a new record for the month of June - the extreme heat had air conditioners and water fountains across the area working overtime.

Continue reading

If it wasn't water keeping people cool at events throughout the D.C. region Friday, it was a hat or an umbrella. Luckily for Sinclair Winston, a D.C. resident, he had both.

"I haven't melted yet, and I'm 82," Winston said.

Meanwhile, for tourists who had the luck of choosing this weekend to visit the nation's capital, hydration was the key.

"We have a cooler with frozen water, so we're packing that around with us, trying to stay cool," Angie Spencer, who is visiting from Kentucky, said.

Temperatures skyrocketed into the triple digits early into Friday, and with the heat index racing past 110 degrees in some places, ways to keep cool were a priority for everyone. Many tourists chose to take in city sights from indoors; that includes the museums on the mall, where Smithsonian officials say all of their museums were packed.

At the same time, golf fans spent Friday sweltering at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, where the 2nd round of the AT&T National took place. It was a place where spectators couldn't hide from the searing heat, but most said they didn't mind.

"It's not too bad," Baltimore resident Hillen Grason said. "(You) just drink a lot of water."