As millions sweat out the heat wave, blocks of lake ice keep these campers cool

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Ice chips fly as Nate Lord chops out a block at Rockywold Deephaven Camps, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Holderness, N.H. Ice harvested from Squam Lake during the winter is insulated with sawdust in an ice house. It is used for refrigeration in ice boxes at each guest cabin throughout the summer. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

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Melana Price, of Southfield, Mich., dives into Squam Lake at Rockywold Deephaven Camps, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Holderness, N.H. Ice harvested from the lake in winter is used to refrigerate guest’s ice boxes throughout the summer season. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

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Travis Miller drops a block of ice from one of two ice houses at Rockywold Deephaven Camps, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Holderness, N.H. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

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On the hottest day of the young summer season, Nate Lord uses an ice pick to break a block of ice before delivering it to a guest cabin at Rockywold Deephaven Camps, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Holderness, N.H. Ice harvested from Squam Lake during the winter is used for refrigeration at each cabin throughout the summer. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

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Will McLane loads a block of ice onto a wheelbarrow at Rockywold Deephaven Camps, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Holderness, N.H. Ice harvested from the lake in winter is used to refrigerate guest’s ice boxes throughout the summer season. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

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Nate Lord chops out a block of ice at Rockywold Deephaven Camps, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Holderness, N.H. Ice harvested from Squam Lake during the winter is insulated with sawdust in an ice house. It is used for refrigeration in ice boxes at each guest cabin throughout the summer. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

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Nate Lord hauls out a block of ice at Rockywold Deephaven Camps, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Holderness, N.H. Ice harvested from Squam Lake during the winter is insulated with sawdust in an ice house. It is used for refrigeration in ice boxes at each guest cabin throughout the summer. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

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A block of ice is hauled up a the loading ramp at Rockywold Deephaven Camps, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Holderness, N.H. Sawdust used to insulated the ice will be washed off before it is delivered to guest cabins. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

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Javier Rodriguez rushes to deliver ice to guest cabins on the hottest day of the season at Rockywold Deephaven Camps, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Holderness, N.H. Ice is harvested from the nearby lake during the winter and is used to refrigerate guest’s ice boxes all summer at the rustic camp. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

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A woman fans herself in Bryant Park, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

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A worker, right, takes a drink of water while working in temperatures above 90F (32C) at a gas line work site, Thursday, June 20, 2024, on a street in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

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A worker wipes his face while working in temperatures above 90F (32C) at a gas line work site, Thursday, June 20, 2024, on a street in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

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Silas Pociask, 9, of Deerfield, N.H., enjoys a “kiddie"-sized ice cream cone at Johnson’s Dairy Bar in Northwood, N.H., on Thursday, June 20, 2024. (AP photo/Holly Ramer)

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A worker adjusts his helmet while working in temperatures above 90 degrees at a gas line work site, Thursday, June 20, 2024, on a street, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

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Athena Bean, from left, Emily Champagne and Tyler Lippe sit in the water, Tuesday, June 18, 2024, while a man swings out over the Saco River in Buxton, Maine. Hot weather is predicted until the end of the week. (Troy R. Bennett/The Bangor Daily News via AP)

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Levi Rush does a backflip off an old bridge abutment into the Saco River in Buxton, Maine, Tuesday, June 18, 2024. Hot weather is predicted until the end of the week. (Troy R. Bennett/The Bangor Daily News via AP)

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People play ultimate Frisbee on the National Mall in Washington, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. High temperatures are expected to stay in the 90s in the nation’s capital for the rest of the week as a heat wave builds into the Northeast. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

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Best friends Anna Labelle, left and Frankie Russell got creative Tuesday morning, June 18, 2024, to help stay cool in Labelle’s backyard in Auburn, Maine, as the temperature began to climb. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP)

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Serena Porter, 9, stays cool as she runs through water provided by the Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety during Spray and Play on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, at City Center Park in downtown Benton Harbor, Mich. (Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP)e

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A heat wave is baking New England as millions of people sweat it out for another day. Heat index readings are expected to pass 100 degrees in some places. (AP Video: Kathy McCormack, Lisa Rathke, Holly Ramer, Nick Perry)

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A heat wave is moving closer to the breaking point from the Midwest to New England, and millions of people aren’t the only ones feeling the heat. Pet owners are also trying to keep their animals cool. (AP video by John Minchillo)

By NICK PERRY, HOLLY RAMER and ROBERT F. BUKATY

SQUAM LAKE, N.H. (AP) — As New England baked in a heat wave Thursday, guests at one campground were keeping their food and beer cold with blocks of ice harvested months earlier from a frozen lake.

And while some relief is expected in the eastern Great Lakes region and New England starting Friday, the National Weather Service said scorching temperatures will linger across the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic region, and even rise in places, including California and Arizona, where they could eclipse 100 degrees (nearly 38 degrees Celsius).

On Squam Lake in central New Hampshire, ice blocks about the size of microwaves that had been packed in sawdust since winter were lifted from an insulated storage hut. It’s been a tradition at the rustic Rockywold Deephaven Camps for more than a century, keeping fresh ice available throughout the summer and into the fall.

Angela Wilcox, who has vacationed at the camp for 16 years, took her children and nephews boating Thursday in search of the lake’s coldest swimming spot.

“This is the hottest it’s ever been, especially in June,” Wilcox said. “We’re kind of shocked.”

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Heat index readings combining temperature and humidity were expected to surpass 100 degrees (37.7 C) in many locations across the country, possibly setting some all-time records, the weather service said, and because record overnight temperatures could prevent natural cooling, heat danger could builda up indoors.

“Those without access to reliable air conditioning are urged to find a way to cool down,” the service said in its forecast.

In a study published Thursday, a group of scientists said human-caused climate change has drastically increased the odds of experiencing the killer heat baking the Southwestern United States, Mexico and Central America this month. Last year, the U.S. recorded its most heat waves — abnormally hot weather lasting more than two days — since 1936.

Ocean waters are warmer as well, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico, where the season’s first named storm, Alberto, was dumping heavy rain and causing flash flooding along a stretch of the coast from Mexico to Louisiana. This year’s hurricane season is forecast to be among the most active in recent memory.

It’s made for an unusually early start to summer extremes in the northeastern U.S.

It was already nearing 90 degrees (32.2 C) in New Hampshire as John Dupont opened his kettle corn stand at Concord’s 50th annual Market Days Festival. He and his daughter set up two fans and were prepared to drape icy towels around their necks.

“This year is a little challenging because of all the heat. Our kettle gets up to 150,000 BTUs,” he said.

At Johnson’s Dairy Bar in Northwood, Camryn Hildredth tried to offer customers an empty dish for that heartbreaking moment when a scoop of rapidly melting ice cream topples out of the cone, but not all would listen.

“Everybody asks if we have AC. We do not,” she said. “It’s very hot and we get long lines, so it can get very rough sometimes.”

In Burlington, Vermont, Jack Hurlbut said he’s never been so hot in his life. “I live in Vermont for a reason, you know what I mean?” the 28-year-old said.

Hurlbut, who is homeless, joined others in a shady spot on a lawn outside the public library, which was serving as a cooling center.

New York’s state parks had free admission Thursday, and select state-run pools and beaches opened early for swimming, Gov. Kathy Hochul said. New York City’s beaches were available, and although its public pools don’t open until next week, the city keeps a list of hundreds of free air-conditioned sites.

“The humidity is pretty insane,” said Anne-Laure Bonhomme, a health coach who was sightseeing in New York with her family.

Many school districts in New Jersey switched to early dismissals as the school year winds down, and at least two rescheduled their high school graduation ceremonies due to concerns about excessive heat and humidity.

With much of Indiana sweltering, highway crews are starting shifts at 6 a.m., two hours earlier than in cooler seasons, and taking more frequent breaks in air-conditioned trucks in between filling potholes and other roadwork, said Kyleigh Cramer, a spokesperson for the Indiana Department of Transportation.

“They’re able to get in those trucks and cool off right then and there because being out on the road is a little bit different than being in an office,” Cramer said.

Some relief is coming: A cold front is moving into areas near Lake Michigan later Thursday and on Friday, the weather service said. Chicago broke a 1957 record for June 17 on Monday, with a high of 97 degrees (36.1 C).

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Ramer reported from Northwood, N.H. Associated Press writers from across the country contributed, including Lisa Rathke, Kathy McCormack, Rick Callahan and Bruce Shipkowski. Follow AP’s coverage of weather at https://apnews.com/hub/weather