Parades, Festivities Go On Despite 101 Degree Heat

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Richfield's parade carried its typical patriotic tones, but with some major warmth added in.

Basking in the sun, celebrating Independence Day, the Schmidkamp family and other residents sizzled as the combination of humidity and temperatures rose to a record-breaking high as the Twin Cities endured 101 degrees.

"It's pretty hot -- it's steamy," Chris Schmidkamp said. "But we're from Minnesota. We love our extremes."

And the "heat-index" made it feel nearly 115 degrees Wednesday.

In fact, high school band members in the parade were not allowed to wear full uniforms because of the extreme heat.

This is the 14th day this year where the temperature has hit above 90 degrees, and the average for an entire year is 13 days.

Even the Red White & Boom Twin Cities Half-Marathon had to get cut in half, shortened to 5 miles because of dangerous temperatures earlier Wednesday morning.