Record high temperatures and little to no rain are expected to continue through this week, said weather forecasters.

The heat is &#8220kind of a blessing as well as a curse,” said Mike Edmonston, senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson.

A high pressure system centered over Arkansas is responsible for the heat, but it may protect central Mississippi from Erin, a tropical storm swirling in the Gulf of Mexico, said Edmonston. If the high pressure system remains strong enough, it will deflect any approaching storms, he said.

Tuesday’s high temperature was a record 102, and 103 was predicted for today, said Edmonston. No relief is expected through the weekend. And heat indexes – a measure that combines the temperature and relative humidity – will likely approach 105 on Thursday. Only a 10 percent chance of rain is anticipated this weekend.

&#8220We could use some more rain, but I don’t think anyone” wants to get it through a tropical storm, said Edmonston.

The National Weather Service has altered predictions and recorded temperatures as information has changed quickly since the current heat wave began on Friday.

Meanwhile today, most students in the Vicksburg Warren School District were marking their first full week of school indoors. Superintendent James Price has suspended regular outdoor activities for the day. Athletic and band students will practice indoors or on a modified schedule after temperatures cool in the evening. Sports teams at Vicksburg Catholic and Porters Chapel schools have followed suit.

The heat has also affected the schedules of younger students not yet in school and those in after-school programs, too.

&#8220We usually go out for play time, but it’s just too hot,” said Ladonna George, a teacher at Cradle to Crayons Daycare on Drummond Street. About 20 6-week-old to 12-year-old children attend the center.

&#8220I think they would rather be outside,” said Geroge, but &#8220the kids don’t seem to mind staying inside.” Across town, another day-care center, Kiddie City, echoed the sentiment.

&#8220The heat is &#8220affecting our schedule of outdoor play,” said Ruth Lowe, owner of the center on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive home to more than 100 kids, most of them school age. Lowe said she has eliminated outdoor play and reduced field trips as well.

&#8220We really haven’t been taking them outside at all,” said Lowe.

&#8220Our kids will come in off the bus and they come in here hot. Even though our air runs really well, just the fact that everyone is stuck inside” makes the building warmer than normal, too, said Lowe. But, &#8220we’re managing to survive,” she said.

George and Lowe said the centers decide on a day-by-day basis how the weather will affect activities.

Arguably one of the least pleasant jobs during a heat wave is repairing and replacing broken air conditioners, a task that falls to companies like Hampton Air Conditioning and Heating.

&#8220Our service guy worked from 8 a.m. till 10 p.m.,” several days in the past week, said Susan Hampton, who is filling in for the regular company secretary. When the air goes out, tempers usually go up, especially when service personnel can’t get to someone the same day, said Hampton.

&#8220We do try to do the ones that are with no air conditioning,” at all,” before we do someone that just needs a minor repair, said Hampton. &#8220When you have to change out a unit in someone’s attic it is a lot of hard work.” Air conditioning repairs on home units usually take about an hour while a commercial job can take twice as long, she said.

Sometimes the fix is simple, like cleaning dirty condenser coils. Other times, the repairs are more complicated, like finding the source of a leak or replacing an entire system.

The staff also tries to take into consideration those enduring the heat under more difficult circumstances than others, when scheduling service calls, she said.

&#8220I had a woman call who was eight months pregnant,” said Hampton.

RECORD TEMPS

Since Friday, high temperatures have tied and beat record highs dating to 1951.