High temperatures have impacted local teams this week as a new high school season begins. Temperatures soared to near triple digits Sunday through Tuesday in the Quad-Cities. Moline set a single-day record high temperature of 98 degrees Tuesday, breaking the record of 97 degrees in 1976.
Heat-index temperatures soared to between 105 and 115 degrees midday on both days. As a result, Moline's volleyball game against Newark on Monday was postponed to a later date. The Moline football team had practices moved to the air-conditioned physical education center.
“The heat has been disruptive in a lot of different ways for a lot of sports,” Moline football coach Mike Morrissey said. “Pretty much any event that was outside, and even the volleyball game, got cancelled yesterday.” Morrissey was thankful that his team was able to get repetitions in over the past couple of days away from the heat.
“We have been fortunate enough to be able to practice — we had all of our levels practicing at the same routine time that they normally do,” Morrissey said. “We were able to get everything accomplished that we needed to do.” Rock Island does not have that same luxury.
Their football practices were moved to early morning this week, starting at 6 a.m. daily due to the uncomfortable and harmful afternoon heat.
"We normally practice after school, but because of the heat wave, there was no way we were going to be able to practice," Rock Island football head coach Fritz Dieudonn Acros.