Another scorcher Friday sent the mercury up to 97 degrees in Cape Girardeau.

It's hot, but it could be hotter.

In 1952, the temperature reached 107 on July 28, the city's all-time high temperature.

On today's date in 1980, temperatures reached 105 degrees, the record high for July 15. It was hot in 1980, with temperatures topping 100 degrees from July 8 to 12 and back over the century mark July 15 and 16. July 1980 was the hottest July in history, with an average high temperature of 95.6 degrees.

The average high temperature for July is 90.1 degrees.

The heat wave that has brought sweltering temperatures is blamed on a high pressure system that is slowly moving east from the western Great Plains. The National Weather Service said the extreme heat was expected to continue at least until the weekend.

The heat claimed seven more Missouri victims Friday - raising the heat-related death toll to 11 - and sent dozens of people to hospitals in the St. Louis area.

In northeast Missouri, four people were found dead in their Clark County homes. Elsewhere, an 89-year-old woman was found dead in her St. Louis home, a man died at a St. Louis hospital and Kansas City registered its fifth instance since Wednesday of a person found dead in a home.

Hot weather contributed to a blink in the city's power supply Friday and worsened the situation with the city's water supply.

Randy Armstrong with Union Electric said customers throughout the district experienced the power "blink" Friday afternoon when Sikeston's generation plant lost power for a moment.

Cape Girardeau and Sikeston and the whole region are interconnected by transmission lines.

Normally, a blink at Sikeston wouldn't be noticed, but the hot weather has electric systems running at full speed. "When you have this much load any kind of fault could cause a blink," Armstrong said.

Most customers got their power back immediately. Some small areas of outage lasted longer, again because of the heat. "When we're running at this load, it's hard to pick the whole load up at once," he said. Picking up all the customers at the same time could cause a reaction something like blowing a fuse.

Armstrong said electric usage has been predictably high during the heat wave. A Cape Girardeau generator has been in operation for the past three days. It operates during peak times. The system is no where near an overload. "We have plenty of juice," Armstrong said.

Cape Girardeau's water system, however, is down and the city was under a boil-water order. The pumps broke down because of recent flooding.

The problem is intensified because city officials have asked people not to water their lawns, wash cars or fill swimming pools due to the heavy demand for water.

Southeast Missouri Hospital and St. Francis Medical Center each had one confirmed heat-related illness.

"Everyone is complaining about the heat though," said Linda Brown in the emergency room at St. Francis.

The best advice from doctors is to stay in the air conditioning.

HOT-WEATHER TIPS

To prevent heat illness:

* Wear loose and light-colored clothing.

* Avoid excessive activity.

* Stay out of the sun, but not necessarily indoors.

* Drink plenty of cool, non-alcoholic liquids.

* Maintain good salt intake (dieters on restricted salt should consult their physician first).

* Use air conditioning indoors.

* If no air conditioning is available, use fans indoors unless temperature is above high 90s, in which case seek shelter in an air-conditioned place. Air conditioners cool much more effectively than fans.

* Spend time in an air-conditioned place; if not a home, then such public places as libraries, supermarkets, shopping malls and movie theaters.

Sighns of heat stroke and exhaustion

* Body temperature of 104 degrees or above.

* Headache, dizziness, irritability.

* Difficulty breathing.

* Hot, red, dry skin.

* Rapid, strong pulse initially, then weak and rapid.

* Fainting, delirium or seizures may occur.

What to do:

* Seek medical attention at once, then:

* Keep victim lying down in a cool place.

* Remove victim's clothing and cover with a wet sheet.

* Use air conditioner or fan to cool victim.

* Give nothing by mouth.

For heat exhaustion only:

* Loosen clothing.

* Sip salt solution (1 teaspoon of salt in an 8nounce glass of water).

* Drink plenty of nonnalcoholic liquids.

* Seek medical attention for severe cases.