SYRACUSE -- With temperatures hitting record-setting highs this summer, the demand for air conditioners is up. Some retailers, however, are unable to meet the demand.
An employee at the East Syracuse Home Depot said that all stores in the region are sold out of air conditioners. The Lowe’s store in Syracuse is also out of all units.
At Ra-Lin’s, on Burnet Ave. in Syracuse, only a few lone units are still for sale as of Thursday evening.
Assistant Manager Carl Cafarelli said small window units are in the highest demand because people are trying to keep bedrooms cooler.
The store said it has not had luck ordering more units from manufacturers. It said that any orders placed now would not be fulfilled for weeks, once the demand for units has gone down.
Temperatures in the area have been at record highs. This is the hottest year on record for the Northeast region.
The Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University reports that the average temperature from January through July was 49.9 degrees, the highest since record-keeping began in 1895. In comparison, the second-highest average on record is 49.2 degrees in 1921.
