FRANKLIN—When the mercury hovers at 100 degrees, Franklin mechanic Wade Daughtry keeps cool by drinking water — usually six, 16-ounce bottles a day.

On his breaks, Daughtry seeks relief in the air-conditioned areas of Blake Ford Mercury, where he has worked for 26 years.

“I can deal with the heat better than the cold,” said Daughtry, who expected the garage to reach 100 degrees by mid-afternoon Thursday.

While Thursday’s high was 102, today, July 23, is expected to hit 100 again, but it will feel more like 107 in the afternoon due to the humidity, according to Rick Curry, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wakefield. Saturday’s high also calls for 100, with a heat index of 110.

The National Weather Service does not keep temperature records for Franklin, but has indicated that June was the warmest on record for Richmond and Norfolk. It’s likely it was the same for Franklin, Curry said.

“Right now we’re on track to become one of the five warmest Julys,” he said Thursday. “We still got nine days of the month to go.”

He said July has been a little bit warmer than normal.

“We’ve been having high pressure bringing in plenty of clear skies, which are pumping up plenty of heat,” Curry said.

According to the website Weather.com, the record for July 23 is 101 and July 24 is 103, both set in 1952.

Weather.com’s forecast is warmer than the National Weather Service’s predictions. The website calls for a high today of 103 with a heat index of 115; Saturday, 103 to 107; and Sunday, 102 to 106.