It wasn't quite like last summer, but the first heat wave of July 1989 was officially declared in the Boston area yesterday, as weather officials recorded the third straight day of 90-degree-plus temperatures.

Actually, yesterday's recorded high of 93 degrees Farenheit was higher--slightly--than the 92 degrees the National Weather Service recorded on August 5, 1988, when for the first time ever, high temperatures forced Harvard to close down.

But don't head for the beach just yet. Vice President for Administration Sally Zeckhauser said yesterday there was little chance that the current onslaught of high temperatures would result in a replay of last year's shutdown.

That decision, she explained, was made largely on the basis of "personnel relations." By shutting the University down on a Friday, employees gained an unexpected bonus--a three-day weekend.

In addition, the longer duration of last summer's heat wave made it more difficult to meet the University's power needs, Zeckhauser said.

"So far, we've been able to cope with the chilled water plant and MATEP [the Medical Area Total Energy Plant]," said Zeckhauser. "It gets harder as the week goes on, but I haven't heard any discussion [about closing down]," she said.

Since the end of the three-day heat wave arrived last night in a burst of thundershowers, there is likely to be little discussion. According to weather service spokesperson Todd A. Patstone, today's storms are likely to be "pretty severe, but [how much] is going to be determined later."

No beach. No closed doors at the nation's oldest university. A memory of the summer's first real heat wave is all that's left.

Although Boston's unseasonably mild winter caused many this year to worry that the summer would break all records for the area's hottest, meteorologist Jeffrey S. Waldstreicher of the National Weather Service said there is little cause to worry.

"One has nothing to do with the other," Waldstreicher said. "Weather patterns just don't last that long."

Similarly, he said, fears that the past year's weather might have signalled the beginning of a global warming process are probably misplaced.

"Global warming is something that occurs over a very long time--decades," said Waldstreicher. "You can't even say last year had anything to do with global warming. It was just a warm summer."

And this summer, he said, has been much closer to the norm. Six days in 1989 have been hotter than 90 degrees, compared to 13 at this time in 1988. On average, a total of 12 days break the 90-degree mark each year, so this summer is right on schedule.

Nonetheless, this summer has set a few records of its own. Wednesday's high of 96 degrees was the highest ever recorded on that date. And an extremely unscientific set of readings taken at several locations around campus by The Crimson revealed that while Summer 1989 may not measure up to its predecessor, yesterday's temperatures were still pretty impressive. Or oppressive, depending on your perspective.

Acting on a tip from a source in Harvard's facilities and maintenance department, The Crimson determined that temperatures on the fifth floor of Claverly Hall reached an all-campus high of 114 degrees.