As summer temperatures begin to rise some locals are flocking to ice cream shops around the area to beat the heat with a cone, shake or other frozen dessert.

According to the International Dairy Foods Association, most ice cream production in the United States occurs in June.The association says that the average American eats 22 pounds of ice cream per year and that many of the nation's ice cream shops are family owned, such as Corner Cone in Lehighton.Pam McCullion, who founded Corner Cone with Larry and Levi McCullion, takes great pride in her shop."We wanted to give something back to the community. We've created 12 jobs for high school and college kids and we give people a nice place to walk to for a treat. We're proud to have a family ice cream establishment," said McCullion.Located at the corner of Mahoning and Eighth streets, Corner Cone serves both hard and soft serve ice cream, as well as milkshakes and Italian ice. They carry 26 hard serve flavors, 40 soft serve flavors and six flavors of Italian ice.McCullion is preparing for the anniversary of Corner Cone's establishment last July. The shop will offer specials to celebrate during the weekend of the anniversary.McCullion says the customers' favorite flavor is toasted coconut.Not all ice cream establishments see peak business during sweltering heat.Ann Ostergaard of Heisler's Cloverleaf Dairy says business is slow on days where the highs reach the 90s."When it's really, really hot, people don't come out of their air conditioning," says Ostergaard. "When it hits 90 it may as well be a blizzard."Ostergaard says that while people assume hotter weather means Heisler's Dairy Bar gets busier, optimal ice cream weather for the all-outdoor establishment is the low to mid 70s."Of course in the evenings it gets busy, especially during the cooler summers when people feel comfortable, but since we don't have an indoor facility the heat isn't good." Heisler's most popular flavor is vanilla, says Ostergaard, but adds that her preferred flavor is strawberry cheesecake."I would say my favorite is actually our peach yogurt," says Cera Bachert, veteran scooper and supervisor at Claude's Creamery in Palmerton. Claude's has become a favorite for locals and travelers since it opened at 289 Delaware Ave. in 2011.Bachert says during the summer lines can sometimes stretch out the door."It's fairly busy now," Bachert said.She says employees expect business to swell even further soon as temperatures climb."Last summer it was insane. We were here for such a long time past closing just with cleaning up and serving the last people as they would show up, it was a lot," said Bachert.Though rushes fluctuate, Bachert says the shop may stay at its busiest for up to four hours on especially hot days.Claude's serves both soft and hard serve ice cream as well as specialties like the Claudehopper - soft serve vanilla ice cream with toppings - frozen yogurt and Italian ice.Bachert says that the most popular flavor served at Claude's Creamery is peanut butter pretzel, though she adds that the Claudehoppers are a noteworthy favorite as well.