We are well into our first heat wave of the season, and it has been brutally hot. The heat index has been a very important number to pay attention to, and that will continue as we head into the weekend.
Temperatures are now sitting in the 80s and 90s for the majority of Southwest Virginia. However, when the humidity is factored in, we get a very different picture.
The heat index is the air temperature combined with the dew point. This gives us a “feels-like” temperature. The higher the dew point, the higher the temperature it feels like outside, and this can spell danger if you are out in the heat for too long.
Our body produces sweat to cool us off, and when there is a dry air mass, the moisture evaporates off our skin, and we are able to cool off easily. However, when there is a higher moisture content, the sweat can’t evaporate as easily, and our bodies heat up much faster.
This is why we have been talking about the dangerous levels of heat for the past week. It is very easy to get overheated in the conditions we have been experiencing.
Heat exhaustion can happen very quickly, and it is something that we don’t always think about. In this type of weather, we can help prevent heat exhaustion by following the above tips!
