CHARLESTON, W.Va.– The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory on Monday for 20 counties in West Virginia and with high temperatures comes the possibility for heat-related deaths.
The advisory will be in effect from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., and heat index values could reach over 100 degrees due to temperatures in the 90s and dew points in the 70s. This combination of heat and humidity can be very dangerous.
In a press conference Monday with Kanawha County Emergency Management and Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority, the two groups wanted to stress the importance of protecting yourself during extreme heat.
“We are concerned with the heat index; it could reach up to 101 or 102 degrees today,” Mike Oakley, deputy director of Kanawha County Emergency Management, said. “We want to make sure that the public is aware of this and they take all the actions possible to keep themselves cool and stay out of medical trouble.”
One thing Oakley emphasized was making sure those outside are drinking enough liquids, because mixing high temperatures with dehydration can be a recipe for disaster.
“We want to make sure that people are staying hydrated. They need to drink plenty of water,” Oakley said. “If you’re outside, make sure that you are continually hydrating.”
Surprisingly, though, Oakley said not to drink ice cold water. Drinking either room temperature or cool water is better for your body, because very cold liquids can be hard on your stomach.
Wearing dark-colored clothing can also be hazardous in high heat indexes.
“If you have to go outside, make sure that you wear loose-fitting, light-colored clothing, because that tends to reflect the heat versus absorb it,” Oakley said. “If the clothes are loose-fitting, air is moving around underneath it, and it allows you to cool down some.”
The Kanawha County Emergency Management understands that many people’s jobs require them to be outside, but employers need to understand the risks associated with putting their workers outside in this kind of heat.
“If you have employees that are outside, they need to take frequent breaks to cool down. We don’t want anybody dying of a heat-related illness, because they’re out here working on something when they very simply could’ve taken a break and cooled down,” he said.
John Martin is a downtown Charleston road construction worker and will be working outside with the heat advisory in effect. He said that he and his fellow employees will be taking the necessary precautions to stay cool.
“Stay hydrated; try to be in the shade; if you can, find an air-conditioned area and try not to be out in the heat,” he said. “If you don’t have to be out here in the heat, don’t do it.”
Martin said that his employer is making sure that employees have plenty of water and ice in their work coolers to prevent heat illnesses from occurring.
Heat illness, heat exhaustion and heatstroke are all heat emergencies that people should be aware of, and Larry Miller, with Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority, said while they all sound the same, they are not.
Early symptoms of an onset heat illness are profuse sweating, fatigue, feeling thirsty and muscle cramps. Heat exhaustion occurs after and includes headache, dizziness and light-headedness, weakness, nausea and vomiting, cool skin and dark urine.
“Probably the most serious of these is heatstroke,” Miller said.
Heatstroke is a very serious condition where a person’s core temperature is 104 degrees; they display irrational behavior, rapid breathing, weak pulse, seizures, dry and red skin and even unconsciousness.
People may be wondering where they can go if they are feeling overheated and need to cool down, but Oakley said at this point in time there is no place for that.
“We have contacted a couple of the fire departments and the ambulance authority, and we have tents with misters on stand-by should we have an incident where we need to send them out to keep a mass quantity of people cooled down,” he said.
The homeless in these areas can be greatly affected by the heat, too.
“All of the facilities that the homeless folks normally go to are aware that this is going on, and they have opened their doors for cooling facilities for those people have nowhere else to go,” Oakley said.
He also added that many soup kitchens and places that provide free meals are supposed to be stocked up on liquids to make sure those who eat their stay hydrated.
Some relief from the heat will come Thursday with a high of 80, but temperatures are forecasted to rise back up after that.
Story by Jordyn Johnson