All about the heat: What are heat advisories? How hot is too hot?

Gianna Montesano, Treasure Coast Newspapers
·3 min read

It's hot.

An expected 110-degree heat index prompted the National Weather Service to issue a heat advisory for the Treasure Coast Monday.

Above-average temperatures are expected to continue throughout the week, according to the National Weather Service. A shift in daily storm patterns and humidity from a coastal sea breeze, along with a long stretch of above-normal temperatures, could make the mid-90s feel like 110-degree heat, National Weather Service Meteorologist Jared Heil said Monday.

What is a heat advisory?

A heat advisory is issued 12 hours before the onset of extreme heat conditions. When the heat index surpasses more than 100 degrees during the day and if temperatures do not drop below 75 degrees in the evening for two days, according to the Weather Service.

Other heat warnings issued include:

  • Excessive heat warning: When the maximum heat index is expected to reach more than 105 degrees.

  • Excessive heat watches: When the risk of an excessive heat event is imminent within 24-72 hours.

  • Excessive heat outlooks: This is issued when the potential exists for an excessive heat event within three to seven days.

NWS: 110-degree 'feels like' heat likely to continue all week; record warm lows possible

How to stay cool during a heat advisory

Besides staying indoors in air-conditioning, here are six tips from emergency operations center managers on the Treasure Coast.

  • Never leave children or pets in unattended vehicles

  • Drink plenty of fluids and stay out of the sun

  • When working outdoors, take frequent breaks in the shade or air-conditioning

  • Wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothing

  • Reschedule strenuous activity to early morning or evening

  • Call 911 in the event of heat stroke and move to a shaded or cooled area. Symptoms of heat stroke include throbbing headache, confusion, nausea, body temperature above 103 degrees, hot, red, dry or damp skin, rapid pulse, loss of consciousness or fainting.

When is it too hot for humans to go outside?

Research by the University of Roehampton in England reveals the human body could lose the ability to shed excessive heat and function optimally at 104 degrees.

Researchers exposed people to different combinations of temperature and humidity ranging from 82 to 122 degrees. Researchers monitored their core temperatures, heart rates, breathing and blood pressure once their bodies began to struggle to cool down at 104 degrees.

If you have to be in extreme heat, stay hydrated, in shaded areas and cooling off while outside.

Should you walk your pets in this heat?

You can, but keep the walks shaded and quick to prevent your pet from overheating or burning its skin.

If the pavement is too hot for your feet, then it's too hot for your dog's paws, according to pet retailer Chewy. During the summer months, asphalt temperatures can exceed 100 degrees, making it dangerous for the skin on a dog's paw.

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, when the air temperature is 86 degrees, asphalt can hit 135 degrees. For skin to blister, it would take just 60 seconds at 125 degrees. An egg can fry in five seconds at 131 degrees, according to the American Kennel Club.

Walk pets in shaded areas. The best times are during the early morning or evening when the temperatures are cooler than midday.

TCPalm breaking news reporter Corey Arwood contributed to this report.

Gianna Montesano is TCPalm's trending reporter. You can contact her at gianna.montesano@tcpalm.com, 772-409-1429, or follow her on Twitter @gonthescene.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Heat advisory across the Treasure Coast, hot temperatures in Florida