Outdoor events begin to cancel as excessive heat takes hold in central Illinois
The excessive heat forecast for central Illinois has some organizers canceling events scheduled for this week, as temperatures are forecast to reach near-record highs on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Edgar Lee Masters Museum in Petersburg said Monday that it would cancel the Music on the Backporch performance scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. Also canceled, is the Jacksonville-based band Captain Geech and the Shrimp Stack Shooters 7 p.m., Thursday performance at the Sherman Village Amphitheatre.
The National Weather Service in Lincoln issued the warning for much of southern, central, and western Illinois Sunday afternoon because of temperatures that are likely to reach into the mid-to-upper 90s at various points this week, with a peak of 99 degrees forecast in Springfield for Thursday and heat indexes that will be over 110 degrees in many areas for much of the week.
According to the NWS, Thursday's forecasted high is within two degrees of the record 101 degrees set twice on Aug. 24 in 1936 and 1947. Heat indices in Springfield are expected to reach up to 114 degrees by 3 p.m. Wednesday.
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The heat warning is scheduled to expire at 10 p.m. Thursday night.
The outlook
Temperatures were predicted to hit 93 degrees Monday with a heat index of 109 degrees. As of 9:53 a.m., the humidity at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport had already reached a punishing 85%, with a dew point of 75 degrees. Areas to the west and south of Springfield were expected to have higher heat indices, with Litchfield and Pittsfield to have a heat index of 112.
Tuesday will offer little relief from the heat with highs in Springfield reaching 95 degrees and heat indexes remaining around 109. Out to the west, however, Pittsfield will likely smolder with a heat index of 117 degrees to go along with a record high of 97 degrees.
Why all the heat?
Chris Geelhart, a senior meteorologist with NWS, said that a large high-pressure system across the central United States is contributing to the heat wave, with any sort of cold fronts or relief being pushed off to the north.
"For example, some of the moisture from (Tropical Storm) Hilary is being diverted way up into Canada," Geelhart said. "It wouldn't make it this far."
The system is also one that is going to move slowly, if at all, with four straight days of blistering heat as a result. Geelhart said that systems on either side of the one hitting central Illinois will prevent it from going very far in one direction or another, keeping the heat in the area for much of the week.
"There's systems on either side of it that are going to prevent it from really moving, what we call a block pattern," Geelhart said. "If you imagine the Greek letter Omega, the way it's shaped, any kind of system would be going around the edges of that and bypassing us on either side. Until that finally breaks down, that big high-pressure (system) has no place to go."
The worsening conditions on Wednesday and Thursday will also come with a lot of humidity, a condition that Geelhart said may dampen temperatures.
"When it gets this humid, typically it doesn't get quite that hot," Geelhart said. "It has to do with the amount of moisture in the air. When the air is dryer, you tend to have temperatures rise more. In terms of the heat index, you can have temperatures over 100 degrees, but the dew point – which is a measure of the moisture in the air – down in the 50s.
It can actually feel cooler than 100 degrees versus when you have dew points of 75-80 (degrees). When you have that much moisture, you can't sweat as well as you could normally. You tend to hear the phrase down south, 'It's a dry heat.' They tend to have not as much humidity, especially in the southwestern part of the United States."
A cold front coming from the north will eventually begin to cool things down back to normalcy by the weekend, with highs only hitting around 80 degrees on Sunday.
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A game plan for the heat
As he prepares for the start of his second season as Springfield High School's head football coach, Jon Hebb must balance not only the preparation for the Senators' opener against Normal (U-High) at 7 p.m. Saturday, but the week's hot temperatures.
For instance, Hebb said that practices have been moved to 5:45 a.m. at the practice field to avoid the hottest temperatures of the day which usually hit in the mid-to-late afternoon, when practice is usually scheduled. His players will meet with him in his classroom for the time being after school to watch game film.
As the Senators practiced early in the morning during the summer, Hebb said that it won't be too much of an adjustment for his players. The early practices are one preventative measure that they use to avoid cases of heatstroke during the warmer parts of the season.
"That's one of the reasons why we go early in the morning during the summer," Hebb said. "Getting those kids acclimated to the cooler morning air and getting up early in general is a big sticking point so we feel like, 'Hey, those kids are already used to it.' Hopefully, it takes a lot of the danger out of it, getting them there when the sun isn't even out yet or just coming up (and) the air's a bit cooler."
If there are outdoor practices this week, Hebb said it would most likely be an unpadded walk-through with plenty of water breaks. The Senators' coach said that he and his staff have placed a big emphasis on keeping his athletes hydrated.
"That's one of the things we're always talking to the kids about, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate," Hebb said.
What to do if you're outside
NWS recommends that people stay out of the sun as much as possible, while also drinking plenty of fluids, stay cool in an air-conditioned room, and do not leave children or pets unattended in cars. If people have to be outdoors, they should schedule their activities for early in the morning or in the evening when conditions will be cooler and wear light-colored, loose-fitting clothing.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration also recommends that people take frequent breaks if they have to work outside and both OSHA and NWS also ask that people look out for signs of heat stroke, such as confusion, dizziness, or loss of consciousness. If any of those symptoms occur, people should call 911 immediately, move the person to a cooler area, loosen any clothing or extra layers and provide water or ice to cool them down.
The American Red Cross also recommends that avoid extreme temperature changes and not do any strenuous activity during the hottest parts of the day. They also ask that if people don't have an air-conditioned place to stay cool, then seek relief through schools, libraries, theatres, malls, and other large, cool places.
Cooling centers
Here is a list of the city's designated cooling centers:
Municipal Center East (800 East Monroe Street) and West (300 South 7th Street): Open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Lincoln Library (326 South 7th Street): Open Monday-Wednesday from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. and Thursday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Office of Community Relations (1450 Groth Street): Open Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
St. John's Breadline (430 North 5th Street): Open Monday-Friday from 8-9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Salvation Army Main Campus (1600 Clear Lake Avenue): Open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; enter through the south side of the building off Martin Luther King Drive.
Salvation Army Overflow Shelter (221 North 11th Street): Overnight shelter open seven days a week from 7 p.m.-7 a.m.; day shelter open Monday-Thursday from 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m. depending on if temperatures reach 88 degrees or higher; weekend service subject to staffing and heat index.
Washington Street Mission (408 North 4th Street): Open Monday-Friday from 7:30-10:30 a.m. and 12:30-4:30 p.m.
Helping Hands (1023 East Washington Street): Open Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m and Saturday-Sunday from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Excessive heat warning in effect for central Illinois; events cancel
