The National Weather Service has devised a heat index scale illness as heat index values hovered between 115-125° Farenheit. based upon both temperature and dew point. Heat index values Nighttime low temperatures only dropped into the low 80s and HEAT WAVES more accurately portray how the humid summer air feels to a person provided little relief from the week-long killer heat wave. The in a shaded location. Heat index values can only be calculated for casualties taxed hospitals and city government as they struggled ightning, hail, and tornadoes are all severe weather killers temperatures above 80º Fahrenheit and dew point values above to deal with the number of victims and the severity of cases of which claim dozens of lives annually. Severe thunderstorms 65%. On a sunny, humid summer day the temperature rises to 95º hyperthermia. Since this extreme event, the National Weather Lalso injure hundreds each year, but the deadliest weather in Fahrenheit and the dew point is a steamy 70%, the calculated heat Service Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (http://www.hpc. the United States arrives every summer and has killed, on average, index value would be 103º. Direct sunlight can increase heat index ncep.noaa.gov ) issues regular operational heat index forecasts for 235 people per year for the last 10 years. This deadly weather comes values by 15º Farenheit. the continental United State during the summer. Local National in the form of long periods of excessive heat and humidity, or heat Heat index values of 80-90º Fahrenheit will cause fatigue and Weather Service Forecast Offices will issue a heat advisory whenever waves. In the summer of 1995, a heat wave killed over 700 people in muscle cramps with prolonged exposure and without adequate the forecast or observed heat index is between 105-114º Fahrenheit Chicago. In 2003, The Earth Policy Institute reported over 35,000 hydration. Heat index values of 90-105º Fahrenheit will bring on for a two hour period. National Weather Service forecasters issue an deaths in Europe, with 14,802 deaths in France alone, during a two heat exhaustion with the following symptoms: heavy sweating, Excessive Heat Warning when the heat index equals or exceeds 115° week heat wave with high temperatures soaring to 104º Fahrenheit. paleness, dizziness, nausea and fainting. Hydration and avoiding Farenheit. Heat waves are ruthless killers that prey on the excessive exertion is crucial to preventing heat exhaustion. Heat Excessive summer heat and heat waves are notorious killers of the elderly, the very young, and those who fail stroke or hyperthermia is the most serious heat induced illness and unprepared and those who fail to heed the warnings. Fortunately, to heed the excessive heat warnings and can be lethal. Heat index values above 105º Farenheit will put a many South Carolinians know the risk of prolonged heat exposure the symptoms of heat-related trauma. person at risk for heat stroke. Heat stroke, also known as sunstroke, and overexertion when the heat index climbs above 90° Farenheit. With increased awareness of this deceptive occurs when the heat index rises above 130º Fahrenheit. A person Acclimatization is one way to beat the heat along with light, killer at both personal and governmental has heat stroke when their body temperature rises above 106º breathable clothing, adequate hydration and heeding heat advisories levels, heat-related deaths can be prevented. Fahrenheit and exhibits: flushed skin, rapid pulse, no sweating, and warnings. Heat stroke is a killer, more lethal than lightning, South Carolina suffers from searing hallucinations, seizures and coma. Victims of heat stroke require tornadoes, floods and hail. summer temperatures courtesy of its sub- immediate emergency medical treatment and hospitalization since tropical geography and the orientation of any treatment delay can be fatal. Heat stroke is not just an outdoors Klinenberg, Eric, 2002: Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster the Sub-Tropical High pressure system danger; it can also occur in indoor environments such as factories, in Chicago. University of Chicago Press. centered over the southwestern Atlantic. foundries and ship’s engine rooms. The Sub-Tropical High, or Bermuda From July 12-16, 1995, Chicago Temperature (° F) High, is quasi-stationary during the suffered record temperatures and an 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100101 102103 104105 summer months, forcing very warm, epidemic of heat stroke. Over 700 65 94 95 96 97 98 100101 102103 104106 107108 109110 112 moist tropical air north from the tropi- people perished from heat-related 66 94 95 97 98 99 100101 103104 105106 108109 110111 112 cal Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico over South Carolina and the southeast United States. The Bermuda High 67 95 96 97 98 100101 102103 105106 107108 110111 112113 also forces air to sink in the atmosphere. This downward motion 68 95 97 98 99 100102 103104 105107 108109 110112 113114 causes the atmosphere to heat up and suppress cloud formation. 69 96 97 99 100 101103 104105 106108 109110 111113 114115 Clouds help shade the ground and moderate surface temperatures. 70 97 98 99 101 102103 105106 107109 110111 112114 115116 The Bermuda High also adds to the summer heat wave misery by Heat Index 71 98 99 100 102 103104 106107 108109 111112 113115 116117 trapping ozone, smoke and other pollutants in the lower atmosphere. 72 98 100101 103 104105 107108 109111 112113 114116 117118 Cities further increase heat wave intensity as the concrete and asphalt Calculator 73 99 101102 103 105106 108109 110112 113114 116117 118119 canyons trap and store excess heat, raising temperatures 5-10 degrees Dewpoint (° F) 74 100102 103 104 106107 109110 111113 114115 117118 119121 higher in these areas than in the surrounding suburbs that have more 75 101103 104 106 107108 110111 113114 115117 118119 121122 natural surfaces, vegetation and bodies of water. 76 102104 105 107 108110 111112 114115 117118 119121 122123 Heat alone is enough to cause death, particularly among the 77 103105 106 108 109111 112114 115117 118119 121122 124125 elderly, but coupled with tropical levels of humidity, heat waves 78 105106 108 109 111112 114115 117118 119121 122124 125126 become insidious killers. The body’s protective response to heat is 79 106107 109 111 112114 115117 118120 121122 124125 127128 sweating. Sweat helps transport heat from the body and acts to cool 80 107109 110 112 114115 117118 120121 123124 126127 128130 the skin when it evaporates, absorbing excessive body heat. Increased 81 109110 112 114 115117 118120 121123 124126 127129 130132 humidity saturates the surrounding air and reduces the evaporation 82 110112 114 115 117118 120122 123125 126128 129131 132133 of sweat. With the reduction of the body’s cooling mechanism, the internal body core temperature increases, causing dizziness, Possibility of heat- related injury during strenuous activity or prolonged exposure dehydration, unconsciousness and ultimately coma and death without medical attention. Extreme CautionDangerExtreme Danger