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Independence, MO —
It looks as if relief from the high heat is on the way in time for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game festivities that kick off Sunday at Kauffman Stadium.
The National Weather Service sees three more days of 100-plus highs – including a scorching 105 on Saturday – but lower temperatures and a fair chance of rain come by Sunday. For now, the metro area remains under an excessive heat warning, and residents are advised to slow down and take it easy, drink plenty of water, and go lightly on anything strenuous outdoors, such as yard work.
Here’s how the next few days shape up:
• It’s already 98 early in the afternoon, and it’s headed for 100 today, with a heat index of 103. It’ll be gusty now and then, but it’s a hot wind out of the south. Tonight it gets down to just 81, and the breeze will drop.
• A little hotter Friday, with a high of 102 and a heat index of up to 105. Again, a hot breeze, with occasional gusts, out of the south-southwest. Low of 80.
• Saturday looks like the hottest and most uncomfortable day of the year so far -- a high of 105 with barely a west breeze in the morning and then virtually none in the afternoon. That could tie the record of 105 set in 1939. It would be the only day it's really come close to tying or breaking any records during the heat wave of the last couple of weeks.
• The chance of thundershowers – 30 percent – lingers into Monday, when the high is forecast at 86. The Home Run Derby is at 7 that evening at Kauffman. The overnight low is around 70.
• The big day is Tuesday, with a high of 87 and no rain. The All-Star Game is at 7. The overnight low is 69, which would be the first dip into the 60s in weeks.
In the meantime, it’s hot – potentially dangerously hot – so the excessive heat warning remains in effect until 7 p.m. Saturday. When it’s this hot, authorities have advice for taking care of yourself and others:
• Drink plenty of water, but not drinks with sugar, alcohol or caffeine.
• Generally stay indoors and in air conditioning. Fans are only good to a point, beyond which just blowing around all that hot, humid air can stress the body.
• If you go outside, find shade and have plenty of water. Cut down on strenuous outdoor activity, and do those tasks either before around 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m. (If you need to mow, it’s OK. The metro “skycast” for today is yellow, meaning ozone levels are moderate.) Wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing.
It looks as if relief from the high heat is on the way in time for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game festivities that kick off Sunday at Kauffman Stadium.
The National Weather Service sees three more days of 100-plus highs – including a scorching 105 on Saturday – but lower temperatures and a fair chance of rain come by Sunday. For now, the metro area remains under an excessive heat warning, and residents are advised to slow down and take it easy, drink plenty of water, and go lightly on anything strenuous outdoors, such as yard work.
Here’s how the next few days shape up:
• It’s already 98 early in the afternoon, and it’s headed for 100 today, with a heat index of 103. It’ll be gusty now and then, but it’s a hot wind out of the south. Tonight it gets down to just 81, and the breeze will drop.
• A little hotter Friday, with a high of 102 and a heat index of up to 105. Again, a hot breeze, with occasional gusts, out of the south-southwest. Low of 80.
• Saturday looks like the hottest and most uncomfortable day of the year so far -- a high of 105 with barely a west breeze in the morning and then virtually none in the afternoon. That could tie the record of 105 set in 1939. It would be the only day it's really come close to tying or breaking any records during the heat wave of the last couple of weeks.
• The chance of thundershowers – 30 percent – lingers into Monday, when the high is forecast at 86. The Home Run Derby is at 7 that evening at Kauffman. The overnight low is around 70.
• The big day is Tuesday, with a high of 87 and no rain. The All-Star Game is at 7. The overnight low is 69, which would be the first dip into the 60s in weeks.
In the meantime, it’s hot – potentially dangerously hot – so the excessive heat warning remains in effect until 7 p.m. Saturday. When it’s this hot, authorities have advice for taking care of yourself and others:
• Drink plenty of water, but not drinks with sugar, alcohol or caffeine.
• Generally stay indoors and in air conditioning. Fans are only good to a point, beyond which just blowing around all that hot, humid air can stress the body.
• If you go outside, find shade and have plenty of water. Cut down on strenuous outdoor activity, and do those tasks either before around 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m. (If you need to mow, it’s OK. The metro “skycast” for today is yellow, meaning ozone levels are moderate.) Wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing.
• Make sure outdoor pets of shade and plenty of water.
• Know the signs of heat exhaustion and the potentially deadly heat stroke.
Heat exhaustion happens when your bodily loses a lot of fluid, through perspiration. Symptoms are cool, moist, pale, ashen or flushed skin; headache; dizziness, nausea; weakness or exhaustion; and heavy sweating. Get out of the heat, rest in a cool, shady – or preferably air-conditioned – place, and drink small amounts of water. Loosen your clothing, and apply wet towels.
If unable to drink water, or if vomiting starts, call 911.
This can worsen into heat stroke, when the body loses its ability to regulate heat. It’s a medical emergency. Symptoms are red skin – dry or moist – changes in consciousness, a rapid and weak pulse, and rapid, shallow breathing. Call 911, and treat the same as with heat exhaustion. The Red Cross suggests four ounces of water – that’s half a cup – every 15 minutes.
National Weather Service, Pleasant Hill: www.weather.gov/kc
Mid-America Regional Council: www.marc.org/environment/airq/skycast.asp
• Sunday brings relief -- a high of 93 and a 40 percent chance of rain and thundershowers. The evening brings a 30 percent chance of thundershowers and an overnight low of 72. The future's grame (with promising young players) is at 4 p.m. at Kauffman, followed by the celebrity softball game, all part of the All-Star Game events.
