VALDOSTA — A heat advisory was issued Friday afternoon for Valdosta and the surrounding region by the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, which will be in effect through Saturday evening. According to the Weather Service, temperatures are expected to move above the century-mark (100 degrees), up to possibly 105 degrees, with heat indexes into the low teens.

Temperatures are not forecast to move below 98 degrees until Monday, when a 30 percent chance of rain may bring the temperature down closer to 90 degrees. The extended forcast from the National Weather Service shows temperatures hovering around 90 degrees for the next 10 days, with a 30 to 40 percent chance of rain and isolated thunderstorms Monday, July 2 through Sunday, July 8.

AccuWeather.com reports the current nationwide heat wave is breaking all-time records, with temperatures pushing 102, 105 even 108 degrees in portions of the Plains, Midwest, South and East.

Meteorologist DJ Hoffman pointed out that as of Thursday, June 28, 2012, more than 20,900 record highs have been broken to date this year.

“We have had over 7,700 more record highs this year, compared to last year, despite 2011’s South Central states heat and drought,” Hoffman said.

The temperature pattern this year got a jump start from way back at the tail end of the winter. Multiple days of record highs were set from the central Plains and Rockies to the Great Lakes during March. Chicago had nine days in a row of record highs spanning March 14 to 22.

Indianapolis came within 3 degrees of tying their all-time record high of 107 degrees during Thursday with a high of 104 degrees.

Meanwhile, about 130 miles away in the Hoosier State, in Fort Wayne, the temperature tied their all-time record high set during the dust bowl era in 1936 and 1934, as well as during the blistering summer of 1988.

According to Climatologist Jim Rourke, “Other vicious extreme high temperatures Thursday included Russell, Kan., with 110 degrees; St. Louis, Mo., with 108 degrees; Little Rock, Ark., with 107 degrees; Kansas City, Mo., with

106 degrees; Nashville, Tenn., with 105 degrees and Dayton, Ohio, with 102 degrees.”

Earlier in the week, all-time records were reached in Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska.

“All of these locations and many others not only broke or tied daily record highs for the date, but also set June all-time record highs during the current heat wave,” Rourke said.

During the next couple of days, temperatures are forecast to reach 100 degrees or higher once again in the central and

southern Plains to the Ohio Valley. However, even areas in the central and southern Appalachians and the coastal plain in the South and mid-Atlantic will do the same.

Atlanta is on pace to reach or exceed their all-time record high of 105 degrees set on July 17, 1980, before the weekend is over.

According to Long Range Expert Paul Pastelok, “Given the persistence of the large high pressure area producing the heat and dry conditions thus far, this will not be the last of widespread triple-digit readings this summer.”

“While the heat will tend to be intermittent from the northern Plains to the Northeast, indications are that more of this sort of thing can continue from the southern and central Plains to the interior South in the coming weeks.”

When a temperature has reached or surpassed the highest temperature on record for a particular location, it is considered to be an “all-time record high,” Pastelok added.

In many cases, temperature records have been kept for 120 years or more in major cities, while some temperature records in smaller cities and towns may only be in the books for a few decades.

Currently, official temperature readings are taken at a height of about six feet off the ground with no direct exposure to the sun or reflection from the sun or warm surfaces. Many temperature and weather observation sites are located at airfields. Before the arrival of airfields during the early 1900s, most observations were taken in inner cities, and while they were accurate to where they were located, they would give higher readings than in a countryside or suburban location, where most airfields exist, due to the heat island effect.

The heat wave is also playing interesting tricks with nighttime temperatures.

Near the outer edge of the heat wave, where a breeze stays up at night and the humidity is elevated, temperatures barely dipped below average daytime highs for the date.

According to Senior Meteorologists Rob Miller, “In Pittsburgh, the temperature never fell below 80 degrees last night. If it fails to do so before midnight, it will be the warmest night in the Steel City since July 21, 1930.”

In Des Moines, Iowa, the low temperature on Thursday was a mere 81 degrees. According to the National Weather Service, it was only the second time in 75 years in which the low temperature was 81 degrees or higher. The last time this occurred was on July 12, 1966.

Meanwhile, in the middle of building drought areas of Arkansas, near the center of the high pressure area and a pocket of dry air, the atmosphere is behaving like a desert. At North Little Rock Airport, the temperature began Thursday at 63 degrees, then reached 107 degrees the same afternoon.



—Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist for AccuWeather.com, contributed to this report.







Beat the Heat: Tips from Lowndes County EMA, South Health District and Ready Georgia

 

Extreme heat is the No. 1 weather-related killer in the U.S, claiming approximately 400 lives across the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, so it is best to prepare now to reduce your risk of heat-related illness.

To help families prepare, Ready Georgia, a statewide emergency preparedness campaign created by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency/Homeland Security offers the tools needed to make an emergency supply kit, develop a communications plan and stay informed about potential threats. Visitors to Ready Georgia’s website can create an online profile to receive a tailored plan for the entire family that includes the specific amount of supplies to put in their household Ready kits. In addition, Ready Georgia’s free mobile app provides alerts and preparedness information for people on-the-go.

Lowndes County, South Health District and Ready Georgia also give these 10 tips to ensure a safe summer for every family:

    1. Insulate your home by installing weather stripping around your doors and window sills to keep the cool air inside.

    2. Stay indoors in air-conditioned spaces as much as possible and limit exposure to the sun.

    3. Dress in loose-fitting, lightweight and light-colored clothes that cover as much skin as possible.

    4. Familiarize yourself with the medical conditions that can result from over-exposure to heat, including heat exhaustion and heat stroke to help lessen health threats and harm.

    5. Avoid strenuous work during the warmest part of the day. Use a buddy system when working in extreme heat, and take frequent breaks.

    6. Never leave children or pets alone in closed vehicles.

    7. Postpone outdoor activities and take shelter in a home, building or hard top automobile if severe weather is headed your way.

    8. Make sure pets have plenty of water and shade, be careful to not over-exercise them, and keep them indoors when it’s extremely hot.

    9. Conserve water in your household to help prevent drought: wash only full loads of dishes and laundry, fix household leaks and install low-flow toilets and showerheads.

    10. Closely monitor a NOAA Weather Radio and the Valdosta Daily Times website, www.valdostadailytimes.com, for the latest information on excessive heat watches and warnings throughout the weekend.