Here are important heat safety tips you need today

If you've "Liked" my CBS 6 Facebook Page (click here to do so), then you have been receiving lots of heat safety tips from my feed for yesterday and today's dangerous combination of high heat and humidity. I'll summarize that information here on the blog now for everyone! Please stay cool and safe today...and share this information with others!

• Did you know the average adult requires 2-3 liters of water on a hot day like this? For your reference, 3 liters is just shy of a gallon. Recycle your milk gallon when it's empty by filling it up with water! The average child requires 1-2 liters, depending on the age. Just think of an empty 2 liter Coke bottle...that's how much water a kid playing outside today needs!
  
• Don't eat foods high in protein on extremely hot days like today. Your body has to work harder to process it, and that can make it more difficult to stay cool if you're outside in the heat!
• Eat smaller meals through the day to help your body digest easier and let it fight the heat without working so hard to both digest big meals and be outside in the extreme heat trying to keep your body temperature at a safe level.
• If you wait to drink water when you feel thirsty, you're already becoming dehydrated! Drink water early and often through the day. Don't wait until your brain says, "Hey, I'm thirsty!"
• Your instinct might be to drink something extremely cold if you've been out in the heat. But don't! Ice-cold drinks consumed quickly can cause stomach cramps. Opt instead for a nice, cool glass of water.
• Don't consume drinks with alcohol, caffeine, or sugar in them. They dehydrate you.
  
• Did you know that the temperature in your vehicle (without A/C and with windows closed) can skyrocket to 130 degrees within just a few minutes?! Think about this: When you pump gas and have to turn off the car, if your kids or pets are in the vehicle, open every window and make sure they have water to drink!
• Get your outdoor, strenuous activities accomplished before 9AM. Even well after sunset, heat index values can hold in the upper 80s and low 90s, making it more difficult for your body to exercise safely.
• Playground equipment, even the plastic sets, can become dangerously hot...hot enough to cause serious burns on your child's skin! If your kids want to play, take them immediately after breakfast (before 9AM). The play sets heat up quickly, and the tender skin of kids can burn easier than an adult's. Always test the equipment yourself before allowing your kids to play.
• If you have outdoor pets, they need to come indoors today! They need to stay cool and hydrated, too.
• Put towels on your leather/fake leather car seats so you don't burn your skin when you sit down!
• If you are outside today and you start to feel sleepy, disoriented, or develop a headache, those are the first signs of a heat-related illness. You need to move into the A/C immediately and drink water. Remove as much clothing as possible, and put cool compresses on your pulse points to help lower your rising body temperature.
• One of the treatments for someone suffering from a heat-related illness is to put them in a cool bath of water. But you can't put ice in the water, because that can cause too quick of a temperature drop...you don't want hypothermia!
• Speaking of Heat-Related Illnesses...Do you know the signs of Heat Stroke (when the body's cooling system stops working)? They are: Extremely high body temperature (above 103°F)...Red, hot, and dry skin (no sweating)...Rapid pulse...Throbbing headache...Dizziness...Nausea...Confusion...Unconsciousness.
• And here are the symptoms of Heat Exhaustion (a step below heat stroke): Heavy sweating...Paleness...Muscle cramps...Tiredness...Weakness...Dizziness...Headache...Nausea or vomiting...Fainting. The CDC says the skin may be cool and moist, with a fast but weak pulse rate. Breathing is fast and shallow. If untreated, it can progress to the more severe heat stroke.
• Did you know: Heat-related deaths were the #1 weather killer in the U.S. in 2010? Not tornadoes, not hurricanes, not lightning! Flood, the long-term #1 killer, came in second in 2010.
  
  
• For your reference, here is a Heat Index chart (from the National Weather Service) along with the associated heat-related illnesses that can occur:

And here is an excellent resource with more heat-safety tips you can print off and post on the fridge for your family to see: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures/heatwave.pdf

Learn more from the CDC about heat safety by clicking here for their extensive resources.

Stay safe and cool!
--Meteorologist Carrie Rose

Severe Thunderstorm Watch in Effect Until 10 PM

A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect until 10 PM for roughly the northern half of VA until 10 PM. Winds to 70 mph and hail to 2" in diameter will be possible. -Zach

Atlantic Hurricane Season begins today

The 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season begins today, June 1, and continues through November 30. Tropical activity in the Atlantic/Caribbean/Gulf basins tends to peak around September 10, as displayed on this chart:

Here is the list of names for the 2011 season:

These are the long-term averages for tropical activity in the Atlantic:

• Named Storms (either Tropical Storm or Hurricane strength): 11 cyclones
  
• Hurricanes (named storms that reach hurricane strength): 6 cyclones
  
• Major Hurricanes (named storms that reach Category 3, 4, or 5): 2 cyclones

You can learn about the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale by clicking here.

If tropical cyclones form this early in the season, they tend to form in the Gulf, western Caribbean, or off the coast of Florida around the Bahamas.

There are a number of "ingredients" that must be present for a tropical cyclone to develop and mature, and if some of these key elements are missing, a storm will likely not be able to intensify to its maximum potential:

We are monitoring a small low pressure system 300 miles east of Charleston, South Carolina this morning that could exhibit tropical characteristics over the next couple of days, even though that chance is low. Conditions there are not favorable for tropical development, but here's the infrared satellite view of the disturbance as of 6:15 AM EDT Wednesday:

Although that system off the coast of South Carolina should not impact Virginia, it still serves as a good heads up! With a low pressure system that close to the Virginia coastline, now is a good time to brush up on our risks in Virginia from tropical systems.

Tropical Storm Force Winds are one of the threats we tend to experience from a tropical system in central Virginia. Here are the sustained wind speed classifications to know:

Tropical systems do affect Virginia regularly, being brushed by one or hit with the remnants of a tropical system about once a year. A hurricane will affect the Commonwealth about once every 2-3 years. But we rely on these tropical systems for a good chunk of our September rainfall, so they can be beneficial when they pass over our region (as long as they don't stall and produce too much rainfall in too short a time!).

Before these threats arrive this season, you need to prepare! Here are some essential items you should include in a disaster kit:

If a tropical system approaches the Commonwealth this season, here are some actions you can do before the storm arrives to be ready:

Click here to learn more about hurricane safety and how to prepare for this season.

The outlook for this season calls for average to slightly above-average tropical activity in the Atlantic Basin as a result of warmer-than-normal ocean temperatures in the Atlantic, and relatively low wind shear from a weakening La Nina in the Pacific.

Stay with CBS6, we'll keep you ahead of the storm.