Area under excessive heat warning until Sunday night

PADUCAH, Ky. — All of Southeast Missouri is under an excessive heat warning through Sunday.

With afternoon maximum heat index values reaching 105 to 110 degrees, the National Weather Service issued the warning that began Thursday and will continue until 7 p.m. Sunday. An excessive heat warning means that a prolonged period of dangerously hot temperatures will occur. The combination of hot temperatures and high humidity will combine to create a dangerous situation in which heat illnesses are likely.

The dangerously high temperatures and humidity could quickly cause heat stress or heat stroke if precautions are not taken. The very young, the elderly, those without air conditioning, and those participating in strenuous outdoor activities will be the most susceptible. The effects will worsen with each successive day of the heat and humidity. Also, car interiors can reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes.

Residents are encouraged to drink plenty of fluids and stay in an air-conditioned room and out of the sun when possible. Check on neighbors and relatives and never leave pets, children or the elderly unattended in parked cars.

On average, 37 children die in the U.S. each year from heatstroke in cars, according to the nonprofit child-safety organization Kids and Cars. That’s one child every nine days. And there are hundreds of cases of nonfatal heat-related illness every year, some of which result in permanent brain damage.

“It’s not just negligent parents or indifferent caregivers. When juggling the demands of work, parenting and daily life, it’s easier than you might think to make a simple but fatal mistake,” says Karen Funkenbusch, University of Missouri Extension health and safety specialist.

Once you shut off the engine, it doesn’t take long for the cool interior of an air-conditioned car to heat up. Within 10 minutes the inside temperature can rise more than 20 degrees. After an hour, temperatures can increase by 40 degrees or more, according to a 2005 study published in the journal Pediatrics. The same study revealed that leaving windows open an inch or two isn’t enough to prevent a car in direct sunlight from quickly becoming dangerously hot.

“You might think you’ll be just a few feet away for a few seconds,” Funkenbusch says. “But modern life is full of distractions—an urgent phone call, a broken ATM, a chance encounter with a friend.”

To reduce risk when working outdoors, the occupational safety and health administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location and call 911.

Thunderstorms are predicted to roll through the area Sunday night into Monday, cooling temperatures to below 90 degrees on Monday.