Green Country Residents Urged To Use Caution In Heat

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, OK -- The combination of heat and humidity means Green Countries residents need to take care to avoid heat-related illness.

Be sure to check on neighbors and relatives to make sure their air conditioning is up and running, especially the elderly.

"The coming week only gets worse with respect to temperatures," said News On 6 meteorologist Dick Faurot. "Not only will it be too hot during the day, there will not be much relief at night.

"Overnight temperatures in the urban areas are not expected to drop below 80 and the rural locations will only drop to the mid-upper 70s. All in all, this is a dangerous combination," Faurot said.

Read Faurot's full Weather Discussion.

On Saturday, EMSA paramedics responded to six individuals with symptoms of heat-related illness, prompting yet another EMSA Heat Alert.

When five or more individuals are treated for heat related illness in a 24-hour period, EMSA issues a heat alert to advise citizens of the dangers.

Saturday's patients ranged from a 25-year-old male to a 78-year-old female. All of the patients were treated by EMSA paramedics and transported to Tulsa hospitals where they are listed in fair condition.

The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for parts of eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas and a heat advisory for northeastern Arkansas. 

The warning is in effect until 7 p.m. Wednesday for Tulsa, Rogers, Wagoner, Sequoyah and Muskogee counties in Oklahoma and Crawford, Sebastian and Franklin counties in Arkansas. The advisory is for Craighead, Poinsett, Mississippi, Cross, Crittenden, St. Francis, Lee and Phillips counties until sundown Monday.

7/30/2010  Related Story: Excessive Heat Warning In Effect For The Weekend

The following cooling stations are still open for business until further notice:

• The Salvation Army Center of Hope

102 N. Denver Ave.

Tulsa, OK 74103

24/7

• Tulsa County Social Services Cooling station

2401 Charles Page Blvd.

Tulsa OK 74127

8:30 am – 8:30 pm

• Dennis R. Neill Equality Center

621 East 4th Street

Tulsa, OK 74120

3 pm to 9 pm Monday through Saturday

REMINDERS:

• Light colored loose fitting clothing
• Take plenty of breaks when out in the heat if you must be out
• Consume plenty of non-alcoholic/non-caffeinated fluids (water, Gatorade)
• Stay in air-conditioned areas when possible (libraries, malls, movie theaters)
• Check on your elderly neighbors as you would in the cold weather months
• Do not leave children or pets in the car unattended even for a minute