Dogs Try To Stay Cool During Heat Wave; Ice Business Heating Up
If the forecast holds, the temperatures over the past few days would break the previous records set in 1949 for those dates by a few degrees, said Mike Strickler, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Raleigh.
Temperatures across the state should only drop to the mid-70s at night, making people feel even more drained by the heat, Strickler said.
"That's the tough thing with this heat, it not only will be hot during the day but physically it takes a toll on the public at night when there's not any time to cool down," he said.
Air quality officials issued a health notice Tuesday for Code Orange ozone levels in metropolitan areas across North Carolina on Wednesday, including the Triangle.
This forecast means people who are sensitive to air pollution should avoid moderate exertion outdoors in the afternoon. Sensitive groups include children who are active outside, people who work or exercise outdoors and those with asthma and other respiratory ailments.
Air quality officials are asking North Carolina residents to help reduce air pollution by taking some of the following actions:
Doctors warned that those who must be outside should drink plenty of water to avoid heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
People who are overweight, physically ill or who take certain medications could also be more affected by high temperatures, officials said.
At WakeMed in Raleigh, doctors treated at least 20 heat-related cases on Tuesday. There have also been two heat-related deaths: a farm worker in Person County and one in Harnett County.
Relief from the heat could come Friday, when temperatures are forecast to drop to more seasonable upper 80s and lower 90s.
"You're going to still feel the heat, but it will start getting better by the end of the week," Jeff Orrock, warning-coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Raleigh, told
The News & Observer
.
But the same system that will bring weekend relief to North Carolina signals a significant shift in weather patterns for early August, Orrock said.
Just in time for the height of tropical storm season, it will be easier for hurricanes to strike the mid-Atlantic seaboard.
"With this pattern shift, the door will definitely be open for a tropical system," Orrock said.
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