Summer Heat Safety and Eye on the Tropics

We’re in the doldrums of summer. This is when we flirt with the upper ridge overhead and our heat gets cranking with multiple days around 100 degrees across the state. This is also when the tropics typically heat up.

For Oklahoma, the jetstream pattern shows the high starting out the week on top of us but then shifting back to the northwest US. This will allow a weak cold front to slip in here on Friday and cool things down just a bit for next weekend.

We may squeeze out a few showers and storms late Thursday and Friday as that front moves through the state, but most of us will stay dry.

Typical heat index values will look like the following all week long. Temperatures themselves will climb to about 10 degrees above normal during the week.

This brings us to our reminders on heat safety:

As temperatures rise, exposure to excessive heat increases, as does the likelihood of medical emergencies related to heat stress. Heat stress is a significant problem, especially for those who work outdoors and work in jobs that require heavy physical labor in hot or humid environments. It occurs when the internal body temperature is higher than 100o F. Please take care and do not become a victim of excessive heat. Below are ways to recognize risk factors that can cause heat stress, the signs and symptoms of heat stress, and how to prevent heat stress.

Risk Factors for Heat Stress

• Heavy physical labor
• Hot or humid work
• Direct sunlight
• Working near hot equipment
• Wearing chemical protective clothing, respirators, and other personal protective equipment
• Lack of acclimatization (usually takes two weeks)
• Dehydration
• Previous heat-related illness, high blood pressure, being overweight, age, thyroid disease, pregnancy, and some medications

Signs and Symptoms of Heat Stress (Listed in order of seriousness)

• Loss of consciousness
• Seizures
• Confusion or delirium
• Body temperature greater than 100o F
• Hot and dry skin
• Headache
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Weakness
• Irritability
• Thirst
• Heavy sweating
• Muscle pains
• Cluster of red pimples or small blisters that may appear on the neck, upper chest, in the groin area, under the breast, and in elbow creases

Preventing Heat Stress

• Control the pace of physical labor or reschedule it for a cooler time; consider early morning or night
• Contact AMP-100 to assess the exposure potential
• Take frequent work breaks
• Drink a lot of water (one cup every 15-20 minutes) when working in the heat
• Seek shade
• Wear light-colored clothing that covers your skin
• Don’t work alone
• Don’t eat a heavy meal before working in the heat
• Be alert for signs and symptoms of heat stress in others and yourself
• If possible, utilize cooling devices such as swamp coolers, fans, and vests.

If you or someone you are working with is experiencing signs of heat stress, take them to a cool, shaded environment to sit or lie down. If the person is alert, give them water to drink in small portions. If the person is unconscious or becoming unresponsive, call 911 immediately. Severe heat stress (heat stroke) is a life-threatening emergency. Further guidance for worker health and the effects of high temperatures is available from several sources:

• OSHA
• OSHA – also has a campaign in progress for heat illness prevention
• NIOSH

Finally, the tropics will showcase a weak disturbance moving through the northern Caribbean later this week and could impact the Florida area by late weekend. Models are split whether it’s on the west side or the east side. It’s still early, but might be something to deal with later on.

Temperatures here in OKC will be typical for late July and early August. Come on cold front! -AT