A heatwave is headed to the Central and Eastern portions of the United States next week with dangerous temperatures anticipated to be near or over 100 degrees.
For us, in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia, meteorologists predict temperatures nearing 100 degrees as early as Saturday.
“It’s going to be a hot weekend across our area. So, we’ll have temperatures tomorrow near 100 across many inland areas, and a bit lower at the beaches with wind coming in off the ocean. As this high-pressure system gets stronger and the winds off the ocean get stronger, that actually reduces our temperatures, so Sunday will be a tad cooler,” Al Sandrik, NWS Warning Meteorologist, said.
Sandrik says the predicted high temperatures are arriving a little early here and in the United States, saying a semi-permanent high pressure system is building and blowing hot air from the Gulf of Mexico across the Midwest states and then the East Coast.
He says while the extreme heat risks will exist in the upper Midwest, Chicago and the Great Lakes next week, locally people will need to be careful this weekend.
“Make sure you stay hydrated. We’re not talking about alcoholic beverages here. You know, make sure you take breaks if you’re going to be doing yard work, because it’s going to be extremely hot. Be careful about pets or children left in cars. And make sure you check those back seats and areas where the pets or children might be and make sure they’re not accidentally left in the cars,” Sandrik said.
Dr. Sunil Joshi is the Chief Health Officer for the City of Jacksonville. He says when the temperatures get hotter over the summer, the city is ready to open up cooling centers at 21 city libraries. The Legend Center has also been designated as a cooling center.
“If you’re outside, if you’re having very high temperatures, over 104 -- if you have heat stroke, nausea, vomiting, excessive sweating, headaches -- that can be a sign of heath illness. And then, if you get to the point where you’re confused, stop sweating and have elevated body temperature, you may be having heat stroke. So, obviously, how you’re doing mentally as well as how you’re doing physically while you’re outdoors can be a sign of heat related illness,” Dr. Joshi said.
Dr. Joshi points out that this time last year, there were several city pools that were not open, but this year the Deegan Administration made it a priority to get more pools open, giving people another option to cool off from the heat.