Summer sizzles in the DC region with temperatures flirting near triple digits
The heat is on as summer gets going in the D.C. region, with temperatures Sunday near triple digits. Here’s what you need to know.
The region will be under a heat alert with highs deep into the 90s and feels-like temperatures at or above 100, which could set a few records, along with higher humidity.
It could mean “heat index values anywhere from 105 to as hot as 110 degrees,” 7News First Alert Meteorologist Mark Peña said.
The sizzling hot temperatures will continue when the workweek begins, as temperatures will be near or around 100 on Monday and Tuesday.
Meteorologists believe that the cause of this stretch of high temperatures is due to a heat dome, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said happens when high-pressure atmospheric conditions trap heat over a specific area.
NOAA said this phenomenon could last “days to weeks.”
Tips on how to beat the heat
If you must be outside for any length of time, keep drinking water and stay as cool as you can. Wear light-colored clothing to reflect some of the sunlight away from you.
If you start sweating a lot, feel headachy or start experiencing muscle cramps, that can be the early stages of heat illness, which could lead to an increased heart rate, dizziness and heat stroke.
Check on your neighbors, especially the elderly, because they can be exposed to heat-related illnesses.
And the most important thing, according to Ashley Ward, director of the Heat Policy Innovation Hub at Duke University, is to find some air conditioning. If you don’t have air conditioning, find a mall or other large indoor place, including libraries and movie theaters, that has it.
The goal is to keep your body temperature low to combat the energy-sapping power of high heat.
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7News First Alert Forecast
TODAY: HEAT ALERT: Mostly sunny, hot. Highs between 93 and 98, with a heat index between 98 and 102.
Winds: South 5-10 mph
TONIGHT: Mostly clear. Lows between 75 and 80.
Winds: Southwest 5 mph
MONDAY: HEAT ALERT: Mostly sunny, hot. Highs between 95 and 100, with a heat index between 100 and 109.
Winds: Southwest 5-10 mph
TUESDAY: HEAT ALERT: Sunny and hot. Highs between 96 and 102, with a heat index between 105 and 110.
Winds: Northwest 5 mph
WEDNESDAY: HEAT ALERT: Sunny and hot. Highs between 95 and 99, with a heat index between 100 and 105.
Winds: Northwest 5 mph