BEAUMONT, Texas — Everyone in Southeast Texas needs to be aware of the heat as temperatures continue to climb over the next few days.
Most of Southeast Texas as well as Southwest Louisiana is under an excessive heat warning through 7 p.m. over the next few days.
The Salvation Army in Beaumont, at 2350 Interstate 10, has opened a cooling station on the following days...
- Sunday, June 18, 2023: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
- Monday, June 19, 2023: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
With temperatures likely to hit near the century mark this weekend, heat indices will likely reach the 110 degree mark. At these temperatures, heat exhaustion and heat stroke become a concern, as are other heat related illnesses.
Therefore, it's important to know the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, and how heat exhaustion is caused.
Before we delve into how our bodies react to heat, it's important to note that the normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees. Our bodies sweat as a way to naturally cool when temperatures get hot.
On some hot days with high humidity, the heat will have an effect on our bodies in which it'll feel hotter than it actually is. This is called the heat index, and this can also play a role in heat illnesses.
As previously mentioned, our bodies naturally sweat, but when we have extremely hot and humid temperatures, the air becomes more saturated and has a difficult time bringing in more water. We need water in the atmosphere to sweat, so if we are unable to sweat, the body struggles to naturally cool like it's supposed to.
This can result in many illnesses, including heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Symptoms shared by the two conditions are nausea and vomiting.
Heat exhaustion causes you to become faint or dizzy, you sweat excessively, your skin is cool, pale and clammy, and you have a weak pulse with muscle cramps. A heat stroke gives you have a throbbing headache, you don't sweat, you have a body temperature above 103 with red, hot, dry skin, and you may lose consciousness.
As a result, if you are dealing with heat exhaustion, you have time to get to a cooler area with air conditioning and drink plenty of water, and take a cold shower. If you see someone suffering from heat stroke, immediately call 9-1-1 and immediately cool the person until help arrives.
GET NEWS & WEATHER ALERTS | Download the 12News App to your mobile device
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
