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Metro Detroit weather: Get ready for a heat wave

Temperatures continue to rise this week

Paul Gross, Meteorologist

Tags: Wayne County, Detroit, Weather

DETROIT – We warned you about this last week, and now it’s almost here. If you don’t have access to air conditioning, or if you know highly susceptible people (elderly, those with health problems, and young children) without access to air conditioning, then now is the time to prepare.

Temperatures this afternoon, when considered with the humidity, felt like around 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius) in most areas. By the end of this week, you’ll wish it was this cool. The higher humidity has arrived first, and the higher temperatures will get here in a few days. Trust us: It’s coming.

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Scattered thunderstorms have erupted this afternoon, and the risk for a storm (not everybody will get one), will be with us through late evening, then the overnight hours should be relatively quiet. Temperatures will only drop into the upper 60s to lower 70s (20 to 22 degrees Celsius), so it’s going to be the first of many uncomfortable sleeping nights.

Some of us may start with some sunshine first thing Tuesday morning, but we’ll become cloudy as moisture from former Hurricane Barry heads this way. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible, especially during the afternoon. Like today, not everybody will necessarily get one. The mostly cloudy skies will keep a cap on temperatures, even though it’ll be humid, with highs generally reaching the low 80s (28 degrees Celsius).

Mostly cloudy, warm and muggy Tuesday night, with lows in the low 70s (22 degrees Celsius).

Mostly cloudy and steamy on Wednesday, with highs in the mid 80s (29 to 30 degrees Celsius).

Warm and muggy Wednesday night, with lows in the low 70s (22 degrees Celsius).

Thursday is the day that our heat wave begins. Afternoon highs will reach the mid 90s (34 degrees Celsius), with the humidity making it feel like 100 degrees (38 degrees Celsius) or even a little hotter than that. No thunderstorms are expected.

Warm and muggy Thursday night, with lows in the mid 70s (24 degrees Celsius).

Hot and humid on Friday, with highs in the mid 90s (35 degrees Celsius), and the humidity making it feel like 105 degrees (41 degrees Celsius).

Warm and muggy Friday night, with lows in the mid 70s (24 degrees Celsius).

Saturday, Sunday and Monday will all be continued hot and humid, with a thunderstorm chance each day. Highs will be in the mid 90s on Saturday (35 degrees Celsius), the low 90s (33 degrees Celsius) on Sunday, and the upper 80s (31 degrees Celsius) on Monday. Heat indices will be around 105 degrees (41 degrees Celsius) on Saturday, around 100 degrees (38 degrees Celsius) on Sunday, and in the mid 90s (35 degrees Celsius) on Monday.

A cold front finally moves through late Monday, bringing relief from the heat and humidity starting on Tuesday. In the meantime, here are some hot weather tips. Some of these may seem pretty basic, but they are tried and true. They really do work!

  • Close your drapes and blinds during the daytime hours. Just keeping the sun from shining through the windows helps a lot. It’s like moving the inside of your house into the shade. And if the nights cool off enough, open the windows and let that cooler air into the house, before closing the windows again when you wake up to keep that rapidly warming air out.
  • If you have air conditioning, make sure that your furnace filter is clean. A clean filter means that your furnace’s motor more efficiently pushes that cooler air throughout your house.
  • Heat stresses us, especially the very young, very old, and those in poor health. Know your limits. If you don’t have air conditioning, it’s important to relieve that heat stress. Perhaps spend some time at an air conditioned mall, or a friend/relative’s house. If nothing else, a cool shower or bath certainly can help cool you off. Just find a way to interrupt the heat’s stress and give yourself some recovery time. Most heat-related health issues result from extended periods of heat stress.
  • Stay hydrated, and make sure that you’re hydrating with water and sports drinks. This is critical, because we sweat more when it’s hot, and this draws a lot of fluids out of our bodies. Avoid caffeine and alcohol, because they dehydrate you -- the exact opposite of what you want during a heat wave.
  • Wear cotton or linen clothing, as these natural fibers absorb sweat and allow your skin to breathe. Synthetic material, like polyester and rayon, don’t breathe, and trap sweat on your skin, which makes you more uncomfortable.
  • This one may surprise you, and it comes from my colleagues at the BBC in London. You probably already know that, if you’ll be out in the hot sun, you should wear light colored clothing (preferably white). This helps reflect solar radiation, and keeps you cooler than dark colored clothing. However, if you’ll be inside, or in solid shade, dark clothing actually is better because it absorbs heat from your body and radiates that heat out into the environment around you, especially if there’s a light breeze. Yes, indoors or in the shade, black clothing actually helps keep you cooler!
  • If it’s too hot for you, it’s too hot for your pets. Please make sure they have relief from the heat, and a dependable supply of clean, cool water to drink.

    • Heat stroke

    Heat stroke occurs when our internal body temperature rises to an unsafe level, above 105° (41° Celsius). If you notice somebody in the heat exhibiting the following symptoms, call 911 immediately:

    • Hot, dry skin (no sweating), despite the heat. The skin may also be red.
    • Severe headache or dizziness
    • Nausea and/or vomiting
    • General weakness or severe muscle cramps
    • Confusion
    • Disorientation
    • Loss of consciousness
    • Rapid heartbeat and rapid, shallow breathing
    • Seizures

    After calling 911, start first aid which, in this case, is simply trying to cool the person. If possible, put them in a tub of cool water. If that’s not possible, dampen their skin and fan them, or sponge them with cool water. You can even use the cool water from a garden hose. Another very effective thing to do is putting ice packs under the armpits and in the groin area. It’s vitally important to get the person’s core body temperature down as best you can until the EMS arrives. Even just moving them into some air conditioning helps. At the very minimum, at least get them into the shade.

    If you know any elderly people who live without air conditioning, or somebody with very young children, please check on them when we hit the peak of this heat wave.

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