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June 24, 2009

Temps climb into triple digits

OKLAHOMA CITY — Authorities issued an excessive heat warning and an ozone alert Wednesday for parts of Oklahoma as temperatures climbed into the triple digits and the Sooner state baked under some of the hottest weather in the nation with no relief in sight.

The National Weather Service urged the public to avoid heat exhaustion by staying hydrated and out of the sun.

“The cumulative effects of the heat over several consecutive days could have adverse impacts on the elderly, small children and pets,” the weather service said in its warning. “Even those in good physical shape can develop heat-related illnesses if proper safety rules are not followed.”

The weather service issued the heat warning through Thursday for 19 counties in northeast Oklahoma, where heat index readings were well over 100 degrees before noon. The heat index, which combines temperature and humidity to determine how hot it feels to the human body, reached 114 degrees in Durant, 109 in Ardmore, 110 in Grove and 108 in Bartlesville.

“It’s Oklahoma and it’s summertime. It’s going to be hot,” said Ty Judd, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Norman. “We have this ridge of high pressure that’s parked right on top of us, and that’s really allowing temperatures to take off.”

Although temperatures frequently reach triple digits in Oklahoma during July and August, it’s less likely in June. Temperatures never topped 100 degrees in June last year, Judd said.

Environmental officials also issued an ozone alert Wednesday and Thursday for portions of northeast and south-central Oklahoma, including Oklahoma City and Tulsa. A primary component of smog, ozone forms when nitrogen oxides and organic compounds mix in sunlight, and can affect at-risk groups like people with asthma, adults older than 65, young children and those with health problems.

Paramedics in Oklahoma City took a 91-year-old woman to the hospital after she collapsed about noon while gardening and couldn’t crawl to the shade, Emergency Medical Services Authority spokeswoman Lara O’Leary said.

“I think people are expecting it to be cooler in the morning to go outside and exert themselves, but it’s 90 degrees by 10 a.m., and that’s just not cool enough for them,” O’Leary said.

Paramedics in Tulsa responded to five heat-related calls by early Wednesday afternoon, bringing to 24 the number for the week, EMSA reported.

Robert Haggard, a 29-year-old home remodeler in Norman, spent much of Tuesday and Wednesday installing insulation in a garage apartment, where he said temperatures in the attic reached 130 degrees.

“These tools are hot. The ground is hot. It’s hot outside. You’ve got to try not to think about it and just focus on the job,” Haggard said. “Once you start thinking about it, it just overpowers your mind and it’s hard to keep working.”

The Salvation Army, which gave away fans Wednesday to those most susceptible to the heat, also opened its air-conditioned kitchen in Oklahoma City to help the homeless beat the heat.

“When you get so hot, especially the elderly, you’re not aware of how high your body temperature is going, and the next thing you know you’re having a heat stroke or passing out and dying in the heat,” Salvation Army spokeswoman Heide Brandes said.

Temperatures in the upper 90s and lower 100s are expected to continue across Oklahoma into the weekend, although a mild front could knock temperatures back down to the mid-90s, Judd said.

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