It seems that the summer heat wave will continue through Friday as sizzling temperatures continue to soar into the 90s.
A heat wave with oppressive temperatures and stifling humidity lingered and intensified in the midsection of the country through last week and the weekend, and is expected to expand eastward as the week continues.
Crowds flocked to waterfronts and swimming pools on the U.S. East Coast and in the Midwest on Thursday to try to cope with a massive heat wave that has killed over 22 people.
In July, over 18 states had heat advisories, including North Dakota, Texas, Mississippi, Georgia and the Carolinas (where temperatures may exceed 100 degrees this week).
Doctors in Tulsa are advising extreme caution:
Doctor Gavin Gardner at the OSU Medical Center in Tulsa has some advice for those who have to be outdoors for any length of time.
“The big thing is fluid intake and try to limit exposure to heat as much as possible.”
The doctor says the OSU emergency room is seeing 10 to 15 patients a day who are suffering from heat stroke. […]
“Particularly elderly and children who have been exposed maybe in a home that hasn’t been equipped with adequate air conditioning.”
Gardner says there are warning signs to watch out for if you have to be out in the heat for more than a few minutes.
“Muscle cramps, nausea, dizziness.”
The doctor says hot weather can make allergies and respiratory diseases worse.
He says also some medications don’t work too well when the patient has to be out in the heat.
The heat has turned many small towns into “ghost towns” because people are afraid to leave their homes:
“I can’t hardly do nothing when it’s this hot,” said Bryce Butler, an 86-year-old World War II veteran who stays in his house every day in this town of 200 people. He usually drives to the county seat in Guthrie, about 15 miles away, for errands but now can’t go out after noon.
“I’m afraid if I had car trouble, I’d have a heat stroke,” said Mary Hasley, 79, who lives in nearby Cashion. She has cancelled her doctor’s appointments. “It’s just too dangerous.”
It’s been over 100 for more than 30 days in a row in many parts of Oklahoma. In the town of Altus, the average high in June — when the weather is normally mild — was 105. In the many dozens of rural communities like Mulhall, where there are no longer any stores or other services, the elderly must drive other places for almost everything, and that has become daunting this summer.
And, oh by the way, climate change is a hoax. The esteemed Senator James Inhofe from Oklahoma says so.