Extreme Heat Watch issued for Friday, June 20 through Sunday, June 22, (NWS Hastings, Courtesy)
KEARNEY — An Extreme Heat Watch has been issued central Nebraska for Friday, June 20 through Sunday, June 22 for heat index values over 100 degrees.
According to the National Weather Service – Hastings, dangerously hot conditions will be in place across region with heat index values up to 109 degrees. The watch will be in effect from 10 a.m. Friday through 9 p.m. Sunday.
Overnight temperatures will only drop into the upper 70s and lower 80s and south to southwest winds will blow at 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph. This will provide little relief and likely only contribute to the “blast furnace” feeling, per NWS Hastings.
“Heat related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat and high humidity events. Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors,” per NWS Hastings.
The heat index, also known as the apparent temperature, is what the temperature feels like to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature. This has important considerations for the human body’s comfort, per the NWS.
When the body gets too hot, it begins to perspire or sweat to cool itself off. If the perspiration is not able to evaporate, the body cannot regulate its temperature.
When perspiration is evaporated off the body, it effectively reduces the body’s temperature. When the atmospheric moisture content (i.e. relative humidity) is high, the rate of evaporation from the body decreases. In other words, the human body feels warmer in humid conditions.
