How to Prepare for Triple-Digit Temperatures

The heat wave continues through the weekend and into next week.

Friday, July 10th 2009, 2:54 pm

By: News 9


News9.com

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The heat wave continues through the weekend and into next week. 

Highs today will range from 95° in eastern Oklahoma up to 112° in western Oklahoma.  Friday Buffalo reached 115° and could get that hot again today.

Highs will top out in the triple digits through next Tuesday with lows only getting down into the mid to upper 70s.  Skies will be clear to mostly clear with southerly winds throughout the next 7 days.

Beating the heat is hard to do when temperatures become uncomfortable. When the temperatures rise it can be hard to adjust, but it is possible to prepare your body for the hot weather.

Spend just a moment outside, and your body will start to react to the heat. Your skin can burn, and you'll start to sweat - physical responses as your body learns to handle the hot Oklahoma sun.

Just when we we're getting used to cooler temperatures, the summer sun is heating things back up. And now we all have to readjust. It takes 10 to 14 days for a person's body to acclimate, and when the weather cools down, you lose some of your tolerance.

"Every two days you are not in it, you lose two days of having been acclimated to the heat," said Kathryn Johl.

"Ninety-eight, 99 - people think it's hot. But when you hit 100 people kind of get that fear factor in their mind," said Jon Coneeley, a personal trainer for Boot Camp Tulsa.

The heat will almost always make you uncomfortable when the mercury rises, but Jon Coneeley said there are things you can do to prepare your body to handle the heat a little better - whether you work out or not. Drinking water is the best thing you can do for your body, and start drinking it early.

"Alcohol dehydrates you. Caffeine is a natural diurectic, pulls your liquids out," the personal trainer said.

"A good rule of thumb right here: take your body weight, divide it into half," Coneeley said. "So say you weigh 200 pounds, you should be getting 100 ounces of water a day. That's for a moderately active person."

The signs that the heat is getting to you: thirst, headaches, and fatigue, and you are really in danger of dehydration when you stop sweating.

"Decreased sweat," said Kathryn Johl. "Also too, when you are not urinating as often, that is a sign that you are not getting enough fluids."

The best advice is simple. Stay hydrated. Don't push yourself. Give yourself breaks in the shade and in air conditioned areas.

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