Extreme Heat Advisory for Maryland

The National Weather Service has forecasted extreme heat for Maryland jurisdictions in the Capital, Central, Southern and Eastern Regions of Maryland. This heat advisory is in effect from Thursday, July 21st until Saturday, July 23rd. Heat Index values are expected to meet or exceed 105 degrees on all three days, with Friday’s heat index possibly spiking to 110 degrees.

In response, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) and the Carroll County Emergency Management Division (EMD) has activated its State and County Heat Emergency plan and is alerting the affected jurisdictions of a potential extreme heat event.

An Extreme Heat Event is a weather condition with excessive heat and/or humidity that has the potential to cause heat-related illnesses. An Extreme Heat Event is defined as a day or series of days when the Heat Index reaches 105 degrees Fahrenheit. We consider activating our plan any time the forecast shows a high chance of reaching our trigger point of 105 degrees. Additional information, including the State Heat Plan, Heat Reports, FAQs, and updated contact information is posted on the DHMH site: http://www.dhmh.maryland.gov/diseases/heatrelated.html. We hope you find the materials helpful. CDC also provides an extreme heat media toolkit for your use: http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/extremeheat/.

Suggested actions include – Review planned activities and assess the risk associated with continuing those activities – If exterior activities are to continue, advise participants to maintain hydration and protect themselves from the extreme heat – Provide cooling measures for exterior activities such as misting areas and additional shading – Review Emergency Operations Plans and ensure all agencies and responders are aware of their roles and responsibilities in the event of an emergency – Where possible, check the status of vulnerable populations and ensure their cooling systems are operational – Maintain a high level of awareness and react promptly to populations and mass gatherings that begin to suffer minor reactions to the heat to prevent more participants from being affected.

Posted by Editor on Jul 21 2011. Filed under News, weather. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry