Heat Advisory Issued for Alabama’s Hottest Weekend So Far This Year

Turn up the A.C. and double down on the sweet tea--this weekend, Alabama will be facing the hottest weather we've seen so far this year. The National Weather Service in Birmingham has issued a HEAT ADVISORY in effect from the afternoon of Friday, July 17, 2015 to 9 p.m. Monday, July 20. We could see heat indices near 112 degrees over the weekend. The full advisory is below.

...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM CDT MONDAY...

 * TEMPERATURES...HIGHS 96 TO 101.

 * HEAT INDEX...MAXIMUM VALUES 110 DEGREES.

 * IMPACTS...INCREASED RISK OF HEAT-RELATED ILLNESSES INCLUDING HEAT EXHAUSTION AND HEAT STROKE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS...IF YOU WORK OR SPEND TIME OUTSIDE. WHEN POSSIBLE...RESCHEDULE STRENUOUS ACTIVITIES TO EARLY MORNING OR EVENING. KNOW THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF HEAT EXHAUSTION AND HEAT STROKE. WEAR LIGHT WEIGHT AND LOOSE FITTING CLOTHING WHEN POSSIBLE AND DRINK PLENTY OF WATER.

TO REDUCE RISK DURING OUTDOOR WORK...THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDS SCHEDULING FREQUENT REST BREAKS IN SHADED OR AIR CONDITIONED ENVIRONMENTS. ANYONE OVERCOME BY HEAT SHOULD BE MOVED TO A COOL AND SHADED LOCATION. HEAT STROKE IS AN EMERGENCY...CALL 9 1 1.

A HEAT ADVISORY MEANS THAT A PERIOD OF HOT TEMPERATURES IS EXPECTED. THE COMBINATION OF HOT TEMPERATURES AND HIGH HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE POSSIBLE. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS...STAY IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM...STAY OUT OF THE SUN...AND CHECK UP ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS.

 ABC 33/40 Chief Meteorologist James Spann notes on the ABC 33/40 Weather Blog that we've entered the "dog days of summer," and that he expects the hottest weather of 2015 so far in Alabama over the weekend. For a more in-depth look at the forecast, check out the latest Weather Xtreme Video below.