The Big Burn...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas | The National Weather Service is again forecasting temperatures above the 100-degree range for the coming week, and actually through the end of the month. Next Tuesday will lead with a predicted high of 104 degrees, a reading that will take the "feels like" temperature above 112 degrees.

But it's not as if we're alone in this oven; the whole country is in a slow bake.

Las Vegas was to hit 117 degrees today.

Dallas/Fort Worth will be in the 105-degree range, according to the NWS.

Nowhere to hide is the operative phrase. The planet is on fire, or so it may seem. These Weatherboys are also saying, as most of us around here know, that any sort of cooling will not come until late-September or October.

True that.

It does seem hotter, however - hotter than our recent summers. Perhaps that's all just psychological. Humans tend to remember only the latest pain. McAllen has seen some afternoon winds, which helps, but even that wind, coming from the Southeast, is a bit warm.

No heat-related deaths have been recorded, although hospital Emergency Rooms are said to be busy with people complaining of dizziness, heat cramps and heat exhaustion. Texas has so far fared well in helping its residents stay cool. Its electrical grid seems to be holding up. Few power outages have been reported in the Rio Grande Valley.

Is there anything individuals can do to keep from heat stroke?

Stay hydrated and indoors, is what the medical people are suggesting.

That seems to be the no-brainer of the year...

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