Lawrence and Douglas County could see more storms Friday and Saturday and should expect heat indices around 105° as an extreme heat warning goes into effect.
The warning is set to go into effect at noon Saturday, July 19, and continue through 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 23. But “The warning could be extended through next week if the forecast plays out as expected,” according to the National Weather Service in Topeka.
Prior to that, strong to severe storms are possible Friday afternoon and evening and on Saturday. The primary risk would be damaging wind gusts and brief heavy rainfall, according to NWS.
Heat indices around 105° are likely over the weekend and into next week. As of Friday, Lawrence’s heat index was expected to peak at 106° on Tuesday.
During the extreme heat, the NWS urges people to take precautions when outside, such as wearing lightweight and loose-fitting clothing. Do strenuous outdoor activities in the morning or evening, and don’t leave people or pets in vehicles unattended.
“Car interiors will reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes,” according to NWS.
Signs of heat exhaustion include heavy sweating, weakness, clammy skin, a fast and weak pulse, muscle cramps, dizziness, nausea and more, according to NWS. The person showing those signs should move to a cooler environment, loosen their clothing and take sips of water.
Anyone experiencing signs of heat stroke — confusion, combativeness, seizures, slurred speech, headaches, nausea, a strong, rapid pulse and fainting, among others — should be moved to a cooler environment immediately, and someone should call 911. Heat stroke can quickly cause death or permanent disabilities.
Also, “Using a fan to blow air in someone’s direction may actually make them hotter if heat index temperatures are above the 90s,” according to the NWS. See more about heat-related illnesses on the NWS website at weather.gov/safety/heat-illness.
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Severe weather resources
Evergy outages:
• Check the status of power outages on the Evergy outage map, outagemap.evergy.com.
• Report a power outage at evergy.com/report-outage, or call 800-544-4857.
• For down powerlines, call Evergy’s emergency line, 800-383-1183, if above-ground lines are arcing or making contact with trees or vegetation. Call 911 immediately if overhead power lines are on the ground or a fire starts. Do not go near the line.
National Weather Service local office (Topeka):
• Find the latest weather forecast info and severe weather advisories for the Lawrence area at this link.
• In the event of rapidly changing severe weather, such as tornadoes, the NWS posts frequent updates on Twitter, @NWSTopeka. You do not need a Twitter account to see tweets from NWS.
• NWS is also on Facebook, facebook.com/NWSTopeka.
• Call 785-234-2592 to hear the forecast.
Douglas County Emergency Management:
• Follow @DgCoEM on Twitter or Douglas County, KS- Emergency Management on Facebook, facebook.com/dgcoem.
• Sign up to receive emergency alerts at dgcoks.org/emalerts.
• Find lots of tips on severe weather and other emergency preparedness on DgCoEM’s website at douglascountyks.org/emergency-management.
• Report storm damage (for non-emergencies only, and after storm danger has passed) by calling the nonemergency dispatch line at 785-843-0250 or 785-832-7509.
City of Lawrence snow info:
• The city has snow information and a map at lawrenceks.org/snow that shows information about road conditions and where snowplows have been. The city typically begins snow and ice control for residential roadways when 2 or more inches of snowfall or icing occurs.
Highway conditions beyond Lawrence:
• KanDrive, an app and website from the Kansas Department of Transportation, has info on highway conditions statewide. KanDrive is available online at KanDrive.gov, and its app is available for download free on the App Store and Google Play.
Air quality:
• Check the current air quality index in Lawrence and elsewhere through AirNow, airnow.gov.
