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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/puerto-rico-faces-dangerous-situation-record-breaking-heat-rcna88168>
"Puerto Rico endured temperatures that felt as hot as 125 degrees Fahrenheit
this week, according to the National Weather Service, as the U.S. territory
experiences excessive heat conditions that will continue for another week.
The tropical island already experienced record-breaking minimum and maximum
temperatures for this time of year on Monday and Tuesday, when it jumped to 95
degrees. But the heat index, which measures how temperatures feel like to the
human body, surpassed 120 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday in parts of Puerto
Rico, even peaking to 125 in the northern towns.
The combination of a low-pressure system near Florida and a high-pressure
system just east of Puerto Rico has essentially formed a “heat dome” that has
remained stuck in the same place for various days, John Morales, a certified
consulting meteorologist at ClimaData and a hurricane specialist for NBC Miami,
told NBC News.
A combination of dry air, unusually warm ocean waters and high humidity is
causing people to feel the heat more severely.
The National Weather Service usually issues a heat advisory when the heat index
reaches or exceeds 105 degrees Fahrenheit, "so when it's 125, that's incredibly
dangerous," Morales said.
The combination of high humidity and high temperatures can be dangerous
because, when the humidity in the air is high, less sweat can evaporate off the
human body to cool it off.
The severe weather conditions are making Puerto Rican residents more vulnerable
to heat exhaustion and, in extreme cases, heat strokes."
Via Doug Senko.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
