The two heat-related illnesses can appear very similar, but have dangerously different outcomes.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Spectators attending the Pikes Peak Air Show in Colorado Springs, Colorado, this weekend are being urged to take proper safety precautions after about 100 people were affected by heat-related illnesses, including 10 who needed to be treated at local hospitals, according to officials.
“The Colorado Springs Fire Department works and prepares very closely with the airport and event organizers when large events are held,” Colorado Springs Fire Chief Randy Royal said in a statement. “(Saturday), like every day, we had a plan in place in the event we needed to activate it.”
Royal said first responders at the air show handled the incident “swiftly and professionally.”
“Their quick actions ensured people were taken care of and serious injuries were avoided,” Royal continued. “(Sunday) will be hot again, and we ask everyone to please stay hydrated, be prepared for hot temperatures, and please stay safe.”
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Student athletes beating the heat in Texas
Temperatures continue to soar across the South, and that has high school athletes in Texas taking precautions to protect themselves from heat-related injuries such as heatstroke and heat exhaustion. FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth Reporter Dan Godwin has the report from Carrollton, Texas.
The sweltering heat has also gripped the South, with student athletes in North Texas being forced to take precautions to stay safe while practicing outside.
FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth Reporter Dan Godwin spoke with South Oak Cliff High School Football Coach Jason Todd, who said player safety is his top priority, especially when temperatures soar.
Godwin said teams practice outdoors based on a measurement called the wet bulb globe temperature. That’s a measurement of the temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and solar radiation.
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It’s a policy that was introduced in 2023 by the University Interscholastic League (UIL), the governing body of Texas high school sports.
“We kind of meet, do some things – watch videos with the kids,” Todd said. “And then we prepare ourselves for whenever (UIL) tells us we can go out and we’ll head on out to the field.”
South Oak Cliff High School Football Quarterback Carter Kopecky said another thing players need to do is weigh themselves regularly to make sure they are all staying hydrated.
“We try to keep a gallon of water in our locker,” he said. “Try to walk around with a gallon of water every day. I know I’m drinking about a gallon and a half.”
Heat alerts stretch from Plains to Southeast
(FOX Weather)
More than 52 million people from the central Plains to the Southeast have been placed under a heat alert on Sunday, including about 21 million people under an Excessive Heat Warning.
The Excessive Heat Warnings cover portions of seven states, including most of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Dallas, as well as Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma, are also included.
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(FOX Weather)
And the potentially dangerous heat is expected to continue for the next few days into the middle of the upcoming workweek.
Temperatures will remain above 100 degrees in many parts of Texas, including El Paso, Lubbock, Dallas and Houston.
Oklahoma City, too, will see a forecast high temperature of about 104 degrees on Sunday, around 100 degrees Monday and down to 92 degrees by Tuesday.