This week the Raccoon Valley Radio listening area will experience very hot temperatures once again.

Weatherology Meteorologist Jennifer Wojcicki says today’s actual temperature is going to be 97 degrees with a heat index of 106 degrees, which is well above the average temperature for this time of year of the mid-80s. The National Weather Service has most of western Iowa under a heat advisory from noon to 8pm today and Wojcicki explains the difference between a heat advisory and an excessive heat warning.

“Well a heat advisory is issued when heat indices are expected to reach about 105 to 109 degrees or right around that for about 12 hours to 24 hours. That’s that heat index, not the actual air temperature. And then an excessive heat warning is going to be a little bit more than that, anywhere above that for that amount of time as well.”    

Wojcicki says temperatures drop back to the upper 80s to lower 90s for the rest of the week until Saturday, when the actual temperature is around 98 degrees with a heat index up to 105 degrees. She advises staying indoors or finding a shady area if outside when it’s that hot.

“Heat exhaustion or heat stroke even can quickly develop in a few minutes or gradually over several hours or days, so just kind of depends. Symptoms of heat exhaustion can be tiredness, weakness, feeling faint or dizzy. So if you feel any of that while you’re outside definitely something to stop what you’re doing, get inside and make sure you stay hydrated and get to a cool place.”        

According to the National Weather Service, Jefferson’s record high for today was 100 degrees in 1987, Perry and Guthrie Center’s record highs were set in 1930 at 101 and 102 degrees, respectively. Jefferson also had a record high set in 1918 on Saturday, August 6th at 100 degrees.