Do you know how to spot heatstroke in Utah’s triple-digit heat?

SALT LAKE CITY — Temperatures in Utah are expected to hover around the triple digits for the week. Do you know the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heatstroke? Do you know how to prevent heat-related illness? 

KSL NewsRadio’s Debbie Dujanovic pointed out that in the United States from 1999 to 2010, 8,081 heat-related deaths were reported.

“Of deaths, 69% were men. And 22% of our immigrant population work in the construction field,” she said, citing CDC data.

“Whoever worked outside, especially in the summer months here in Utah, you are more at risk,” said co-host Dave Noriega. “Now, I’ve done a little bit of everything. I dug ditches. I worked in footings. I did a little cement work. I worked asphalt. It was unbearably hot, and I did it in the middle of the summer.

“…the asphalt is around 170 degrees. You can feel the heat burning the bottom of your feet. That’s how hot it is. When you’re working asphalt, you can literally feel it burning your feet,” he said.

Heat exhaustion and…

According to the CDC, of the heat-related illnesses, heat exhaustion and heat stroke are the most serious. The symptoms of heat exhaustion include:

• Muscle cramping
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Nausea or vomiting
• Dizziness or fainting

…Heatstroke

If untreated, heat exhaustion may progress to heatstroke. Heatstroke can happen if your body temperature rises to 104 F (40 C) or higher. Heatstroke is a serious, life-threatening condition characterized by the following symptoms:

• Red, hot, and dry skin (no sweating)
• Rapid, strong pulse
• Throbbing headache
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Confusion
• Unconsciousness

SLC is on a hot streak

KSL NewsRadio meteorologist Kevin Eubank said he (like Dave) wears long sleeves and a wide-brim hat in the summer heat to prevent sunburn, heat exhaustion and heatstroke.

“Not only are the temperatures hot, but we’ve had these winds –” Eubank said, “– the south wind just blows and dries everything out. The minute you walk out it’s not just hot, it’s a furnace hot. It’s blowing at you.”

“How many days in a row are we looking at it when it comes to 100 [degrees]?” Dave asked.

Eubank said the average high temperature for St. George this time of year is 103 degrees.

“So, St. George is very, very used to these kinds of 100-degree streaks, but Salt Lake City is not,” he said. “We don’t get many consecutive 100-degree temperatures. The all-time record for Salt Lake is 12 days.”

He pointed out Salt Lake City hit a record of 104 degrees Saturday and Sunday was 100 degrees.

“The next seven days, eight days, we’ll end up at 100 degrees or hotter in Salt Lake City, which is just very, very unusual,” Eubank said.

Last summer, he said Salt Lake City tied the all-time hottest temperature ever recorded at 107 and saw 21 days of 100 degrees or hotter, which was also a tie for the most triple-digit summer days.

“2022 is shaping up to be comparable. I don’t know if we’re gonna get to those records. But when you got streaks of 100 for over seven days, it puts you up in a category that is kind of rare,” Eubank said.

Related news:

• Dangerously high temperatures to hit Wasatch Front
• Former Dallas Cowboy Marion Barber III Died Of Heatstroke

Dave & Dujanovic can be heard weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon. on KSL NewsRadio. Users can find the show on the KSL NewsRadio website and app, as well as Apple Podcasts and Google Play.