Heat Health Information

• Complete list of 2007 Cool Spots  (click here) 
• Where to Go to be Cool  (click here)

The City of Milwaukee Health Department, the regional office of the National Weather Service, the Milwaukee County Division of Emergency Management, the Milwaukee County Dept. on Aging and a wide array of government and community organizations have met together to find ways to reduce the public health threat from heat waves.

Lessons from the 1995 heat wave and a review of research and of other cities' heat response plans have identified discrete action steps, that, when taken in a timely manner, may prevent many cases of heat-related illness and death.

No one single agency can perform all these actions, thus a collaborative Heat Task Force has been formed to join in a coordinated plan of action - the Heat Plan  is in pdf format. Each Task Force member organization participates in the planning and execution of the extreme Heat Conditions Plan and has specific responsibilities in the event of a heat wave. 

Hot weather makes our bodies work harder--just to get rid of the heat! People with heart or lung problems should "cool it" on any hot day. During hot weather we all really need to take care of ourselves.

When two very hot days are joined with hot nights and high humidity, we have a dangerous heat wave that could hurt a lot of people. Milwaukee criteria for Outlooks, Advisories, Watches and Warnings can be found at this  linked table which is in pdf format. Humidity combined with high temperatures can make it feel even hotter - this is called the Heat Index. For information about the Heat Index, visit the National Weather Service Forecast website: www.crh.noaa.gov/mkx/summer_page.php. 

Learn more about emergency preparedness in extreme heat from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/. And for more specific information, Extreme Heat, A Prevention Guide, from CDC, click here, www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/heat_guide.asp. 

Precautions and quick action could save lives in Hot Summer Weather: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has a Heat Stress Guide that offers tips for employers and workers. You can visit them at: www.osha.gov/SLTC/heatstress/index.html

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has also produced a pamphlet called Working in Hot Environments that you can view here: www.cdc.gov/niosh/hotenvt.html

Get heat and other weather information from the National Weather Service website at: www.crh.noaa.gov/mkx/. 

• Infants and young children
• Older Adults
• People with disabilities
• Chronic heart or lung problems.
• Overweight persons.
• Those who work outdoors or in hot settings
• Users of some medications: especially some drugs for mental disorders, movement disorders, allergies, depression and heart or circulatory problems.
• Isolated persons who won't know when or how to cool off or call for help

Please remember to make frequent checks on elderly, ill or disabled relatives, friends or neighbors when a heat wave strikes - and help them keep cool. 

•  Heat Plan 2007
•  Table of Heat Alerts (takes a few seconds to load) heat advisories / definitions
•  How can heat illness be affected by medications?/¿Cómo las medicaciones pueden afectar la enfermedad del calor (en inglés, "heat illness")?

•  Cool Spots locations of wading pools and sprinklers for children

•  Way Cool heat tips for infants and children

•  Heat Tips general advice/telephone numbers  (En Español)

•  Where to be Cool locations to escape the heat/telephone numbers. 

Centers for Disease Control

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/heat_guide.asp#emerg