Summertime often brings excessive heat and humidity to central Illinois. With people frequently involved in outdoor activities this time of year, it can be easy to quickly be overcome by the heat. Heat is the number one weather-related killer in the United States. The National Weather Service statistical data shows that heat causes more fatalities per year than floods, lightning, tornadoes and hurricanes combined. Learning what to do ahead of time can help keep you safe. North American summers are hot; most summers see heat waves in or more parts of the United States. East of the Rockies, they tend to combine both high temperature and high humidity, although some of the worst heat waves have been catastrophically dry.

Click here for information on Heat Safety from the National Weather Service.