Heat Advisory issued for Southern Maine

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
331 PM EDT THU JUL 18 2013

...VERY HOT TEMPERATURES AND HIGH HUMIDITY EXPECTED ON FRIDAY...

.VERY HOT TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON. HOT HIGH
PRESSURE BUILDING OVER THE AREA WILL COMBINE WITH DOWNSLOPING WEST
TO SOUTHWEST FLOW OVER SOUTHWEST MAINE AND SOUTHEAST NEW HAMPSHIRE
TO BRING AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES INTO THE UPPER 90S TO NEAR 100
DEGREES. HUMIDITY THAT HAS BEEN IN PLACE FOR SEVERAL DAYS WILL
STILL BE IN PLACE TOMORROW. DEW POINTS IN THE LOW 70S WILL FALL
INTO THE MID TO UPPER 60S DURING THE AFTERNOON... BUT HEAT INDEX
VALUES WILL STILL RISE TO BETWEEN 100 AND 105 DEGREES. THIS WILL BE
DANGEROUS FOR THOSE SENSITIVE TO HIGH HEAT AND HUMIDITY... AND
ESPECIALLY THOSE WITHOUT ACCESS TO AIR CONDITIONING. COASTAL AREAS
FROM PORTLAND TO HAMPTON WILL NOT BE SPARED THE HIGH HEAT AS WEST
TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL PUSH THE SEA BREEZE OFFSHORE.

MEZ012-018>021-023-024-NHZ006-008>010-013-014-190400-
/O.NEW.KGYX.HT.Y.0001.130719T1400Z-130719T2300Z/
SOUTHERN OXFORD-INTERIOR YORK-INTERIOR CUMBERLAND-ANDROSCOGGIN-
KENNEBEC-COASTAL YORK-COASTAL CUMBERLAND-SOUTHERN CARROLL-
MERRIMACK-BELKNAP-STRAFFORD-INTERIOR ROCKINGHAM-
COASTAL ROCKINGHAM-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...RUMFORD...NORWAY...FRYEBURG...OXFORD...
SANFORD...BERWICK...NORTH WINDHAM...GORHAM...BRIDGTON...
LEWISTON-AUBURN...LIVERMORE FALLS...AUGUSTA...WATERVILLE...
BIDDEFORD...SACO...OLD ORCHARD BEACH...KITTERY...PORTLAND...
SOUTH PORTLAND...WESTBROOK...WOLFEBORO...OSSIPEE...CONCORD...
HOOKSETT...LACONIA...MEREDITH...ROCHESTER...DOVER...SALEM...
DERRY...EXETER...PORTSMOUTH...HAMPTON
331 PM EDT THU JUL 18 2013

...HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM TO 7 PM EDT FRIDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAY HAS ISSUED A HEAT ADVISORY...
WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM TO 7 PM EDT FRIDAY.

* TEMPERATURES...RISING INTO THE UPPER 90S.

* HEAT INDEX VALUES...FROM 100 TO 105 DEGREES.

* TIMING...HIGH HUMIDITY WILL BE IN PLACE TO START THE DAY. HEAT
  INDEX VALUES WILL RISE ABOVE 100 DEGREES BY LATE MORNING AND
  REMAIN HIGH THROUGH THE AFTERNOON.

* IMPACTS...HIGH HEAT AND HUMIDITY WILL MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR THE
  BODY TO COOL ITSELF. THOSE PLANNING OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES SHOULD
  BRING EXTRA WATER AND BE ALERT FOR SIGNS OF HEAT EXHAUSTION.
  THOSE WITHOUT ACCESS TO AIR CONDITIONING SHOULD ALSO FIND WAYS
  TO COOL DOWN.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A HEAT ADVISORY MEANS THAT A PERIOD OF HOT TEMPERATURES
IS EXPECTED. THE COMBINATION OF HOT TEMPERATURES AND HIGH
HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT
ILLNESSES ARE POSSIBLE. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS...STAY IN AN
AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM...STAY OUT OF THE SUN...AND CHECK IN
ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS.

TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS IF YOU WORK OR SPEND TIME OUTSIDE.
WHEN POSSIBLE...RESCHEDULE STRENUOUS ACTIVITIES TO EARLY
MORNING OR EVENING. KNOW THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF HEAT
EXHAUSTION AND HEAT STROKE. WEAR LIGHT WEIGHT AND LOOSE
FITTING CLOTHING WHEN POSSIBLE AND DRINK PLENTY OF WATER.

TO REDUCE RISK DURING OUTDOOR WORK...THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDS SCHEDULING FREQUENT
REST BREAKS IN SHADED OR AIR CONDITIONED ENVIRONMENTS.
ANYONE OVERCOME BY HEAT SHOULD BE MOVED TO A COOL AND
SHADED LOCATION. HEAT STROKE IS AN EMERGENCY - CALL 9 1 1.

&&

$$

KIMBLE

Severe storms cause damage throughout northern Maine

By Dawn Gagnon, BDN Staff

Posted July 17, 2013, at 6:57 p.m.
Last modified July 17, 2013, at 11:12 p.m.

CARIBOU, Maine — The National Weather Service office in Caribou has issued a severe weather statement, a severe thunderstorm warning and flood warnings for parts of Aroostook County.

As of about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, 3.3 inches of rain had fallen in less than two hours in northern Maine.

Damage reports already had started to come in, meteorologist Dustin Jordan said shortly after 7 p.m.
The weather service received reports that two power lines had been knocked down near Connor, that there were multiple trees down on Coffin Road in Washburn and that 5-inch rocks had been washed onto and across Powers Road in Caribou from a nearby swollen stream as a result of flash flooding, Jordan said.

There also were reports of wind damage in New Sweden and parts of Washburn.

In updates posted later in the evening, the weather service reported nearly 30 downed trees on Parsons Road between Presque Isle and Washburn and three trees down on Route 164, between Presque Isle and Washburn.

In the statements, the weather service said that Doppler radar indicated a severe thunderstorm 6 miles northeast of Haynesville — or 19 miles southwest of Houlton — moving southeast at 25 mph.
Other locations within the warning area included Amity and Orient, the National Weather Service said. That warning was effective through 6:30 p.m.

Also under a severe thunderstorm watch was northern Aroostook County, effective until early Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service website.

The National Weather Service warned that heavy rains posed a risk for flash flooding in northern, central and southeastern Maine. That warning remained in effect through late Wednesday night, the weather service said.

Also in effect was a small stream flood advisory for north central Penobscot County and extreme north central Washington County. Heavy rainfall was expected to continue through 8 p.m.

Meanwhile, the rest of the state — with the exception of coastal Maine — was under a severe thunderstorm watch.

Bangor Hydro Electric Co. and Maine Public Service reported late Wednesday night that crews were working to restore service after a series of power outages caused by severe thunderstorms moving through parts of Penobscot County earlier in the evening. Areas most affected were Hudson, Corinth, Kenduskeag, Greenbush, Greenfield and Costigan, with other scattered outages throughout both Bangor Hydro and Maine Public Service’s territory in Aroostook and Hancock counties.

The humidex, the flawed Canadian way to calculate summer discomfort

Canadian innovation among many attempts to calculate how blinking hot it is

By Amber Hildebrandt, CBC News

Posted: Jul 18, 2013 6:07 AM AT

Last Updated: Jul 18, 2013 7:53 AM AT

If you're not quite sure what the humidex is, you're not alone.

The term — a Canadian innovation — is one used most often by southern Ontarians and Quebeckers, though Canada's weather guru says that's changing.

"I get more calls in Saskatchewan and Manitoba now: 'What is this thing called humidex? Is it something that Toronto manufactured?'" says David Phillips, Environment Canada's senior climatologist.

Those calls are because the typically dry Prairie provinces are experiencing higher humidity levels due to increased air flows from the south these days, and these are adding to the high moisture levels caused by the "feverishly" growing crops, says Phillips.

But he also notes that, for most Westerners, the higher humidity "is not nearly as debilitating because they cool down at night. So there's not nearly as much tossing and turning."

For years, the southern Ontario city of Windsor earned the reputation as the humidex capital of Canada. It held the record of a humidex of 52.1 from June 20, 1953 for more than half a century.

"That has been surpassed by an unlikely place," said Phillips. Carmen, a rural farming town in southern Manitoba, hit a humidex level of 53 on July 25, 2007.

Body a 'great air conditioner'

The humidex — short for humidity index — is a Canadian innovation first used in 1965, according to Environment Canada.

If the forecast cites a humidex of 40 C, for example, it means that the temperature might be 35 C but, with the humidity, the discomfort feels like it would at a dry temperature of 40.
The index is based on a calculation of heat and humidity by using current air temperature and the dew point (the temperature and barometric pressure at which water vapour condenses into liquid). It matters because humidity can wreak havoc on a body's internal cooling systems.

"The body is a great air conditioner. It really truly is," says Phillips. "The way it air conditions is when we perspire, that moisture in our skin evaporates into the air and that takes away some of the heat from our body."

Bodies try to maintain a temperature of 37 C. In summer, sweat helps cool you down.
But when the humidity is high and the air is already nearly saturated with moisture, sweat evaporation stops. That's when a person's body temperature rises and they can suffer a slew of heat-related problems, from a minor heat rash to a potentially deadly heatstroke.

"The issue really is a health issue," says Peter Taylor, a professor of atmospheric science at Toronto's York University. The humidex "gives you a measure of how effectively your body can cool down,"
Providing the public with a way to assess the danger of the sweltering outdoors is the reason for the development of the humidiex in the first place. But it really is kind of an imperfect index by science's standards, and it is one of several ways of trying to sound the misery alarm about summertime heat.

Sun, shade and asphalt

To illustrate how variable even temperature can be, David Phillips conducted his own little experiment.

First, he took a reading the standard way: in the shade. It was 30 C.

Next, he put the thermometer in the sun. "It rose to 37 degrees within a minute," he says."

Then he placed it on an asphalt road. "Within half a minute, it was up to 45 degrees."

"So you can see that's where different conditions will produce different air temperatures."

'Great discomfort'

When the humidex reaches 30 to 39, Canada's weather agency suggests those outside may feel "some discomfort."

That rises to "great discomfort" from 40 to 45, when residents are told to avoid exertion. Above 45 is considered dangerous since it brings the possibility of heatstroke.

In the past century, there have been numerous attempts in North America to try to calculate how uncomfortable people feel in the sticky heat.

Among them are the discomfort index, humiture index and even the aptly named humisery index.
The winter equivalent to the humidex is wind chill — an index ironically invented by Americans instead of by someone north of the 49th parallel.

Phillips says that the wind chill measurement endures even more criticism than its summertime counterpart, but both are imperfect.

"It's kind of a fudged quantity. But it's almost like it's got a hold, it's become popular."

"It may be impure from a scientific point of view, but it is actually proven to work. There is more stress on the body in a humid situation. You can't be as productive on a humid, moist day as you would be on a hot, dry day."

The humidex also doesn't take into account certain factors that can change how hot it feels, such as strong winds — which help wick away perspiration — and whether the person is walking in the sunshine, which significantly increases how hot it feels.

The climatologist also notes that no two people react the same way to weather. Age and health, including respiratory issues and fitness levels, affect how hot it feels.

"The same kind of conditions of heat to a child might cause prickly heat and to a teenager it might be something like heat cramps, while to a senior it could be heatstroke," he said.

While it's helpful to pay attention to the humidex, ultimately, people must also stay tuned to their own personal limits.

"We all know how weather affects ourselves," says Phillips. "We all have our little sort of threshold that jerks us into a certain action that we take to save ourselves from the weather."

07/17/2013 heatwave day

Maine

Max: 90°F/32.2°C
Min: 63°F/17.2°C