25 WEATHER — The first Heat Advisory of the season for Central Texas has been issued, encompassing most of the area beginning at 1 p.m. on Wednesday and lasting through Thursday evening at the least.
But when a Heat Advisory is issued, what exactly does that mean, and how does it differ from other heat alerts?
A Heat Advisory is a product issued by the National Weather Service, and the criteria for the advisory differs depending on which office is issuing it. This is because what some parts of the country may define as "hot" may just be a normal summer afternoon for others.
KXXV's local NWS office in Fort Worth will issue a Heat Advisory if the heat index is expected to be 105 or greater, or if the actual temperature is expected to be 103 or greater.
Either one of these conditions have to be met for at least two consecutive days for an advisory to be issued.
When a Heat Advisory is issued, it means that there is a higher risk of heat-related illnesses to occur. That risk is even higher when an Excessive Heat Warning is issued.
An Excessive Heat Warning means that the NWS is forecasting a heat index of 110 or greater, or that the actual temperature is expected to be 105 or greater.
Heat exhaustion and heat stroke need to be taken seriously when temperatures climb that high.
Wednesday's Heat Advisory is based on the forecast from the National Weather Service, but it's worth noting that KXXV's forecast doesn't project things getting quite that warm, at least not for Wednesday.
25 Weather is forecasting a high of 94 for Wednesday, with the heat index perhaps cracking the triple digits. Either way, some potentially dangerous heat could be upon the area by the weekend.
