News - Blogs - EMSA heat alerts arent related to Tulsas high temperatures

EMSA heat alerts aren't related to Tulsa's high temperatures
Published: 7/29/2011 7:00 AM
Last Modified: 7/29/2011 9:55 AM

In this Feb. 4 file photo, an EMSA ambulance runs on a call near 61st Street and Yale Avenue. While the highest temperatures and EMSA heat alerts might not be directly related, don't expect them in the middle of record snowstorms. TOM GILBERT/ Tulsa World File

Myth: The hotter it is, the more heat alerts we receive.

Emergency Medical Services Authority and their fearless medical personnel respond to many, many heat-related calls during the summer months. Not up for dispute.

The increase in heat-related calls comes during the warmer months of the year. Also not up for dispute.

But when I was speaking with an EMSA public information officer earlier this month about which days that the heat alerts were declared, I noticed something very interesting about the correlating temperatures on those dates: No correlation at all.

Heat alerts are declared by EMSA when there are at least five heat-related calls in the Tulsa area. As of July 18, EMSA's received more than 190 of these this summer, declaring its 20th heat alert on July 27.

Here is a table of each heat alert day as of July 27 this year, as well as the high temperature in Tulsa for each day according to the National Weather Service:

While many of the heat alert days had high temperatures, there are some notable dates missing, such as June's hottest day (June 27, 106 degrees) and some interesting inclusions (June 28, which not only had a 92-degree high, but we also received 0.06 of an inch of rain that day).

So, what can we draw from this? It's the decisions people make, regardless of the weather conditions, that result in these heat alerts.

That said, I'm sure spokesman Chris Stevens would appreciate if I shared EMSA's advice for making healthy decisions:

Drink plenty of water

Wear light colored/loose fitting clothing

Find shade outside, or create your own by wearing a hat

Avoid caffeinated, carbonated or alcoholic beverages

And get in air conditioning whenever possible! If you don't have access to air conditioning, here are several public cooling stations in Tulsa:

Tulsa County Social Services, 2401 Charles Page Blvd
Open 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. every day

Dennis R. Neill Equality Center, 621 E. Fourth St.
Open 12-9 p.m. every day

Salvation Army Center of Hope, 102 N. Denver Ave.
Open 24/7

Remember: It doesn't matter what the thermometer says. Heat-related illness can (apparently) strike whether its the 90s or the 100s. Make safe decisions this summer!

--Althea Peterson

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Almanac

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

	Temperature		Precipitation
Date	High Temp	Low Temp	Total	Month to date	Historical average
1	44°	16°	0	0.00	0.05
2	59°	24°	0	0.00	0.11
3	57°	33°	0	0.00	0.16
4	68°	37°	Trace	0.00	0.21
5	69°	29°	0	0.00	0.26
6	66°	33°	0	0.00	0.32
7	59°	38°	0.05	0.05	0.38
8	51°	34°	0	0.05	0.44
9	44°	36°	0.01	0.06	0.51
10	62°	37°	0.07	0.13	0.57
11	54°	28°	0	0.13	0.64
12	44°	30°	0.25	0.38	0.70
13	55°	40°	0.01	0.39	0.76
14	°	°			0.83
15	°	°			0.89
16	°	°			0.95
17	°	°			1.02
18	°	°			1.09
19	°	°			1.16
20	°	°			1.23
21	°	°			1.31
22	°	°			1.38
23	°	°			1.46
24	°	°			1.53
25	°	°			1.61
26	°	°			1.69
27	°	°			1.77
28	°	°			1.85

TEMPERATURE

RAINFALL

SNOWFALL

Weather World

Follow Jerry Wofford on Twitter for updates during severe weather conditions.

Tulsa weather milestones of 2013 (as of Feb. 12)

Highest temperature: 70 on Jan. 11 (Record: 115 on Aug. 15, 1936)
Lowest temperature: 15 on Jan. 16 (Record: Minus-16 on Jan. 22, 1930)
Hottest month (average): 40.5 degrees in January (Record: 91.7 degrees on July 1980)
Coldest month (average): 40. 5 degrees in January (Record: 21.7 in January 1918)
Most snowfall (day): 0.1 of an inch on Feb. 12(Record: 13.2 inches on Feb. 1, 2011)
Most snowfall (month): 0.1 of an inch in February(Record: 22.5 inches in February 2011)
Most rainfall (day): 0.91 of an inch on Jan. 29 (Record: 9.27 inches on May 26-27, 1984)
Most rainfall (month): 1.54 of an inch in January (Record: 18.18 inches on September 1971)
Highest wind speed: 30 mph on Jan. 30
Previous day with any rain: Feb. 12
Previous day with 1 inch or more of rain: Oct. 17, 2012
Previous day with any snow: Feb. 12
Previous day with freezing temperatures: Feb. 12
Read regular updates on Oklahoma's unpredictable weather and learn more about meteorology from the Tulsa office of the National Weather Service.

>> Visit the main weather page
>> Send us your weather photos
>> Meet the forecasters

Contributors
Staff Writer Althea Peterson started writing for the Tulsa World in March 2007 after previous stops at the Norman Transcript in 2006 and the Oklahoma Gazette in 2005. She followed her older brother from rural Wisconsin (with a public school that never seemed to call snow days) to the University of Oklahoma, but did not follow his pursuit to study meteorology. However, she tries to find as many opportunities to report on the weather as possible.

Staff Writer Jerry Wofford came to the Tulsa World in 2010 from The Manhattan Mercury in Manhattan, Kan. Originally from western Arkansas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Jerry has lived in Tornado Alley his entire life and is one of those people who goes outside when the sirens go off.

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