Heading out this weekend? Follow these tips as temperatures soar into the 90s
As temperatures in the Triangle soar into the 90s over the next couple of days, officials are reminding people headed outside this weekend to drink plenty of water and be mindful of the potentially record-setting heat.
Temperatures on Friday were expected to reach a high of 97 degrees in Raleigh and 96 degrees in Durham, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). At Raleigh-Durham International Airport, on Thursday, officials already recorded the highest minimum temperature (70 degrees) observed in the 135 years that records have been kept.
In Raleigh, the sweltering heat will continue on Saturday, with a high of up to 93 degrees, and Sunday as well, with a high of 91 degrees.
The heat will clash with at least two major outdoor events this weekend: the highly anticipated two-day Artsplosure festival, which is returning to downtown Raleigh for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic; and the Bimbé Cultural Arts Festival on Saturday at Durham’s Rock Quarry Park.
In a news release, Durham city officials said there would be a hydration station offering people free drinking water to cool off, as well as a water-misting tent to give people some more relief from the heat. Officials also recommended that people wear sunscreen and loose clothing that is light-weight and light-colored, to stay as cool as possible.
Prolonged exposure to high temperatures can also cause heat exhaustion, which can lead to a heat stroke, the weather service advised.
Symptoms of heat exhaustion include dizziness, thirst, heavy sweating, nausea and weakness, the NWS said. If you’re experiencing those symptoms, you should immediately move to a cooler area, loosen your clothing and continue to sip cool water.
If you stay in the heat, however, you can experience confusion, dizziness, or become unconscious, which are signs of a heat stroke. In that case, you should cool yourself with water or ice and immediately call 911, the NWS said.
Heat follows thunderstorms and power outages
The weekend heat comes after thunderstorms moved through the Triangle on Thursday night, leaving thousands of people without power for several hours.
As of Friday morning, nearly 3,000 customers in the area remained without power. Most of the outages, affecting nearly 2,000 customers, were concentrated in an area southwest of Garner, along Fayetteville Road, according to Duke Energy.
Multiple outages were reported after midnight and were caused “by fallen trees or limbs damaging our equipment,” the energy provider said.
The estimated time of restoration for more than 1,000 customers in the area was 2:10 p.m., Duke Energy said — more than 14 hours after the power went out.
The National Weather Service had warned just before 10 p.m. Thursday that “isolated to scattered thunderstorms” were growing rapidly and could move through a portion of central North Carolina including the Triangle between 1 and 2 a.m.
Over the next two hours, the weather service issued severe thunderstorm warnings, first for areas including Durham and Chapel Hill, and then Cary and Raleigh.
Shortly after 12:30 a.m., the NWS warned that the thunderstorm passing through Raleigh and the rest of Wake County would produce wind gusts up to 80 mph.
In a post on Twitter, the weather service described the storm as a “life threatening situation” and advised people to immediately take shelter.
The NWS also sent emergency mobile alerts, which told people to seek shelter in sturdy buildings, away from windows, and watch for flying debris.
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This story was originally published May 20, 2022 at 8:21 AM with the headline "Heading out this weekend? Follow these tips as temperatures soar into the 90s."
