Heat Advisory Issued for the Wasatch Front, Triple Digits Expected

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A heat advisory is in effect for the Salt Lake and Tooele valleys, and along the Wasatch Front, with temperatures expected in the triple digits.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued the heat advisory, which will be in effect from noon on Monday, July 22, until midnight on July 23.

Dr. Joseph Bledsoe with Intermountain Healthcare says the heat is something everyone should take very seriously.

“Any time the temperatures get up to 100 or above we start to worry about heat illness,” said Bledsoe. “We start to see more patients coming into the emergency department with signs of heat illness.”

Bledsoe says there’s two types of heat illness.

“One is exertional and that’s people who are out working, exercising or doing strenuous activity outside when it’s hot,” he said. “Then there’s non-exertional and that tends to be elderly people and young children.”

Signs of heat exhaustion include intense thirst, weakness, discomfort and dizziness.

Heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke.  Symptoms include confusion ad altered mental status, seizures and loss of consciousness.

Bledsoe says to avoid heat exhaustion and heat stroke, it’s important to take frequent breaks if you’re working or exercising in the sun, get into the shade and drink a lot of water.

“Eight glasses a day is what we normally recommend but it’s probably double that when it’s hot outside,” he said.

But having too much water can also lead to problems for some people.

“Water is great to drink, but water doesn’t have any sodium in it and if you’re drinking too much water without sodium it can cause a dangerously low level of sodium in your body,” Bledsoe said. “So having a little bit of Gatorade or a little bit of Vitamin Water or something with electrolytes in it is helpful to prevent that from happening.”

KSL also visited Liberty Park on Sunday.  Click the video above to see how people are beating the heat!