SWELTERING HEAT INVADES REGION; HEAT, HUMIDITY CALLED `BRUTAL'; NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEES NO IMMEDIATE RELIEF

While meteorologists chat about high pressure areas, cool fronts and heat indexes, the non-experts know only one thing.

It's hot. Really hot.

Experts with the National Weather Service in Paducah predict Southeast Missouri residents won't get any relief from the heat until Sunday or Monday, when thunderstorms may move into the area.

The problem now is a high pressure area that won't budge, said NWS meteorologist Chris Noles. It is creeping northeast toward Illinois, but temperatures will be only three or four degrees cooler after it leaves.

"We have a brutal combination with this heat and humidity," Noles said. "There's nothing to bring us any relief, no system to drive anything through."

Actual air temperature reached 98 degrees Thursday, but it felt like 105 degrees. Experts decide how it feels with an eight-line formula to compute the heat index -- a mixture of the temperature and humidity.

Noles said the peak temperature for this weather system may have been Thursday's 98 or may be reached today. The last time the mercury hit 100 degrees in Southeast Missouri was July 28, 1993.

Dr. Al Robertson, a climatologist with Southeast Missouri State University, has been tracking the recent high temperatures. He said they feel somewhat worse than usual due to an incredibly cool first week of July.

Robertson doesn't track humidity, so he couldn't say whether the heat index was higher or lower than usual for this time of year.

The relative humidity, or amount of moisture the air will hold at a certain temperature, is around 60 percent, causing fog in the early morning when it's cooler.

Humans suffer when humidity is high because their cooling systems don't work as well. The body produces sweat to cool off, but when the relative humidity is high, the sweat just sits there instead of evaporating and making the body cooler.

The result can be heat stroke or heat exhaustion. With heat exhaustion, the victim puts out more fluids than he takes in, so fluids must be replenished by mouth or intravenous tubes.

With heat stroke, the victim's body is unable to get rid of heat. Treatment may include an ice-water bath or a cool mist combined with a fan.

Dr. Ken DeCoursey, an emergency room physician at St. Francis Medical Center, said these problems can be avoided if people drink plenty of water and stay out of the heat as much as possible.

They should also avoid alcoholic beverages, which constrict blood vessels and don't allow for proper cooling. Allergy medication can cause heat-related problems, too.

Even with the high temperatures, however, DeCoursey hasn't seen many victims of heat stroke or heat exhaustion, treating only two construction workers with such problems. The story was much the same at Southeast Missouri Hospital.

Some in other cities haven't been so lucky. A 36-year-old Kansas City woman died Wednesday in her second-floor apartment, and officers at the scene said the temperature was about 125 degrees.

Such tragedy may be avoided in this area if people take advantage of air-conditioned buildings. The Salvation Army building is open for visitors during office hours, and has chairs and water fountains. The organization also is offering a loan-a-fan program, with free fans for people who have children under 5, for senior citizens over 55 and for anyone with a disability and a doctor's confirmation of it.