Bay Area heat advisory issued as high temperatures create dangerous outdoor conditions

TAMPA, Fla. - The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for the Bay Area and much of west-central Florida on Thursday as dangerous heat and humidity are creating potentially dangerous conditions across the region.

Bay Area heat advisory

What we know:

The heat advisory was in effect from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. Thursday for numerous counties across the Bay Area and surrounding communities.

FOX 13 meteorologist Dave Osterberg said Thursday morning that high temperatures and oppressive humidity could push heat index values, or "feels-like" temperatures, up to 110 degrees during the hottest part of the day.

The National Weather Service warned that prolonged exposure to the heat could pose a threat to life and property, particularly for people who may be vulnerable or living alone.

Counties included in the advisory included:

• Pinellas County
• Coastal and inland Hillsborough County
• Pasco County
• Coastal and inland Hernando County
• Polk County
• Coastal and inland Sarasota County
• Coastal and inland Manatee County
• Coastal and inland Citrus County
• Sumter County
• Hardee County
• DeSoto County
• Highlands County

Heat safety tips

What you can do:

The National Weather Service recommended residents take the following precautions:

• Drink plenty of water throughout the day.
• Limit strenuous outdoor activities during the advisory period.
• Stay in air-conditioned buildings whenever possible.
• Check on older relatives, neighbors and others who may be vulnerable to extreme heat.

Officials also stress that children and pets should never be left alone inside a vehicle, even for a short period of time, as temperatures inside vehicles can rise rapidly to deadly levels within minutes.

Dig deeper:

Doctors encourage people to drink both water and electrolytes to make sure you're staying properly hydrated in this weather.

"If you're out for an hour, you're maybe sitting in the sun doing a light activity, it's probably okay if you're just drinking water," Dr. Jasmine Patterson, with Muma Children's Hospital at TGH, said. "But, if you are a construction worker, or you're a roofer, you're out all day, you are sweating a lot, and you're losing a lot of sodium and potassium in your sweat and so, after about an hour, you really need to be replacing with electrolyte fluids so that you're gaining those things back."

Doctors say you should also be conscious of how much sugar is in your electrolyte drink or packet. They say you can make an at-home drink with water, lemon, honey and salt.

Doctors say that once the temperature reaches about 100 degrees, they typically see more cases of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

"They'll come to us when they're already in the state of heat exhaustion, and then they can progress to heat stroke," Dr. Laura Hummel, with the AdventHealth Emergency Department, said. "So, they'll come in usually like, in heat exhaustion, where they're having symptoms of lightheadedness, muscle cramping, just feeling overall really tired or fatigued, and then sometimes even with vomiting, as well. And then when it progresses to heat stroke, that's when they're confused, having decreased urine output. So having signs of organ damage because they're so overheated and dehydrated."

Doctors urge people to take these symptoms seriously. They say children and older adults are more susceptible to these risks.

Local perspective:

The City of Tampa is also opening up several cooling stations for residents from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday. Those locations can be found here.

Hillsborough County will also be offering cooling kits to people who are unsheltered, which will be available for pickup during business hours at the following locations: 

• John F. Germany Public Library
• Saunders Public Library
• Lee Davis Community Resource Center
• West Tampa Community Resource Center
• University Community Resource Center

Tampa