Hot-weather forecast graphic from the National Weather Service.
Hey Fort Smith — if you were hoping Monday night would be the end of this latest round of dangerous heat, we’ve got some bad news.
The National Weather Service in Tulsa has issued another Heat Advisory for Tuesday, Sept. 1, covering north and central Sebastian County and southern Crawford County, including Fort Smith and Van Buren.
The new advisory runs from noon until 8 p.m. Tuesday.
That’s an actual new development from the advisory we told you about earlier.
Monday’s advisory was scheduled to expire at 8 p.m., but forecasters have now added another eight-hour advisory period for Tuesday afternoon and evening.
And looking at the numbers, it isn’t hard to see why.
Fort Smith is expected to be sunny and around 102°F Tuesday afternoon.
Van Buren is looking at similar temperatures, with the National Weather Service forecasting a heat index as high as roughly 106°F.
That means what your body actually feels in the afternoon can be several degrees hotter than the thermometer says.
Monday gave us a pretty good preview.
At 5:53 p.m., the Fort Smith Regional Airport was still reporting 102°F with a heat index of 103°F.
That’s late enough in the afternoon that you’d normally hope things were already starting to settle down.
Instead, we were still sitting above 100.
The National Weather Service says heat-related illnesses remain possible, especially for people who aren’t acclimated to this kind of heat or anyone doing strenuous outdoor activity.
And Tuesday is another normal workday.
Construction crews, roofers, landscapers, delivery drivers, utility workers, mechanics and plenty of other people around Fort Smith and Van Buren don’t exactly have the option of sitting inside all afternoon.
If you’re one of them, tomorrow isn’t the day to try proving how much heat you can tolerate.
The National Weather Service recommends moving strenuous outdoor activity toward the early morning or evening whenever possible.
Wear lightweight clothing.
Drink water regularly instead of waiting until you feel thirsty.
And actually take a break somewhere cooler when your body needs one.
The signs of heat exhaustion can start with heavy sweating, weakness, headache, dizziness, nausea or muscle cramps.
If somebody becomes confused, loses consciousness or seems severely overheated, that’s a much more serious situation and shouldn’t be ignored.
There’s another thing about this stretch of weather that’s easy to overlook.
It isn’t cooling off much overnight either.
Fort Smith and Van Buren are expected to stay around the mid-to-upper 70s overnight.
That means pavement, roofs, vehicles, buildings and outdoor equipment don’t get much time to dump all the heat they absorbed during the day before the next round starts.
That can also be rough on older homes or anybody dealing with an air conditioner that’s already struggling to keep up.
If you have an older relative or neighbor living alone, tonight is probably a good time to check whether their house is actually staying cool instead of just asking if they’re okay.
And obviously, don’t leave kids or pets inside a parked vehicle.
At 100-plus degrees outside, the inside of a vehicle becomes dangerous extremely fast.
The bigger concern is that Tuesday may not even be the worst of it.
The latest Fort Smith forecast keeps daytime highs around 100°F or higher through much of the week.
Wednesday is currently forecast around 100°F with the heat index potentially reaching about 108°F.
Thursday, Friday and the weekend are still showing temperatures near 100 as well.
So Tuesday’s Heat Advisory might expire at 8 p.m., but that doesn’t necessarily mean the broader heat problem is finished.
If another advisory or warning gets issued for Wednesday, that would be the next weather update worth paying attention to.
Community takeaway: The National Weather Service has added another Heat Advisory for Fort Smith, Van Buren and portions of Sebastian and Crawford counties from noon until 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1. Temperatures around 102°F and a heat index near 106°F are possible. Monday evening was still above 100°F in Fort Smith, and the latest forecast keeps dangerous heat around for several more days. If you can move outdoor work out of the afternoon, do it. Hydrate, take cooling breaks and check on people whose AC may not be keeping up.
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Sources: National Weather Service — Tuesday Heat Advisory · National Weather Service — Fort Smith forecast · National Weather Service — Van Buren forecast
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