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New on DVD: ‘I Saw the Light,’ ‘House of Cards’ top new DVD releases this week

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Happy birthday Sean Murach!

If the weather wonks are correct, the mercury – or for you digital devotees, the smartphone weather widget – will register 90 degrees Friday, making this an official “heat wave.”

<em>Well thanks</em>, you say, a<em>s if my sticky armpits and wet brow didn’t already make that obvious.</em>

According to Accuweather.com, in the northern states a heat wave is “loosely” defined as “a three-day or longer stretch of 90-degree temperatures or higher.”

Of course, it’s relative. Somewhere in Algeria a guy is telling a friend: “Hey, guess what? We’re in a cool spell. Yet by Pennsylvania standards, we had three heat waves here in the last nine days.”

Still, it’s clearly time in Northeastern Pennsylvania for some hot weather pointers. For starters, it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity. Actually it’s both. Humidity makes it harder for your body to cool, so while the temperature is the important thing, it’s not the only thing.

No, you can’t fry an egg on the sidewalk. Eggs need to be at least 144 degrees to be cooked, according to eggsafety.org. Meaning if it’s hot enough to sunny side an egg on the sidewalk, you’ll likely die frying. (Blame that poor pun on our heat-addled brains.)

If you think it’s hot now, be glad you weren’t in El Azizia, Libya, in 1922, when the world-record high of 136 degrees Fahrenheit was set.

Actually, the World Meteorological Organization disqualified that record in 2012. The new high is 134 degrees Fahrenheit in Death Valley, California, in 1913. The WMO concluded the Libya record was untrustworthy because an untrained observer using unsuitable replacement equipment improperly recorded the observation and was off by about seven degrees Celsius, which, in Fahrenheit, is …

You know what? Forget about it.

It’s too hot, even for mental exercises.

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<strong>Hot weather advice</strong>

• Slow down, avoid strenuous work.

• Wear lightweight, light-colored clothes.

• Avoid high-protein foods and meat; they can increase heat production.

• Drink lots of water; keep hydrated. (Yes, it’s redundant, but it’s that important).

• Find a place with air conditioning: a movie theater, friend’s house, anywhere you’re not trespassing.

• Avoid too much sun, and use sunscreen. Sunburn makes things worse by making it harder for your body to cool.

• Cars heat up faster than most people realize, so avoid being in – or leaving kids or pets in – a parked car with its windows closed.

• Check on elderly family, friends or neighbors.

• Keep an eye on pets, providing ample water and shade.

• Be prepared for power outages. When everyone cranks up the A-C, fans and pool filters, the grid risks overload.

-- <em>Times Leader staff</em>
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Our Opinion: Coping with heat wave can be a breeze; heed these 10 safety tips