With intense heat sticking around, there’s several ways to prevent heat illnesses

The weather team has extended our weather alert day into tomorrow due to strong heat hanging on. Temperatures will be slightly cooler, but because of morning rain chances, we'll see an increase in humidity levels. These humidity levels play directly into the heat index, which will be in the 100-105 range, putting mid-Missouri in dangerous heat conditions.

The key tomorrow is going to be extra hydration and getting in the shade if you feel that you're starting to overheat. With this humidity, the body will not be able to properly cool itself since the sweat can't evaporate and begin the cooling process. The body will still keep trying to cool itself though, leading to more excessive sweating, and an elevated level of fluids lost. With all this in mind, time for dehydration and heat related illnesses to occur are a bit more accelerated.

Jumping in the pool can be a great idea to cool off in this strong heat, but you should make sure you're applying sunscreen of SPF 50 or higher every 90 minutes to 2 hours in order to avoid sunburn. The UV Index for mid-Missouri tomorrow is forecasted to be at 10 after those morning/early afternoon showers. This means it'll only take 15-25 minutes to receive a sunburn while unprotected. Even if you aren't getting in the pool and just spending a prolonged period of time outside, it's a good idea to throw on that extra protection.