Latest news with #heatwave
CBS News
an hour ago
- Climate
- CBS News
Heat returns to Philadelphia Saturday with summertime humidity; gusty evening storms are likely
Saturday turns up the heat in a big way, with highs in the upper 80s and summer humidity making a comeback. It's definitely going to feel like a classic beach day, at least for a while. The catch? We're under a marginal risk (Level 1/5) from the Storm Prediction Center, which means there's potential for strong to severe thunderstorms later in the day. The timing looks to be the evening, roughly 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., and storms could bring heavy rain, gusty winds and even some hail. CBS Philadelphia So if you're making plans – whether it's backyard barbecues or boardwalk rides in Wildwood or Ocean City – aim to do them earlier in the day and be ready to pivot indoors if those storms develop. Sunday stays hot, with highs near 90, but it won't feel quite as muggy. Whether you're staying in the city or relaxing down the shore, it's shaping up to be a solid day to soak up the sun. The breeze off the water will help a bit at the beach, and overall, it looks like a quieter day weather-wise before the low 90s and storms return on Monday. Fourth of July Forecast Next week will be fairly similar day to day with heat, humidity and pop-up storms from time to time. Looking ahead to Friday, your July 4th plans should be rain-free if models hold. Our NEXT Weather team will keep you posted. Here's your 7-day forecast: CBS News Philadelphia Saturday: P.M. thunderstorm. High 89, Low 68. Sunday: Partly sunny. High 90, Low 73. Monday: Back to the 90s. High 91, Low 72. Tuesday: Thunderstorms are likely. High 88, Low 76. Wednesday: Mostly sunny. High 89, Low 72. Thursday: Mostly sunny. High 89, Low 71. Friday: Mostly sunny. High 89, Low 69. NEXT Weather Radars Hourly Forecast
The Guardian
an hour ago
- Climate
- The Guardian
How to get the most out of your window air conditioner during extreme heat
The central and eastern US have been hit with a heatwave this week, with several cities recording their highest temperatures of the year thanks to a 'heat dome'. High humidity and night-time lows are contributing to oppressive and potentially dangerous weather, making it difficult for many people to keep cool. When one's abode starts to feel more like the inside of an armpit, air conditioning can provide sweet relief. But if you live in an older home or apartment, you're less likely to have central air. That means you have to drag out whatever machine you use to keep cool. Most often, this is a window air conditioning unit, says Darcy Carbone, vice-president of sales at APA HVAC Technologies and a member of the residential buildings committee at the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. These units cool, circulate, filter and dehumidify air in a home. But using a window unit means more than just sticking it on the sill and letting it rip. Here's what you need to know to use your AC efficiently and safely. Robert Polchinski, a professor at the New York City College of Technology who helps students enter the HVAC industry, agrees that most people opt for a window unit because it is affordable. Double-hung windows – the windows that open and close vertically – are also most suited for a window unit. Alternatively, a portable AC might be more compatible with your needs: for example, if your windows crank outward. However, portable units are typically more expensive, use more energy and are less effective at cooling spaces. When you bring out your AC unit from wherever you stashed it through the winter, it's wise to go through a quick list of check-ups before putting it in the window and flipping the switch. You should repeat these actions at the end of the season, too. Taking the appropriate steps can help your AC unit last longer and protect you from unintended side effects. Clean the filters: Start by cleaning the unit's filter. If you remove the front panel, you'll see the filter, which you can slide out. These are washable, Carbone explains. Shake off any debris, wash the filter by hand with a mild dish detergent, then rinse. If you want to clean your filters again after the unit is in the window, be sure to turn off and unplug the AC first. 'Filters should be washed at the beginning of the season,' Polchinski says. 'Generally, once a year should be enough. But depending on how dirty the air is in the environment, they may need to be cleaned more than once during the season.' Check the coils: Next, Carbone recommends assessing the AC's coils. A unit has two sets of coils: evaporator coils and the condenser coils. Evaporator coils help remove hot air from your home and are located behind the filter. Condenser coils expel heat and are located at the back of the unit, near the vents. You'll want to take care of these before the unit is in the window. Remove the unit's outer casing, then use a vacuum with a hose attachment to clean off any dust and debris from the coils, says Polchinski. Allow condensation to drain: Air conditioning units create condensation, and that water has to go somewhere. Some have built-in pans, and some need to be precisely level, while others need to sit at a slope. This last group should be installed so the unit's rear is slightly tilted downward, which helps drain away any condensed water. 'You don't want to accumulate sitting water, which could lead to all kinds of bad scenarios, like a mold build-up or a potential spot for mosquito breeding,' Polchinski says. He also cautions that if the water is warm enough, this could lead to legionella, a type of bacteria that grows in water and can cause sickness. Store the unit correctly: Storage also matters, says Carbone. When summer is over, store the window unit as it would be in the window – don't be tempted to flip it on its side to squeeze it into its winter hiding spot, which can damage the compressor. For a unit to make cold air, indoor air passes through a cooling coil, which results in condensation. This condensation needs to drain; otherwise, it can cause mold growth, explains Amy Li, an assistant professor at the University of Waterloo who studies how to improve indoor air quality. While window unit filters do catch particles like dust and dander, they don't perform the same function as an air purifier, for example, unless the model has been designed specifically to do so. 'The filters used don't remove particles very effectively, so the air isn't necessarily coming out much cleaner than it went in,' says Brent Stephens, a professor at Illinois Institute of Technology who researches indoor air issues. Window units may look like they draw fresh air from outside, but they do not. Because a lack of fresh air increases how much indoor pollutants are inside, Li recommends using a carbon dioxide monitor to assess indoor air or alternating between using the AC and opening windows to encourage natural ventilation. Cleaning the unit's filters can help it stay energy efficient because clogged filters block airflow and cause problems. Dirty filters also increase the chance of mold and mildew growing inside the unit. This can lead to health issues and cause the air that exits the unit to smell musty, explains Li. Some AC units have a drain pan built into the unit to collect condensation. If this pan fills, mold can grow, which could also lead to a bad smell. Sign up to Well Actually Practical advice, expert insights and answers to your questions about how to live a good life after newsletter promotion If drainage or filters don't seem to be an issue, but you still notice a bad smell, Carbone says to open up the unit and clean the coil with bleach. If you try all the above and it still smells funny, 'get rid of it', she says. Part of AC ownership also means knowing when to say goodbye. While window units can last for eight to 10 years, certain signs can indicate that something is amiss. Polchinski explains that an AC may be at the end of its run if 'your electricity bills are running much higher, but the price of electricity hasn't changed'. If your usage hasn't increased much from year to year, that suggests your unit is running less efficiently, he explains. That might mean that the motors are getting weaker, or there could be a 'low charge in the refrigerant, which could be an indication that there's a small leak', Polchinski says. Frozen coils can also be a sign of a slow refrigerant leak, says Carbone. If you have frozen coils, there's likely ice buildup around the coils and the unit isn't efficiently cooling your home. Window units use refrigerant, a chemical cooling agent, to remove heat and humidity from a room. During the process, the refrigerant changes state from liquid to gas. A leak can cause the refrigerant to escape as a gas. If an AC is leaking liquid, that's more likely to be condensation buildup. Older units also simply don't work as well. 'You're just going to be paying for non-efficient equipment,' Carbone says. You can bring an older AC to a specialist to see if they can fix whatever's wrong. But Polchinski says that, because it's expensive to repair and AC units are getting cheaper, 'it probably doesn't pay to repair it'. Carbone doesn't personally recommend getting your AC unit secondhand and says she wouldn't opt for one that's more than five years old. She also advises that you make sure the seller has cleaned the filters and the coils. Polchinski would also look for any signs of damage to the coil, adding, 'I would want to plug it in somewhere and test it – even if it's not in a window – just to make sure that it sounds right.' Listen for loud buzzing, hissing, banging and 'pinging or scraping noises that could be an indication of rotating parts touching something that they shouldn't be touching'. When buying secondhand or new, you'll also want to consider how the AC will work for the size of your room. A bigger unit isn't necessarily better: if it's too large, it will cool the room before removing humidity, making it feel clammy. You can do some simple math to figure out the size you need. Meanwhile, Polchinski says the most energy-efficient units are those that are Energy Star-rated. Carbone says you'll also want to consider what refrigerant the AC uses. Because refrigerants absorb heat, they are helpful in cooling systems, but if they leak, they can contribute to climate change. Newer machines use more environmentally friendly refrigerants. One major mistake Polchinski observes is when 'people turn the AC unit to maximum cold thinking that is going to get the room cooler faster.' He equates it to people 'constantly pressing an elevator button, thinking that's going to make the elevator get somewhere faster'. Ultimately, an AC can only reach a programmed temperature at a certain speed. Temperature control isn't like volume control, he explains. It simply means the compressor keeps running until you get to the selected frigid setting. Another issue is that people tend to cool buildings when it's 'perfectly comfortable outside' or a ceiling fan would be sufficient, says Liz McCormick, an architect, and professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte who's written a book about the impacts of air conditioning. That's not great for the planet, and it changes our tolerance and perception of different conditions. 'It's completely changed the way we live and work,' McCormick says of air conditioning. 'But I do think we can continue to evolve the technology and find ways to balance this modern marvel with the healthful benefits of the outdoors.'
CTV News
3 hours ago
- General
- CTV News
North Toronto apartment tower without elevator
Toronto Watch Tenants in a North Toronto apartment tower have been without one elevator for months, and then lost the other one in the middle of a record heat wave. CTV's Jon Woodward reports.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Should you drink ice water in hot weather?
Things are hotting up across the U.S. — this past week saw hundreds of record highs broken from the Plains to the East Coast under the threat of an oppressive heat dome, and temperatures will soon head back up again. Staying hydrated is a crucial step to keeping safe from dangerously high temperatures. Dehydration, which occurs when the body uses or loses more fluid than it takes in and reduces your body's ability to sweat and maintain a normal temperature, can result in heat injury, urinary and kidney problems, seizures, and low blood volume that is potentially deadly. The fix is drinking more water — especially before exercise or exposure to such conditions. 'Drinking more water in hot or humid weather helps lower body temperature and replaces water lost through sweating,' the Mayo Clinic explains. But, does it matter what kind of water you drink? Is ice water in extreme heat better? Here's what the experts have to say... Some people may prefer cold water because they consider it to be thirst-quenching. However, the science doesn't point in one specific direction. One study found that crushed ice is beneficial compared with cold water when trying to work out in the heat. Other research has found that drinking hot water might help to cool you down faster in dry heat. Gastroenterologist Dr. Brian Weiner told the Cleveland Clinic that there isn't a lot of science to back up the claim of whether or not cold water is good for you. 'We all need to hydrate ourselves. That's critical. In terms of studies or science about this, it is relatively limited,' he explained. "There's absolutely no benefit to the temperature of your water. The most important thing is to stay hydrated,' registered dietitian Beth Czerwony told WKYC. Men should drink about 13 cups of water and other beverages a day. Women should drink around nine. If you're outdoors, Robert Rimorin, the athletic trainer for the University of New Mexico baseball team, said staying hydrated and drinking plenty of cool fluids can help you to avoid the two main types of heat-related illnesses, which are heat exhaustion and heat stroke. 'The first way people can prevent heat exhaustion is to stay hydrated,' Rimorin says. 'It will help keep you, your tissues and your organs cool.' Some research has found that cold water can significantly delay the increase in core body temperature during an exercise session. Weiner, who has studied water temperatures and the ice diet for years, recently explained to The Washington Post that this may be because blood vessels in the mouth and upper esophagus that are exposed to cold water and ice cool the blood that is then circulated throughout the body. Cold tap water, he said, seems to cool athletes down faster, and cold beverages were better than room-temperature or hot beverages. 'It turns out that sweating stops before fluid can completely be incorporated into the body. There's some kind of reflex that acknowledges liquid intake, and studies have shown that it kicks in more at the cold tap water level,' said Weiner. Pennsylvania Emergency Dr. Harry Emmerich told WMDT that super cold water is hard for the digestive system to handle, and can cause esophageal spasm, which creates chest pains and abdominal cramping. That's in addition to the sensation of 'brain freeze.' "It's kind of the equivalent to getting a brain freeze when you drink a slurpee. You get such a significant difference between your body temperature and the ice cold water, that will be at 32 degrees, which will cause spasm, cause your heart rate to drop, and cause your blood temperatures to drop,' he said. During heat exhaustion, drinking ice water will not cause a stroke, Shelton noted. But, it could cause someone to lose consciousness. "There are reports of rare cases who when they consume cold beverages they do pass out. This is an unrelated illness it doesn't relate to heat. This can happen to someone whether they are in warm temperatures, cold temps — it's just a nerve-related consequence that can happen," family physician Dr. Karla Robinson told WCNC. People who may be experiencing heat exhaustion should consider drinking water that's closer to room temperature, Evansville Dr. David Schultz told Tristate 'The cold ice water gets into the esophagus and the stomach, and there are nerves along the esophagus and stomach known as the vagus nerves,' Dr. Schultz explains. 'These nerves can fire up, send a signal to the brain and actually cause an individual to pass out and lose consciousness briefly.'
Washington Post
4 hours ago
- Climate
- Washington Post
A springtime day intrudes on summer's scorch
Summer in Washington is far from over. But on Friday, in a reversal of the week's scorching trend, in a halt to the recent heat wave, in a seeming refutation of cherished meteorological convictions, the afternoon's high temperature here reached only 72. However temporary the thermal respite, however short-lived might be the deviation from seasonal orthodoxy, Friday seemed a welcome interruption in the searing doomsday scenarios many Washington residents might have been gloomily concocting.
