Unique heat insight with AccuWeather's RealFeel Temperature Guide
Heat-related deaths are one of the most common weather-related health outcomes in the U.S.
A boy cools off at a fountain outside Wrigley Field before a baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals as hot weather descends upon the Chicago area Sunday, June 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
As temperatures build to their highest marks yet this year across the Midwest and Northeast, the warm sun that feels so nice on a clear summer day also brings dangers, particularly when the temperatures rise during a heat wave.
Heat-related deaths are one of the deadliest weather-related health outcomes in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which notes that all heat-related deaths and illnesses are preventable. Still, an average of 658 people a year in the U.S. die due to extreme heat.
To help people maximize their health, safety and comfort when outdoors, AccuWeather created a new and important reference tool to enable individuals and families to assess how the weather conditions impact their bodies and activities.
Called the AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature Guide, this advancement is easy to use and unlike any other safety and comfort tool previously available. AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature was invented more than 20 years ago, and the guide is the result of ongoing research and expertise and explains what the RealFeel Temperature values mean in terms of health, safety, and comfort.
“The temperature and other indices do not tell the whole story of how weather conditions make us feel,” said Dr. Joel N. Myers, AccuWeather founder and CEO and co-inventor of the AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature. “Other weather variables in addition to temperature, such as sunlight, humidity, wind, precipitation, and a multitude of other factors, can impact our comfort or discomfort outside and may even cause harm or illness. The AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature Guide is the only tool that works in all weather conditions and translates into actionable behavior choices.”
The AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature Guide offers 18 different RealFeel ranges with explanations on the meaning and impact for each in terms of health, safety and comfort along with suggestions for what clothing and activities are best suited for different types of weather conditions and what dangers may exist. The guide provides recommendations for temperatures ranging from extraordinarily dangerous heat (133 to 140 F) to extraordinarily dangerous cold (-120 to -91 F).
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In the summer, dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heatstroke are among the heat-related illnesses that resulted in 8,081 heat-related deaths in the U.S. from 1999-2010, according to the CDC.
AccuWeather’s latest innovation can be used to positively affect people’s safety, health and comfort just in time for summer heat and humidity, as well as all year long. It was developed to remedy awareness of the sometimes-profound difference between the actual temperature and how it really feels outside.
“A particular temperature may bring risk and danger, depending upon the other weather factors, which are considered only in AccuWeather’s exclusive RealFeel Temperature,” said Dr. Myers. “During summer, it may feel 20 degrees hotter on a steamy, calm day at noon with broiling sunshine compared to a cloudy, windy day with low humidity – even though the air temperatures are identical. Similarly, the perception of what 7-degree temperatures could mean on a cold day in winter could vary from 40 below zero to 20 above. The RealFeel Temperature is the only index that provides this information, and the uniquely valuable AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature Guide will enable people to better anticipate what potential threats to comfort or safety they may face when outdoors.”
The guide below details the meaning and impact of AccuWeather's RealFeel Temperature. (Click on it to enlarge)
