The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for today for interior York County, and Cumberland County is experiencing hot weather as well: It is possible they will issue another advisory for parts of southern and central interior Maine for tomorrow, as well as parts of the weekend. However, the entire state is experiencing warmer weather than usual.
In light of this hot spell, the CDC is asking you to reach out to your local partners and stakeholders to:
- Alert them to the forecast
- Encourage them to connect with their respective local/municipal partners around identifying and reaching out to vulnerable populations
- Encourage vulnerable populations, including older adults and small children, to stay hydrated and to stay in a cool environment
- Remind them to check with 211 about cooling center openings, and, as needed, point them to this guidance from US CDC on safe operation of cooling centers to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread in these settings: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/cooling-center.html
- Be familiar with the signs and treatments for heat related illness: https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/warning.html
More information on heat-related illness is available here: https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/environmental-health/heat/index.html. We also encourage you to use and share the near real-time heat illness displays on the Maine Tracking Network (https://data.mainepublichealth.gov/tracking/