Distribution of Extreme Heat Days Across Louisiana

Details

• Personal Author:
  Anderson J ; Keim B ; Reilly A ; Thompson D
• Description:
  In August 2018, Louisiana summer weather made national news when Forbes published a blog post by climate scientist Brian Brettschneider titled "Who Has the Most Oppressive Weather?" The author determined that Louisiana "is the epicenter of summertime oppressive weather." This was based on the evaluation of temperature data from 380 weather stations across the country between noon and 6 p.m. from 1998-2017. Oppressiveness was defined as either a temperature or heat index ≥ 95 degrees F or a dew point ≥ 75 degrees F coupled with a wind speed ≤ 10 mph. Based on these parameters, Louisiana spent 40-70% of the summers from 1998-2017 between the hours of noon and 6 p.m. in oppressive heat. Conditions that promote oppressive summer heat are very light winds and a consistently high dew point in the Lower Mississippi River Valley. Even if the temperature does not reach 95 degrees F, the heat index or dew point criteria are usually met. This issue of the Louisiana Morbidity Report discusses extreme heat and heat-stress illness (HSI). Two articles in this edition report on HSI for the state and by climate division from 2010-2016. One article examines HSI in the entire population while the other focuses on workers. Both articles examine the relationship between temperature and heat index and HSI emergency department visits. This article discusses extreme heat in Louisiana's climate divisions. Information is provided about temperature normals, actual temperature and heat index data for 2010-2016 as well as extreme temperature and heat index thresholds utilized in both of the above-mentioned studies. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Heat Stress Disorders Hot Temperature Humidity Occupational Health Safety Temperature
• Keywords:
  Climatic Conditions Heat Exhaustion Heat Stress Hot Environments Seasonal Factors Temperature Effects
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Newsletter
• Place as Subject:
  Louisiana ; OSHA Region 6
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-5
• Volume:
  1
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066177
• Citation:
  LA Morbid Rep: Environ Occup Ed, 2019 Nov; 1(1):1-5
• Contact Point Address:
  Louisiana Morbidity Report, Section of Environmental Epidemiology and Toxicology, Louisiana Department of Health, P.O. Box 60630, New Orleans, LA 70160
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• Performing Organization:
  Louisiana State Office of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20150720
• Source Full Name:
  Louisiana Morbidity Report: Environmental and Occupational Edition
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:679eff529386056b84326e496e6fea2e1c8a182abe0683dc54b5c10a111ec0e4727f1d6b426419e89b0719536eb7a60c3e23aee952a850fa69d8e77fabc5307f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/212677/cdc_212677_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 656.67 KB ]