Excessive-heat warning extended for Pinal, 5 other counties across Arizona

The National Weather Service has extended an excessive-heat warning for Pinal County and five others across Arizona — Coconino, La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave and Yuma — through Wednesday, Sept. 7, at 8 p.m.

Daytime high temperature could reach 115 degrees. Residents are advised to stay cool, stay hydrated and stay informed.

Precautions to prevent heat exhaustion or heat stroke:

• Stay in air-conditioned buildings. Find cooling centers, hydration stations and collection/donation sites in Maricopa, Pima and Yuma counties.
• Limit outdoor activity during the hottest part of the day (mid-day).
• Check on at-risk friends, family and neighbors at least twice a day.
• Drink water before, during and after working or exercising outside.
• Check the UV Index.

Heat affects everyone differently. In order to better address heat risk and allow you to prepare for upcoming heat events, the NWS has developed the HeatRisk prototype forecast, which provides a quick view of heat-risk potential over the coming seven days.

Heat risk is portrayed in a numeric (0-4) and color (green, yellow, orange, red, magenta) scale similar to the Air Quality Index or the UV Index.

In a similar way, it provides one value each day that indicates the approximate level of heat-risk concern for any location, along with identifying the groups who are most at risk.

This product is supplementary to the official NWS heat watch/warning/advisory program and is meant to provide continuously available heat-risk guidance for those decision makers and heat-sensitive populations who need to take actions at levels that may be below current NWS heat-product levels.