What is the #1 weather-related killer in the USA? You might be surprised

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What is the #1 weather-related killer in the USA? You might be surprised

19/06/2009 4:00am

> From the WeatherWatch archives

America is certainly well known for it’s weather extremes. But perhaps less well known is the number 1 weather related killer.

This from our weather partner in Atlanta…

From weather.com

This graph below says it all. Tornadoes and hurricanes get all the attention but would you believe heat is the number one weather-related killer in the United States.

Heat is the #1 weather-related killer in the U.S.

2008 heat fatalities statistics:

71 killed
39 of those occurred in a home with little/no A/C
Pennsylvania had the most fatalities (27)
58 of those killed were 50 years old or older
46 of those killed were male

Comments

The Ceej on 15/05/2014 9:55am

Unless you buy into the propaganda, this isn’t surprising at all. Listen to your own body. Heat is a killer. Cold, by comparison, is a harmless puppy, but they get all up in arms about that. You never hear about all the people killed by heat every year, but you hear about EVERY SINGLE CASE where someone died and cold was even a factor, even if it was their stupdity that killed them…

Also, dry heats are A LOT WORSE than humid heats. Remember the old adage: Hot and wet will make you sweat, but hot and dry will make you fry.

Rachel jennings on 19/06/2009 7:49pm

Hi all

That’s really interesting. What doesn’t help is when the sweat on your skin fails to evaporate meaning that your body cannot cool therefore your core temperature can rise quickly. Air Conditioning is good but drinking a lot of water and making sure you are keeping cool as possible is a good idea, ie tepid showers or something.