Heat Advisory to the west, hot in Atlanta

Submitted by Michael H. King, Digital Executive Producer

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012, 6:06pm

ATLANTA -- The National Weather Service in Birmingham has issued a Heat Advisory for Cleburne and Randolph counties in Alabama for Wednesday. The two Alabama counties -- which border Georgia -- are in the far western portion of the Atlanta area.

Weather service forecasters say temperatures in those areas will move into the high 90s and heat index values are expected to top out near 105, which may be considered hazardous for many people. Viewers are advised to take extra precautions when spending time outside and to be aware of the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

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Closer to the city of Atlanta, temperatures Wednesday are expected to move into the mid-to-upper 90s, with increased heat index values coming into play here as well.

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Georgia drought affecting lakes

Submitted by Allison Chinchar, Meteorologist

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012, 4:39pm

(WXIA) -- As of last week, more than 70 percent of Georgia is still under a drought, and 55-percent is currently under a severe drought. In the last five months rainfall totals have been below normal, and while we did get some decent rainfall amounts last week, it wasn't enough to make an impact on our drought.

Above is a map of those rainfall totals from last week. Newton County picked up over three inches of rain from last Tuesday to this Tuesday. In Henry County they saw one-point-five inches of rain in that same time. Decent amounts also in Forsyth county with just a little over an inch, but in Cobb County, they saw only a half an inch total.

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Georgia Drought Affecting Lakes

Submitted by Allison Chinchar, Meteorologist

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012, 4:16pm

As of last week, more than 70-percent of Georgia is still under a drought, and 55-percent is currently under a severe drought. In the last 5 months rainfall totals have been below normal, and while we did get some decent rainfall amounts last week, it wasn't enough to make an impact on our drought.

Above is a map of those rainfall totals from last week. Newton County picked up over 3 inches of rain from last Tuesday to this Tuesday. In Henry County they saw 1.5 inches of rain in that same time. Decent amounts also in Forsyth county with just a little over an inch, but in Cobb county, they saw only a half an inch total.

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Tuesday Afternoon Weather Update

Submitted by Mike Francis, Chief Meteorologist

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012, 3:50pm

For more weather updates and some good humor head to my facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/11AliveMikeFrancis

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Heat sticks around for a while

Submitted by Chris Holcomb, 11Alive Meteorologist

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012, 8:21am

More heat will be with us today. We will have a high this afternoon of 95 degrees. It will feel hotter because the humidity will be high, too. The heat index will be around 100 degrees this afternoon. We will be just below record highs for today's date and tomorrow's date. See below for a look at the records for Wednesday and Thursday for Atlanta, Athens, Macon and Columbus:

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Monday Evening Webcast

Submitted by Mike Francis, Chief Meteorologist

Monday, July 23rd, 2012, 8:48pm

For the latest updates and a little weather humor, follow me on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/11AliveMikeFrancis

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Do Fans Actually Cool You?

Submitted by Allison Chinchar, Meteorologist

Monday, July 23rd, 2012, 3:23pm

It’s a hot day and there is no air conditioning, the solution is a no-brainer right? Grab an electric fan to cool yourself off! Well, new research from the non-profit medical group Cochrane Collaboration says there's actually no hard evidence that fans are either an effective or safe way to beat the heat.

Based on this evidence, the researchers concluded that electric fans could potentially do more harm than good at temperatures above 95 degrees. 95! We’ve already spent a dozen days this summer above 95, so that is a big concern. We’ve always known that fans don’t actually cool the air temperature, but they were thought to help regulate human body temperature by assisting with physiological mechanisms, such as sweating, which promotes heat loss.