With heat index values topping 108 degrees, Georgia is under a Heat Advisory today, and the worst isn’t over yet.
🌡️ Why It Matters: High humidity and soaring temperatures are a serious health risk, especially for the elderly, outdoor workers, and anyone without access to air conditioning. Heat-related illnesses like heat exhaustion and heat stroke can strike fast, particularly in urban areas where concrete and asphalt lock in the heat.
🌩️ What’s Happening: The National Weather Service says peak heat index values are expected to push past 105 degrees again today, with the most extreme conditions hitting the late afternoon hours. Forecasters expect:
- Scattered storms developing later today could bring gusty winds, lightning, and downpours.
- Heat concerns will persist through Friday, particularly in middle Georgia.
What is the Heat Index?: The heat index refers to what the temperature feels like when the air temperature is combined with relative humidity. The thermometer in your car may report 90 degree temperatures, but the humidity means that to your body, it will feel like it is over 100 degrees. The heat index is sometimes called the “apparent temperature.”
🌬️ The Relief: If you can tough it out through Friday, help is on the way. A cold front is expected to move in late Friday into Saturday morning, bringing much-needed cooler and drier air for the weekend.
🚨 Between the Lines: The combination of extreme heat and a growing population—particularly in places like Forsyth, Gwinnett, and Cobb Counties—puts added strain on public resources. Cooling centers have opened in some cities, while others are urging residents to check on vulnerable neighbors and limit outdoor activity.
The Sources: National Weather Service Atlanta.\
How to Read and Understand the News
Truth doesn’t bend because we dislike it.
Facts don’t vanish when they make us uncomfortable.
Events happen whether we accept them or not.
Good reporting challenges us. The press isn’t choosing sides — it’s relaying what official, verified sources say. Blaming reporters for bad news is like blaming a thermometer for a fever.
Americans have a history of misunderstanding simple things. In the 1980s, A&W rolled out a 1/3-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder. It failed because too many people thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If we can botch basic math, we can certainly misread the news.
Before dismissing a story, ask yourself:
- What evidence backs this?
- Am I reacting to facts or feelings?
- What would change my mind?
- Am I just shooting the messenger?
And one more: Am I assuming bias just because I don’t like the story?
Smart news consumers seek truth, not comfort.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
