COLUMBIA, MO. -- Mother Nature is heating things up this week as we return to summertime temperatures during late spring.
The heat index was near 100 degrees today and it appears it will be that hot again tomorrow.
Boone County Health Officials said heat can especially affect the very young, the elderly and the chronically ill because they are more vulnerable to the effects of high temperatures.
Boone County Health Department Administrators are offering 7 Cooling Centers in Columbia for people without air-conditioning.
Columbia’s Cooling Centers are always available during business hours.
Dozens of people found relief from the heat at the Salvation Army’s Harbor House shelter.
Salvation Army Regional Coordinator Major K. Kendall Mathews said, “This blistering heat can be life-threatening. We want people to know that they can come out of the heat into a Cooling Center.”
The Salvation Army’s Center for Hope shelter in Jefferson City also acts as a Cooling Center.
Health officials said it’s really important to check on the elderly in your neighborhood a couple of times a day when it’s this hot.
You should also never leave your children or your pets in unsupervised, unair-conditioned areas such as a locked vehicle.
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