Hot enough for you? August awaits toasty Tar Heels

This week has brought some relief to the wave after wave of heat North Carolina has endured this summer, but Tar Heel residents know that August, when dogs pant and air conditioning overloads result in power outages, is still to come.

The usual cautionary notes are: Don’t spend prolonged periods of time outdoors in the sun; drink water and more water, as “enough” may not be enough; treat your pets as you treat yourself.

The word of recent weeks on The News & Observer weather website has been “Alert” for all the reasons above. And indications from many forecasters are that this is going to be one of those long, hot summers, with more triple-digit high temperatures than normal.

Naturally, the high temperatures are going to prompt some heated (yes, that was intended) debate over the ozone and greenhouse gases and the human-generated pollution that seem to have prompted, at least in part, some weather extremes.

Regardless of which side of the debate you’re on, you have to agree that, in one sense, we could all go for a little climate change right about now.

This story was originally published July 22, 2015 at 5:45 PM with the headline "Hot enough for you? August awaits toasty Tar Heels."