NBC San Diego meteorologist takes surface temperature readings
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - San Diego is under an excessive heat warning this weekend. But just how hot are the surfaces that you and your family and pets frequent on a daily basis?
Even if the air temperature isn't that warm, surface temperatures can be be much warmer in comparison.
On Saturday, NBC San Diego meteorologist and journalist Brooke Martell used an infrared thermometer to take the temperature of surfaces that impact people, their kids and their pets. She took a live reading of how hot the asphalt is in the sun, and it was just around 124 degrees. That's not even the warmest temperature she recorded that day.
"I decided to come around 8:45[am]," said Helen Yapura-Weiler, a resident of La Mesa.
Get to where you're going early. That's one way to beat the heat.
"We're just enjoying the breeze. Um, it's on a little bit of a hill here," Yapura-Weiler explained.
Certain surfaces quickly heat up
But where there's direct sun, certain surfaces quickly heat up.
"Let's get a temperature reading of the surface [of] the grass...if we take a look out in the sunshine, we're getting a temperature of about 89 degrees, according to our thermometer. Now lets go over to the shade, obviously it's going to be much cooler over there, but if you take that reading you can see the temperature around 75 degrees. So about a 15 degree difference here in the shade," Martell detailed.
Just feet away at the dog park, surface temperatures were soaring.
"Once she was out, she came right back...I think it's the paws on the sand," said Ever Gonzalez, a resident of Spring Valley.
When Martell conducted a reading of the sand at the beach, it was almost 130 degrees.
Find shade
San Diego Humane Society says paws can burn on hot surfaces like asphalt or concrete. Find shade for your pet in this heat, just like Gonzalez did for her dog Emi.
"Just be aware of how they're reacting," Gonzalez declared.
The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) says human skin can sustain first degree burn at 118 degrees.
Other hot surfaces
As the morning went on, certain surfaces got further away from that threshold as Martell took a temperature reading of a tire swing.
"I think this might be the warmest temperature we've gotten so far...wow 156 degrees Fahrenheit. That is very hot," Martell remarked.
No one doesn't want to sit on this tire swing when it's very hot, but no one definitely doesn't want their kids running barefoot on the turf.
"We're going to get a temperature reading of the surface of [the] turf, let's take a look...is it going to be the warmest one so far? Oh my gosh, 166. That's the hottest so far," Martell shared.
Martell's readings are a reminder to think twice about where you sit or stand during this heat wave.
If you do burn your skin on a hot surface, medical experts say immediately immerse a burn in cool tap water or apply a cold compress, but keeping bare skin off those hot surfaces can prevent that.
