When Did The NWS Begin Issuing ‘Extreme Heat Advisories?’

At the risk of sounding like one of the old-timers from my youth, going on and on about how much snow we used to get in Minnesota, I am going to come out and say that we didn't pay any attention to the heat when I was growing up... at least to the point of an official National Weather Service warning.

Instead, we simply looked at the thermometer (we actually had one before the internet) and if it was going to be hot out we took precautions. We drank extra water (from the hose), we removed layers of clothing (sunscreen hadn't been invented yet) and we tried desperately to find a corner of shade behind the garage while we ate our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Ah, the 80's.

I can definitely remember some scorching hot baseball games and even hotter metal slides on the playground by Clearly Lake.

Now, when the temperature reaches a certain point things get cancelled. My son has had several baseball games over the last couple of years rescheduled due to excessive heat.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not here to be the old man yelling at the clouds for blocking the sun. I think the warnings and postponement of unnecessary activities is fair and prudent.

Mostly, I am just wondering when we started getting these warnings in general from the NWS?

The National Weather Service says 175 Americans die annually from heat-related causes and 8,015 people died due to excessive heat exposure between 1979-2003.

Weather.gov:

In 1979, R. G. Steadman constructed an apparent temperature table using temperature, relative humidity, and other factors, based on a number of published research papers over a 54-year span. The National Weather Service (NWS) developed a heat index equation based on Steadman’s work as guidance for heat-related advisories or warnings. Heat advisories or warnings are issued to the public when values approach dangerous levels.

So, there you have it. The guidance for heat advisories/warnings can be traced back to 1979.

In March of 2025, the NWS changed its terminology from 'Excessive Heat Watches' to 'Extreme Heat Watches,' and from 'Excessive Heat Warnings' to 'Extreme Heat Warnings.'