All good things come to an end, as they say (whoever they are). After a pretty nice stretch of weather over the past month with temperatures in the 80s and humidity staying on the lower end of things more often than not, things are about to get a lot warmer in the three states with a heat wave that is expected to cover the region for the majority of next week.

“Prolonged heat wave likely next week” – National Weather Service

Residents will start to notice an increase in temperature from Sunday, with forecasts calling for mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the 90s. It will only get warmer (i.e. worse) from there, according to a tweet from the National Weather Service Friday morning calling for a “prolonged heat wave” to set in Monday and last most of the week.

The National Weather Service predicts temperatures in the upper 90s and could hit triple digits on Tuesday and Wednesday. Of course, it’s not the heat here, it’s the humidity that will draw you in, as we like to say, and there will be plenty of that too with the daily heat index expected to hit close to 110 degrees. .

Although we will have a little respite when the sun goes down, it won’t be much. We spoke with meteorologist Joe Bird from our media partner WEHT/WTVW Eyewitness News who said temperatures will likely hover around the 80 degree mark before the sun rises mid-week. Ugh. It seems like we all get into a case of instant sweats as soon as we step outside.

How to stay safe in extreme heat

All kidding aside, we’re no strangers to this type of weather during the summer months, and it’s important to take it seriously to avoid any major health issues. Especially if you have to be outside in the heat for long periods because of your job, or if you attend an outdoor sporting event like a youth baseball game.

One of the biggest problems you could find yourself in would be dealing with heat exhaustion or heat stroke, the latter being the more dangerous of the two. Here’s how to tell if you or someone you know has either, courtesy of the National Weather Service:

To help you avoid encountering either of these problems, the National Weather Service offers the following tips to help keep you safe:

• Limit strenuous activities to the early morning or evening hours, if possible
• Take frequent breaks in air-conditioned areas
• To drink a lot of water

If you have elderly family members or neighbors, be sure to check on them frequently as they are more likely to develop heatstroke. Also, if you have pets or livestock outside, make sure they have plenty to drink and a shady place to rest. And finally, DO NOT leave children or pets in a locked car for any length of time while they run errands. Even if you think you’ll only be there for a minute. The temperature inside a car can rise well above the temperature outside in just a few minutes.

Unfortunately, it looks like we’ll be stuck with temperatures over 90 degrees for the foreseeable future, according to The Weather Channel, with little to no rain to bring us relief anytime soon. Be careful!

[Sources: National Weather Service on Twitter / Lifespan.org / The Weather Channel]