With temperatures climbing into the high 70s last weekend, the water warming up little by little, and kids wrapping up the school year, summer’s off to a strong start on the beach.
To no one’s surprise, the recent heat has already brought more people to our beaches, and forecasters are expecting temperatures well above normal later this week. Starting this Thursday, a heat advisory will be in effect, with temperatures in the 80s from Thursday through Sunday.
On hot days like this, the biggest danger on the beach isn’t always the ocean. Sometimes it’s people forgetting how easily the heat can affect them.
The sand gets so hot, walking without flip flops becomes a near impossible feat. From the chair, kids can be seen running, hopping, and screaming, trying to reach the water before their toes burn off. Sitting on the beach without an umbrella for more than twenty minutes starts to feel like sitting in a fire pit, and the ocean becomes the only refuge. Having a cold bottle of water is synonymous with owning a piece of gold.
It’s usually around this time in the summer that we get a few guys selling bottled water out of coolers right on the boardwalk.
In past years, we’ve seen our fair share of dehydration, fainting, heat exhaustion, extreme sunburns, and really, really drunk people (one in the sun is two in the shade!), so it’s important to be prepared for just as many, if not more, land cases as water cases.
One hot morning last year, we had an older woman faint on the shoreline, and she ended up with a gash through her lip from her fall. Her husband got our attention, and we treated her wound with the help of EMS, who recommended stitches. She was confused and lightheaded after fainting from the heat, so we kept her in the shade and gave her water until she was feeling well enough to leave the beach.
A couple years ago, there was a case of heat exhaustion at just 11 a.m. Guards got the woman into the shade and asked if she had any water. She had only a singular plastic bottle of water with just two sips left in it on a 90-degree day.
So, if you’re headed to the beach this weekend, bring more water than you think you need—one Poland Spring bottle isn’t going to cut it. And no, nutcrackers do not count as hydration. Take breaks from the sun in the shade, and don’t underestimate how quickly the sun can get to you.
As always, we’ll be watching the water carefully, but weekends like this remind us that it’s just as important to keep an eye on the sand!
