Hot cars pose danger with Las Vegas under excessive heat watch this week

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Southern Nevada will be under an excessive heat watch this week with near-record temperatures in the forecast.

The heat watch starts Thursday and lasts through Sunday. Forecasters project high temperatures of 107 degrees and higher on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Increasing temperatures could create danger for your family. Leaving a child in a car can be dangerous.

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's Strong4Life program says when it's 75 degrees it takes 30 minutes for the inside of a car to hit 104 degrees. At 95 degrees outside it takes five minutes for the inside of a car to reach 102 degrees.

"Children, they don't do a very good job of sweating. They also dehydrate very, very quickly and they don't evaporate the heat as quickly from their skin as adults. Which makes being in a hot environment, including being in a hot car, a particularly dangerous situation for small children and infants" said Dr. Maneesha Agarwal, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

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Agarwal says many times exhausted parents accidentally forget their child is in the car. Parents should call 911 immediately if there are signs of heat stroke in their child.

The Salvation Army's day shelter located at 35 West Owens Ave. is back open.

If you need a place to get cool as the summer temperatures heat up, the day shelter and cooling station can serve about 300 people daily.

People can take showers, do laundry, and stay hydrated at the facility, according to the Salvation Army.

It will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Those interested in donating cases and pallets of water to the shelter can do so daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Read and watch the full forecast at www.ktnv.com/weather.