Storm Stories: Heat Wave

It seriously is so hot outside right now.

The thermometer says 97 in Van Buren... and it looks like the trend will continue for the next couple weeks.

This type of forecast would have driven me crazy when I was in news.

You see, my last job in news was coming up with the stories for the day.... and a heat wave meant that we had to pull out the same stories we had done (in my case for 15 years) and find a new way to tell them.

Since it's summer, I'll go ahead and tell you what you will see on TV over the next couple weeks... that way you can forget about it and spend the week doing something fun with your family!

First, you can expect to see a a cool new "open", I'm going to bet it will be comprised of video of the sun, maybe with video of an "outdoor" worker wiping his brow...

then the News Anchor will say something like " it's the third day of searing heat... and it's not going to end anytime soon! We begin our heat wave coverage with a look at the forecast!"

now, after that... they'll pitch to a reporter whose probably doing a story about outdoor workers and what they're doing to keep cool...

out of that, expect to see HEAT STROKE tips... the standards... first you feel dizzy, nausea... then you stop sweating.... that will probably be on a "Heat Wave" background... which is really just a still of the open.

from there, I'm going to guess we may pitch to another reporter doing a story about a daycare... maybe a look at how they're keeping the kids inside all day since it's so hot... and when they DO let the kids out.... they slather them with????? You guessed it... Sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher!

That gets us to our NEXT still screen... Tips on picking a good sunscreen.

Out of that, almost certainly, the Anchor will pitch to the website saying something like "or more information on the heat wave or for tips on staying cool... log onto our website"

The week will be filled with people trying to come up with new ways to tell the "it's hot" story....

You'll see such favorites as-
* old or poor person cools down with just a fan
*old or poor person relies on "Cool Zones" to keep cool
*Local Agencies helping you pay your bill
*Emergency rooms see increase of heat related illnesses.
*First bills arrive for cooling costs, leaves customers steamed
*pets and the heat, probably a ride along with an animal officer explaining the required shelter.
*additional tips on keeping pets cool- freezing water to let it melt throughout the day... sheering them... kiddie pool.
*How hot does your car get? Do Visors work?
*Hot Surfaces... danger of burns.

Now, NEXT week we should start hearing about water restrictions and getting a look at local lake levels.

Stories you most likely WONT see.
*** When checking on the power grid to make sure there won't be outages... you WON'T hear how much of a drain Wal-Mart is on the local systems....

*** You also won't likely hear that Wal-Mart is making a donation to help low income people pay their bills.

I certainly don't miss this time of year in News... It truly does get into a rut and is EXTREMELY hard to come up with new angles.

That's why I say... Help the grid, Turn OFF your TV... Do Laundry at night... and go somewhere with the family. While you're gone... you can set the AC up higher...

It's really all about the planet. ;-p