I have a wonderful weather application on my phone that sends me updated alerts throughout the day when there is the risk of extreme weather. I know some people who owe their lives to earthquake warnings that gave them sheer moments to dash to safety before their immediate area was impacted. If you live across the ocean from a huge underwater tectonic plate movement, those weather alerts will tell you if there is an imminent tsunami on your horizon. In my neck of the woods, there’s a much higher risk of sudden tornadoes than there is a tsunami, and that’s despite living far from tornado alley and only a few miles away from the ocean. In any event, at least I can rely on my weather app to warn me of any sudden weather-related emergencies or natural disasters. Lately I’ve been getting different kinds of weather alerts altogether, ones warning of heat advisories. These differ in exact definition from area to area, but one serious takeaway is that they usually accompany weather that brings a sudden heat wave that can have deleterious effects on human physical and mental health. This is especially pertinent if there is a record high on a random day and you’d have no idea the weather is so hot outside if your weather app hadn’t already warned you how that was going to happen. It’s also a friendly warning to let you know that your air conditioner is going to cycle more than usual if you don’t prepare. I know I’m not the only one struggling to afford a/c in the summer heat. My electricity bill goes up by $80 during the summer while I run the air conditioner throughout the daytime hours.