🗞️ Dangerous heat and pop-up storms are here this week

🗞️ West Nile update: infected mosquitoes confirmed in Forsyth County

🗞️ Back-to-school and boiling: how to help your kid beat the heat

🗞️ Kernersville police recover a stolen car and arrest a suspect

🥵 Dangerous heat | High: 93°F | Low: 72°F

The heat is the headline. Highs push into the low-to-mid 90s and the heat index could hit triple digits, with the National Weather Service flagging major, even extreme, heat risk through Friday. A pop-up strong or severe storm is possible late in the day, with gusty winds and quick downpours the main threats. Drink water, take shade breaks, never leave kids or pets in a car, and check on older neighbors.

Buckle up for a hot, sticky stretch, this is the kind of heat to take seriously.

The National Weather Service says temperatures across the Triad will climb into the mid 90s through Friday, with heat indices, what it actually feels like, nearing triple digits in spots. Forecasters are flagging major heat risk, and even pockets of extreme heat risk, especially Wednesday into Friday, which is the level that can affect just about anyone without good cooling or enough water. The state has issued heat-health alerts for several area counties. In plain terms: these are the days when the heat can make people genuinely sick.

There is a storm angle too. Isolated to scattered strong or severe thunderstorms are possible Tuesday and Wednesday, and maybe again Friday, with damaging straight-line winds and localized flooding the main hazards. Rain totals will be hit or miss, so one street can get a downpour while the next stays dry.

Here is the simple game plan. Drink more water than you think you need, and skip the stuff that dehydrates you. Take breaks in the shade or air conditioning, especially midday. Never leave kids or pets in a parked car, not even for a minute. Check on older neighbors and anyone without reliable AC, a quick knock on the door can matter more than you would think. And if you hear thunder, head indoors. Stay cool out there, Kernersville.

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A quick health follow-up to a story we flagged earlier this month.

State and county health officials now say multiple mosquitoes collected in Forsyth County have tested positive for West Nile virus, along with mosquitoes in Cabarrus and Mecklenburg counties. Two human cases have been reported in North Carolina so far, in Gaston and Mecklenburg, and the state lab notes these positives are showing up earlier in the summer than usual. West Nile spreads to people through the bite of an infected mosquito, not person to person, and the mosquitoes that carry it are most active from dusk to dawn.

The reassuring part has not changed: most people who get infected never feel a thing. About one in five develop a fever with aches, and roughly one in 100 can get a serious illness, with older adults and those with weakened immune systems most at risk. There is no vaccine and no cure, so prevention is the whole ballgame.

The steps are easy and worth doing this week. Use an EPA-registered repellent with DEET or an equivalent when you are outside, especially in the evening. Keep window and door screens in good shape, or use the AC. And at least once a week, walk the yard and dump any standing water: flowerpot saucers, buckets, gutters, pet bowls, birdbaths, kiddie pools and old tires. "Preventing mosquito bites starts with simple actions at home," said Guilford County assistant health director Anita Ramachandran. Five minutes in the yard is cheap insurance.

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School just started and the thermometer did not get the memo. With a heat wave on and recess, PE, band and sports practice all happening outside, here is how to help your kid stay cool, using only what our schools actually allow.

Start with the water bottle, but read the room. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools banned metal drink containers this year for safety, so the shiny insulated bottles stay home. The good news is a clear plastic bottle is allowed, and it works great. Send it frozen about a third full the night before, then top it with water in the morning, and your kid gets ice-cold water that melts through the day. A second frozen bottle in the backpack doubles as an ice pack against the heat.

A few more school-friendly tricks. Toss in a cooling towel, the thin kind you wet, wring and snap, since it can drop a sweaty neck several degrees and packs flat. Dress kids in light, loose, light-colored clothes, and send a hat or ballcap for outdoor time. A little sunscreen before school helps on PE and recess days. Freeze grapes or pack water-heavy snacks like orange slices, watermelon or cucumber to help with hydration at lunch. And talk with them about the boring-but-important stuff: drink water before they feel thirsty, find shade when they can, and tell a teacher right away if they feel dizzy, headachy or sick to their stomach.

None of this is fancy, and all of it fits the rules. A frozen clear bottle, a cooling towel, light clothes and a quick hydration pep talk can turn a miserable, sweaty school day into a totally manageable one. Hang in there, parents, cooler mornings are coming.

Some quick police-blotter news with a Kernersville angle.

Kernersville police have arrested a Winston-Salem man after recovering a stolen car in town. According to the department, 38-year-old Willie Thomas III is accused of stealing a gold Toyota Camry during a robbery in Greensboro on August 8. An alert from local law enforcement helped Kernersville officers find the car here in town, where they made the arrest. Police say they also found that stolen credit cards had been used to buy items at a local Walmart, and those purchases turned up at the scene.

Thomas faces several felony charges, including felony possession of a motor vehicle and obtaining property by false pretense, plus resisting an officer and two counts of attempted obtaining property by false pretense. He was given a $7,500 bond by Kernersville police, with an additional $5,000 bond from the Guilford County Sheriff's Office. As always, charges are accusations, and everyone is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

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