SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – The point at which working horses are taken off the streets of Savannah because of heat could soon change to above what the National Weather Service classifies as an “extreme threat” of heat stress.
Currently, horses must stop work when temperatures hit 95° Fahrenheit, or heat indexes hit 110. In a memo to City Council obtained by WTOC Investigates, City Manager Jay Melder outlines a proposal to instead measure the temperature threshold by Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT).
WGBT differs from heat index in several ways. WTOC First Alert Meteorologist Jamie Ertle says heat index is measured in the shade, while WGBT is measured in the sun.
“Wet bulb temperature takes into account many factors- the temperature, the humidity, wind speed, cloud coverage, and the physical activity of the person, or in this case, an animal is doing,” says Ertle…