TEXAS — When people think of weather killers, the first things that usually come to mind are hurricanes and tornadoes. 

Believe it or not heat actually ranks number one.

NOAA data shows that last year 63 people in the U.S. died from heat, which is actually below the 10-year average of 103 deaths per year.

However, a new study from Duke University (Shindell et al. 2020) suggests those numbers are actually much higher. According to this research, about 12,000 Americans die of heat-related causes each year, with 80 percent of those people over 60 years old.

Using that same research and relating it to Texas, Climate Central indicates that 31 Texans per one million die from heat-related causes. Depending on the level of greenhouse gas emission cuts going forward, that number could be about two to as many as nine times higher by the year 2100.

With elders being most at risk, their best defense is simply a social connection with friends and family checking on them. Herein lies the new complication this year with COVID-19. Due to social distancing, those social connections are reduced. Capacity is also being restricted at cooling centers and public areas.

Please keep this in mind this week as parts of Texas are under heat advisories due to a dangerous combination of heat and humidity, with the heat wave expected to peak this weekend.