WILLMAR -- The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat watch in western Minnesota from Saturday afternoon through next Wednesday evening.
The watch area includes the counties of Pope, Stearns, Lac qui Parle, Swift, Chippewa, Kandiyohi, Meeker, Yellow Medicine, Renville and Redwood and the cities of Glenwood, Madison, Benson, Montevideo, Willmar, Litchfield, Granite Falls, Olivia and Redwood Falls.
The afternoon high temperature will range from the low to mid 90s with low temperatures in the mid to upper 70s. The heat index will be from 105 to 110 degrees in the afternoon and early evening.
The weather service says an excessive heat watch means that prolonged periods of hot weather, combined with high humidity, will create a dangerous situation in which heat illnesses are possible.
Residents are advised to drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun and check up on relatives and neighbors.
