This weekend will be one to thank your lucky stars for that air conditioner that's so noisy you could mistake it for a locomotive.
With heat indexes matching Friday's - 100 to 106 across the region - the sound of silence could be very, very uncomfortable.
Heat advisories are in place across much of the Tennessee Valley and the Appalachians, and weather officials say coping with ovenlike temperatures in coming days may prove to be a top priority.
"We're expecting a heat index of about 105, which is dangerous," said WRCB-Channel 3 meteorologist Neal Pascal.
The heat index - or the what-it-feels-like temperature when heat and humidity combine - can lead to a variety of serious health problems such as sunstroke, heat cramps and heat exhaustion.
Mr. Pascal said Friday's official high temperature was 99, and 100 is forecast today.
Robert Garcia, a meteorologist with the Peachtree City, Ga., office of the National Weather Service, said Northwest Georgia has similar high, hot daily temperatures, but slightly lower humidity, keeping the indexes a bit lower and out of heat advisory range on Friday.
But today is another day and what will happen remains to be seen, he said.
A clear break from the heat in Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia isn't foreseen in current forecasts, Mr. Pascal said.
Tropical Depression Bonnie, churning Friday evening along Florida's west coast and into the Gulf of Mexico, isn't expected to send any cooling rain or cloud cover our way, he said.
"It doesn't look like Bonnie is likely to help us much," he said. "But we will get a few more clouds Sunday or Monday that might keep us from seeing 100s over and over next week, so at least we'll get some partial relief."
Air conditioning repair crews, the Salvation Army and Chattanooga's Community Kitchen also are feeling the heat as they try to help others.
"It's hot! We're running about 70 to 80 calls today - about a third more than normal," said Clayton Cornell, owner of Reliable Heating and Air in North Chattanooga. "The crews will work till dark, and we'll have four or five on call for weekend. I'm sure we'll run another 100 more calls (this weekend)."
In this kind of heat, Mr. Cornell said, many home air conditioning systems just can't keep up.
"Most systems in the Tennessee Valley are made for maximum 99-degree temperatures (in short durations)," he said. "When it gets this hot, this long, they just can't cool a house below 78 degrees even with a properly sized units."
Blake Henry, a delivery runner for Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches in downtown Chattanooga, said he was in and out of the delivery car so much Friday, the vehicle's air conditioner was no match for the heat.
"It's really hot having to run around," said the second-year University of Tennessee at Chattanooga student from Nashville. "And having to tuck our shirts inside our jeans (to look neat for work), it feels like it's 120 degrees."
Community Kitchen spokesman Jens Christensen and Chattanooga Salvation Army spokeswoman Kimberly George said their organizations are giving out free water.
The Salvation Army has three "hydration centers" in Chattanooga, one in North Georgia and one in Cleveland, Tenn., Ms. George said. The organization also is offering free fans to needy residents, she said.
Both organizations have more than twice the usual number of people seeking help, officials said.
WRCB's Mr. Pascal said Chattanooga normally doesn't have many 100-degree days, but the city already has had one 100-degree day on July 8.
"I'm thinking we may see a few more in August, and this is going to end up being one of the hottest summers we've seen in a long time - following one of the chilliest winters," Mr. Pascal said.
The heat is combining with lower-than-normal rainfall, a bad combination, he said.
"We also have to remember we are drying up more and more," he said. "We are about seven inches behind for this year (in rain), and we're slowly losing more ground every couple of weeks."
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