The UV Index is a measure of the intensity of the sun's rays on a given day. Often during the summer, we report this value on Action News during our weathercast, especially when the Index is High. Technically, the UVI goes from 0 to 15, with "15" representing the greatest risk. A high UV Index means it takes only minutes for fair skinned people to receive a sunburn. Everyone should shade themselves and use sun block to avoid burns, especially on high or medium UV days. Sunburns can lead to long term health problems, including skin cancer. Keep in mind that sunburns are possible, even on cloudy days in the summer, because the high sun single during this season allows the solar energy to easily penetrate cloud cover. At our latitude, the months of April all the way through September warrant taking extra precautions to protect the skin from the sun.
---David Murphy
