It only took an hour for many of the crayons mounted on a whiteboard to melt in direct early-afternoon sunlight on a 100° day. The darkest-colored wax crayons started liquefying first, while the lightest-colored crayons stayed mostly solid during our weather experiment Monday afternoon.
This is because light colors closer to white reflect heat and solar energy effectively, while darker colors absorb it more readily. This causes darker colored objects to heat up faster.
This same concept applies to our clothing. Dark-colored clothing absorbs more heat and is hotter to wear than lighter colors. We took a thermal gun and measured a white shirt, whose temperature matched the air temperature. Then we measured a black-colored shirt with a scorching 140° reading, which was about 40° hotter than the air temperature.
This is why it is best to wear light-colored clothing outdoors in the summer. It will keep your body cooler than anything with a darker color. In the summer heat, also remember to wear looser-fitting clothes which allow for more airflow to cool your skin when it sweats.
Staying well-hydrated all day and out of direct sunlight are also ways to keep yourself safe from dangerous mid-summer heat. For a look at how hot the coming days will be, here's the latest 2News Oklahoma forecast.
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