Doctors and meteorologists say the record breaking heat the area has experienced the last few days should serve as a warning for summertime weather to come.

The National Weather Service clocked a record high at Audubon Park Monday: 97 degrees.

Channel Four Chief Meteorologist Carl Arredondo says the heat index reached 110 degrees.

"The heat index is what it feels to your body when you factor in the higher humidity with the actual high temperatures," he says.

That heat and humidity caused some strong afternoon thunderstorms, and a driving rain in St. Rose saw winds so strong it snapped some poles in half.

It’s a weather pattern that can be dangerous on many levels, as the high heat and humidity can cause the body’s cooling system to shut down.

“You rely on the tremendous, tremendous power of evaporation to chill you down almost like a refrigerator,” said LSUHSC Director of Emergency Medicine Dr. Keith Van Meter. “And if the humidity is high, that evaporative power is way less.”

Van Meter says humidity is often the cause of heat exhaustion or heat stroke and advises locals to wear loose fitting and light colored clothing and for those who work outdoors to take breaks and stay hydrated.

"Almost every single summer we have droves of patients who come in, even with other disease process that are just accentuated by the heat," he says.