DO NOT Leave These Things in Your Car In So. Utah’s Sizzling July Heat

Just a quick glance at the 10-day forecast for St. George and most of Washington County will tell you that the temperatures in Utah's Dixie are sweltering -- and they're not going down anytime soon.

Weather.com shows the long-term forecast has the daily high temps ranging from 102 to 109 between now and July 20.

Man, that's hot.

Most Southern Utahns have learned that, like our neighbors to the north in the freezing winter, it's best sometimes to just stay inside as much as you can. They can't imagine life without a heater in the winter. We can't imagine life in the summer without an air conditioner.

Of course, the big problem in either case is getting from here to there. We've learned here in the STG that our cars (or trucks) become virtually oven-like while we're in the grocery store, restaurant or mall.

In fact, check out this chart that explains how hot the interior of our cars can really get in the heat:

So obviously, leaving any living thing in a car in this heat is a horrible idea. Leave your dogs and cats at home, take your kids in the store with you, put the parrot in a cage in the sun room, lock the ferret in its exercise gym, drop the husband off at the sporting goods store.

Whatever it takes, do not leave anything that you'd like to keep alive in a hot car.

Just yesterday a child had to be rescued in a hot car while the kid's mom was inside a store shopping. She claimed she was just in the retail establishment a moment, but it was already over 100 degrees in the car.

But it's not just living things. Perhaps the mantra should be don't leave anything you care about in a hot car.

Here's a list of 12 other non-living things you shouldn't leave in a vehicle on a hot day: