The UV Index..How Many Minutes Can You be Outside on a Sunny Day?

Courtesy National Weather Service, Wilmington, NC
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/ilm/beach/uv/mintoburn.shtml

During the course of our Weather on the Ones forecasts, we inform you of the UV index for the day and give you information regarding how many minutes you may have, on the average, until you might be at risk for a sunburn or skin damage.
Because it may take a shorter amount of time for some folks to burn due to skin type, I personally give the time thats more geared toward fairer-skinned types since thats at the shortest end of the time scale.

But what if you are *not* in that category? Well, that is why I have placed this chart from the National Weather Service (and its accompanying link) here for you.
Skin damage is still a risk for everyone in the summer months, but this way you can get a better idea of how long you can be outside before having to re-apply sunscreen, cover up, or get to some shade!

There is also some great information provided by the EPA : http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/actionsteps.html this site has action steps you can take to keep your skin safer in the sun, and a widget for your homepage that can give you the UV index for your particular zip code: http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/uviresources.html

The UV index outlook for NC this last weekend of June: in the high range, which means for fairer-skinned types, about 10-15 minutes outside without sunscreen before you'll put yourself at risk for skin damage.