So... how hot IS it?

[Judy G. Russell]

It's 98 degrees in beautiful downtown Newark. The overnight low is supposed to be around 82 or so. The humidity is high enough that you can almost bite the air.

So... fellow sufferers... on the theory that misery loves company, how hot is it where you are?

(Anyone living upside down where it is currently winter shouldn't answer this...)

[estherschindler]

Wimp. It's 101 in Phoenix, with 26% humidity.

(It's not the heat, it's the humility.)

[Dan in Saint Louis]

how hot is it where you are?
Today: 83 in my garage, 93 in front of the house, 103 on the highway.

Tonight: Thunderstorms predicted in Saint Louis, low 68F (SIXTY-eight!)

High tomorrow predicted 79F. I'm betting more like 85.

[chm]

In Huntington Beach, Ca (aka Surf City) at 4:20 pm, it's 81, about 10 - 15 degrees hotter than average. Too hot.

Last Thursday I was venturing into heat exhaustion/dehydration territory. No AC in this second-story office, also nobody bothers with insulation or weatherproofing here.

I do believe in global warming, and that it's warmer here than it used to be. Window AC is popping up more and more as the years go by.

chm

[Judy G. Russell]

Wimp. It's 101 in Phoenix, with 26% humidity.
(It's not the heat, it's the humility.)
Esther! How dare you call me a wimp! I'll... I'll... I'll hold my breath and turn blue!

Sigh... I've been there done that on the low humidity high temps western states and oh boy do I prefer the low humidity even if it means a few more degrees... Your fires and stuff, OTOH... One of my brothers was one of the last people to make it through from Flagstaff to Phoenix in June when that fire cut the highway.

[Judy G. Russell]

Tonight: Thunderstorms predicted in Saint Louis, low 68F (SIXTY-eight!)
Waaaahhhhhhhhh! Oh man... 68 would be sooooooo nice...

[Judy G. Russell]

In Huntington Beach, Ca (aka Surf City) at 4:20 pm, it's 81, about 10 - 15 degrees hotter than average. Too hot. Last Thursday I was venturing into heat exhaustion/dehydration territory. No AC in this second-story office, also nobody bothers with insulation or weatherproofing here. I do believe in global warming, and that it's warmer here than it used to be. Window AC is popping up more and more as the years go by.
All I have at home are window units: one in the main bedroom, one in the guest bedroom and one in the smallest bedroom converted into my computer room. I keep thinking, fondly, of retrofitting the house for central air. Then I think about what it would cost and crank up the window units one more year...

[Dan in Saint Louis]

Waaaahhhhhhhhh! Oh man... 68 would be sooooooo nice...
Score one for the weatherman! It is usually 5 - 10 degrees warmer here in the heart of the city, but this moring at 8 AM it was..... 68F!

The forecast for tomorrow is 62<DIG, DIG>

[Jeff]

100+ in the shade for four days straight; high of 104, humidity firmly stuck at <15% ~50 at night. Sleep on that!

- Jeff

[Judy G. Russell]

this moring at 8 AM it was..... 68F! The forecast for tomorrow is 62<DIG, DIG>
Sigh... it is supposed to cool off BIG time tonight... the skies outside now are very threatening so the cold front we've been promised may actually be getting here! But 62? Nope. We'll see that again in September. Maybe.

[Judy G. Russell]

humidity firmly stuck at <15% ~50 at night. Sleep on that!
That is good sleeping weather. I can't get things that cool with an air conditioner here!

[Guerri Stevens]

All I have at home are window units: ...
We have central air in part of our house, leaving doors open so it filters into other parts, and closing the door on the hottest area. We had hot air heat in that section of the house, so it wasn't difficult or overly expensive to add the air conditioning.

Having done that, though, I sometimes think that in some ways window units might be better. For instance, in my household, I like the temperature on the warm side and my husband, left alone, would probably cool to 70F. But for whatever reason, my den often ends up colder than other rooms, and I have a board covering the duct near my computer. My feeling is that separate units would would take care of that problem - my husband could close the door to his den and cool it til icicles form and I could be comfortable in my den. A compromise could be made for the living room and bedroom.

I have no idea of the relative cost/efficiency though. With window units, there would be the annoyance of taking them in and out at the change of seasons.

[chm]

Well, I don't have the option of central air, as I live in an apartment.

I've been toying with the idea of a window unit for this office (I work from home.). And, a ceiling fan for the bedroom, perhaps.

Fortunately the past couple of summers haven't been that bad. As I mentioned before, normal summers here close to the Pacific don't require AC. Global warming may change that someday?

A tip from my Victorian grandmother (she was born 1880, long before AC), run cold water on the back of your wrists until you feel cooler. It really works. (Also works in reverse, hot water to warm you up.)

Keep cool.

Carolyn

[chm]

100+ in the shade for four days straight; high of 104, humidity firmly stuck at <15% ~50 at night. Sleep on that!

- Jeff
Oh my goodness. My sympathies.

Let's hope all of us get a cooler, drier summer real soon now!

Carolyn

[Judy G. Russell]

We have central air in part of our house, leaving doors open so it filters into other parts, and closing the door on the hottest area. We had hot air heat in that section of the house, so it wasn't difficult or overly expensive to add the air conditioning.
I don't have hot air heat -- pure water-based steam radiator system. So retrofitting would be very expensive.

[Judy G. Russell]

I've been toying with the idea of a window unit for this office (I work from home.). And, a ceiling fan for the bedroom, perhaps.
Ceiling fans are truly marvelous. I put one in each of the three main rooms upstairs and they really make a difference both summer and winter. Combined with the window units they've been holding their own even against the worst of the heat. But it is cooler today -- still terribly humid, but cooler.

[Lindsey]

But it is cooler today -- still terribly humid, but cooler.
You know things have been bad when 88 degrees feels cool...

--Lindsey

[fhaber]

I'll bet the surviving Boy Scouts agree with you.

[Lindsey]

I'll bet the surviving Boy Scouts agree with you.
That was a really sad story, wasn't it? I feel so bad for that Alaskan community, not to mention that troop of scouts. (For those not familiar with this story, read here (http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2005/072005/07262005/0726accident).)

And then from this morning's Times-Dispatch (the page A1 banner headline):

Heat fells 300 at jamboree
Dozens treated at area hospitals; Bush's visit delayed until today

BOWLING GREEN -- Ambulance sirens blared and soldiers carried Boy Scouts on stretchers yesterday as scores of youths collapsed from heat-related illnesses under an oppressive sun as they waited for President Bush and a memorial for four Scout leaders killed in an electrical accident Monday.

About 300 youths and adults were treated for heat exposure at Fort A.P. Hill, where more than 43,000 Scouts and adults are gathered for the 2005 National Scout Jamboree, and at local hospitals, a Scout [official] said last night. No serious injuries were reported.

Officials postponed Bush's helicopter trip from Washington to the opening ceremony of the jamboree after it became apparent that yesterday's termperatures of more than 100 degrees would be followed by strong lightning storms. The event is rescheduled for tonight.

[I believe this afternoon's news reports indicated that it had been postponed again, but I may be remembering wrongly.]

--Lindsey

[MollyM/CA]

It's supposed to have been 106 this week, but my weather station is in the shade and only said 103 --cooler today, around 100. Since we just irrigated, the humidity's dropping from 68 --down to 51 tonight.

We do, most nights, have a sharpish breeze from the SF Bay, coming through the Altamont Pass from the NW, and that helps a tremendous lot.

[Judy G. Russell]

You know things have been bad when 88 degrees feels cool...
Years ago I had to go to India on government business. In June. That is not a time for anyone to be in India. One morning it rained very hard around 7 a.m. and the temperature plummeted by 20 degrees or so. To 90+F. Several days when we were there the daytimes temps were around 55 degrees. CELSIUS. (That's about 130 F.) I have never been happier to come home...

[Judy G. Russell]

Those poor kids. What a terrible jamboree this has been so far...

[Judy G. Russell]

It's supposed to have been 106 this week, but my weather station is in the shade and only said 103 --cooler today, around 100. Since we just irrigated, the humidity's dropping from 68 --down to 51 tonight.
One hundred degrees in the shade and 51% humidity????? YIKES!!!

[Lindsey]

Oh, my. But the humidity at night here approaches 100%, since in the summertime, the low temperature and the dew point are pretty much one and the same. During the hottest part of the week, the dew point was in the high 70s.

--Lindsey

[Lindsey]

I have never been happier to come home...
I remember hearing you mention that trip to India. Aaaakkk!

I won't tell you what Fernando told me India smelled like. I don't imagine I have to. :(

--Lindsey

[Lindsey]

Those poor kids. What a terrible jamboree this has been so far...
And the poor things are going to be visited by Pres. Bush on Sunday...

--Lindsey

[Judy G. Russell]

And the poor things are going to be visited by Pres. Bush on Sunday...
Let's hope at least the weather cooperates. More thunderstorms and I for one would be heading for home.

[Judy G. Russell]

I won't tell you what Fernando told me India smelled like. I don't imagine I have to. :(
:( is right except for when it was :eek: . I hear January or February in India is wonderful. But June? Never again. Never ever again.

[Jeff]

:( is right except for when it was :eek: . I hear January or February in India is wonderful. But June? Never again. Never ever again.

A few years before we had diplomatic relations I was in Hanoi in June. It was 85f and ~85% humidity at 3am, and then the sun came up. Anything other than a main street had an open sewer running down one side. It was an ummm interesting experience.

- Jeff

[Judy G. Russell]

A few years before we had diplomatic relations I was in Hanoi in June. It was 85f and ~85% humidity at 3am, and then the sun came up. Anything other than a main street had an open sewer running down one side. It was an ummm interesting experience.
"Interesting". Right. A nice diplomatic choice of terms!

[Lindsey]

Let's hope at least the weather cooperates. More thunderstorms and I for one would be heading for home.
I'm not sure what the forecast for Sunday is; I'm waiting to find out as I type this. I was thinking this afternoon: Can you imagine the outrage that would have been generated if 300 Boy Scouts had collapsed from heat while waiting for Bill Clinton to show up?

--Lindsey

[Lindsey]

:( is right except for when it was :eek:
You're right: :eek: would have come a lot closer...

--Lindsey

[Judy G. Russell]

:eek: would have come a lot closer...
Until they come up with a peee-yewww emoticon!

[chm]

Let's hope at least the weather cooperates. More thunderstorms and I for one would be heading for home.
The poor Boy Scouts have been so unfortunate this summer. So much bad at the Jamboree. And here in CA a Scout leader and a Scout were recently killed by lightning.

These boys may be glad to go back to school...

Carolyn

[chm]

Unfortunately I have to spend some time in the Inland Empire (Riverside County to be more specific) because a daughter lives there. A nasty place in the summer - if the heat doesn't get you, the pollution will.

Not too bad hard today.

I'm ready for Summer to be over.

[Judy G. Russell]

These boys may be glad to go back to school...
Can't hardly blame them. They sure have had a rash of bad luck.

[Bill Hirst]

A few years before we had diplomatic relations I was in Hanoi in June. It was 85f and ~85% humidity at 3am, and then the sun came up.
- Jeff
In Florida at sunset today, we had 85 degrees and 75% humidity. It seldom goes above 100 even at noon. Tomorrow's predicted high is 98 degrees and 61% humidity with scattered thunderstorms. I've lived here long enough that such conditions are not stifling, just fairly warm. On the other hand, if it goes down below 70 in the winter I'm apt to be wearing a sweater.

[Judy G. Russell]

Tomorrow's predicted high is 98 degrees and 61% humidity with scattered thunderstorms. I've lived here long enough that such conditions are not stifling, just fairly warm.
If those conditions persisted here for more than a day or two, I'd melt.

[Lindsey]

It seldom goes above 100 even at noon.
Noon is actually not the hottest time of the day; the peak temperature usually occurs around 3 or 4 in the afternoon.

I don't know where in Florida you are, but if you're in a place that normally gets a breeze, that makes a difference, too. The worst of the heat here is when the air doesn't move at all.

--Lindsey

[Judy G. Russell]

The worst of the heat here is when the air doesn't move at all.
Oh yeah... oh absolutely... and you sit there (or lie there) and pray for a breeze... just a little breeze...

[Lindsey]

Oh yeah... oh absolutely... and you sit there (or lie there) and pray for a breeze... just a little breeze...
The main thing that made that 88 degrees a few evenings ago feel so cool was that a pending thunderstorm was finally making the air stir. It felt like a blast furnace, but at least it was moving!

And that's one reason the heat at the beach is more tolerable, too: there's always wind blowing there. (Having the water to jump into sort of helps, too...)

--Lindsey

[Judy G. Russell]

And that's one reason the heat at the beach is more tolerable, too: there's always wind blowing there. (Having the water to jump into sort of helps, too...)
Yeah, that was my big complaint about coming home from hot and humid SC to find the same weather conditions in force here: no pool and no beach here!

[Lindsey]

Yeah, that was my big complaint about coming home from hot and humid SC to find the same weather conditions in force here: no pool and no beach here!
Well, I am at least lucky that (1) my parents live nearby, and (2) they have a swimming pool. The negative, though, is that I rarely have time to take advantage of that!

--Lindsey

[Bill Hirst]

Noon is actually not the hottest time of the day; the peak temperature usually occurs around 3 or 4 in the afternoon.

I don't know where in Florida you are, but if you're in a place that normally gets a breeze, that makes a difference, too. The worst of the heat here is when the air doesn't move at all.

--LindseyI agree. I'm in Fort Lauderdale and we usually have a light breeze, stronger the nearer you are to the ocean, and that helps evaporate perspiration. Shade is another factor. Any sort of shade, whether a tree or a cloud, makes it feel about 10 degrees cooler.

[Judy G. Russell]

Well, I am at least lucky that (1) my parents live nearby, and (2) they have a swimming pool. The negative, though, is that I rarely have time to take advantage of that!
That's a bummer, not having the time. I would love to have a swimming pool, and certainly will have one when I retire, since I consider swimming to be fun, not exercise!

[Wayne Scott]

Here in lovely inland Southern California we are having a moment of relief from the monsoon that has kept us humid for a couple of weeks while the temp was above 100F most of the time. For the past few days behind the mountains that surround my valley, the thunder-heads (aka cumulus clouds) have been piled up like vast piles of whipped cream. There have been massive thunderstorms out in the desert to the east and north, but none right here.
Yesterday the maximum temp here was 95F with a relative humidity of 24%. However the weather geeks tell us that both temps and humidity are going back up the rest of the week.
Sweaty in Sonora

[Judy G. Russell]

Yesterday the maximum temp here was 95F with a relative humidity of 24%. However the weather geeks tell us that both temps and humidity are going back up the rest of the week.
The humidity here today is reasonable as well -- around 35% or so. (Temps are in the mid-90s.) The next couple of days should be killers however -- I'm not looking forward to it.

[Lindsey]

I agree. I'm in Fort Lauderdale and we usually have a light breeze, stronger the nearer you are to the ocean, and that helps evaporate perspiration. Shade is another factor. Any sort of shade, whether a tree or a cloud, makes it feel about 10 degrees cooler.
I was outside today around 3:00 picking up a late lunch, and even though the thermometer was at about 93, it wasn't as beastly as it was last week, because it was less humid, and there was a slight breeze. Just having the air move a little makes all the difference in the world.

--Lindsey