Extreme heat!

[oldr_n_wsr]

Swap you for this!!

Sunday 24 July

Summary
Min -3 c (26 f)
Max 12 c (53.6 f)
Sunny.

Canberra area; Sunny. Light winds.

I'll take that deal. Actually sunday they said it's supposed to cool off with a high of only 88°F

[BoSoxGal]

Ahhhh Montana! (We're that one state in the lower 48 with absolutely no color - for the benefit of you non-Americans.)

Woke up yesterday shivering in my boxers and tank top, which I'd started wearing to bed during our 4 or 5 days in the high 80s low 90s last week. Early morning temp was in the mid-40s. Fall's coming!

[Gob]

[BoSoxGal]

Hey no fair - the map in my post updated and now I look stupid!

[The Hen]

Extreme heat ... In bed on Sunday morning with two dogs and two doonas. My favorite kind of extreme heat.

[Guinevere]

Hmmm, I'm a feather duvet girl as well (although with a cat in the bed, not dogs). Even in this heat, I always keep one folded at the end of my bed --- you never know when the wind is going to shift and the weather will cool off!

[loCAtek]

Heard from Alpha Dog of the desert, that he returned to 109 ° heat, where it's just been going up and up to 130 ° ...and he's doing construction outdoors now too, although sometimes they let him work at night, when it's a cool 90°. The good news is there's no humidity, you drink (water) like a fish, but you never seem to be sweating.

[Gob]

- 8 °C or 18°F here currently.

[dales]

Gad, cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey!

[dgs49]

As one who does a lot of things in the outdoors, I have had to develop strategies for dealing with extremes of heat and cold while exercising. Here in Pittsburgh, we are experiencing highs in the 90's with humidity generally over 80%, which is a very uncomfortable and unhealthy combination. Indeed overweight people in their 60's would have to be quite foolish to exercise outdoors in these conditions.

Which I take as a challenge, of course.

My only requirement for exercising in extremely hot conditions is that I have to have TIME to calm down and cool off at the end of the session. I used to run at noontime from work, and even with a cool shower, I was not completely comfortable again until I had been at my desk for at least half an hour.

These days, I have been taking long bike rides (90-120 minutes) through the hills and valleys of Western Pennsylvania, fueled by "iced" tea (which is at body temperature within 15 minutes after you hit the road), and the occasional bottle of Gatorade. Even though the sweat does not evaporate, the bit of breeze flowing past my body keeps me at least reasonably comfortable. My only real gripe about this exercise under these conditions is that I have a devil of a time keeping the sweat out of my eyes. I wear a helmet and a sweatband, but both are saturated within half hour or so of starting.

I went for a 4-mile run (slow jog, to be truthful) one evening last week when the temp was about 92F, and found that I simply had to stop in the shade about 2/3 of the way into it.

It is hard to describe, but I get a sense of being purged or cleansed when I experience the profuse sweating that happens when I'm exerting myself in these conditions. It's a sensation that I just can't capture during the colder months or when exercising indoors during the winter.

OTOH, I do NOT enjoy having to simply be outside sitting, standing, or walking, in 90+ degree heat. God bless the inventor(s) of air conditioning.

Speaking of which, have any of you experienced the laughable device they used to use in the Southwest before AC became generally available: "Swamp coolers"? What a joke! They would take 110 degrees and make it seem like 108! My late uncle from Tucson used to swear by his.

"No thanks, Unc, I appreciate the offer, but I think we'll spend the night at the Holiday Inn."

[Jarlaxle]

My uncle used a swamp cooler when he lived in Texas...he said it worked very well. They only work with dry heat, of course.

[dales]

Meanwhile in the SF Bay Area........the weather is delightful.

[Miles]

Today high 80's instead of 90's. Still not able to go outside for any length of time which sucks big time. I love summer but this is getting a bit old. Oh well, it is what it is.

[Jarlaxle]

About 85 degrees here...not bad at all.

Well, except that I forgot to put the sunshade in my (black) Caddy's windshield, resulting in a 135-degree car. Oops. (Fortunately, the A/C works beautifully!)

[Gob]

Still coping it over there guys?

A heatwave is frying southern US states from California to North Carolina, as temperatures top 100F (38C) in parts Texas for the 38th consecutive day.

The National Weather Service has issued heat advisories for areas in 15 states across the south.

The blistering heat pushed electricity consumption in Texas to record highs in the state's hottest summer since 1980, according to the state grid operator.

Deaths related to the hot weather have been reported in Missouri and Texas.

Electricity usage in Texas has set records three days this week, and forecasters said temperatures are expected to stay above 100F for the rest of the week.

A "power emergency" was declared for a second straight day on Wednesday in the state as infrastructure was strained under the scalding heat.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14410932

[Jarlaxle]

Barely hit 80 today...been beautiful all week, actually. (Except for a few minutes of rain Tuesday.)

[Liberty1]

Speaking of which, have any of you experienced the laughable device they used to use in the Southwest before AC became generally available: "Swamp coolers"? What a joke! They would take 110 degrees and make it seem like 108! My late uncle from Tucson used to swear by his.

Hey, don't go diss'in swamp coolers, that's what I have, they work great. They will freeze you out around here. June is our hottest month, this year it got up to about 98 a few times, but at 4% humidity the cooler air is about 45 degrees.

Plus they use a lot less electricity and add humidity to the air, something you need around here.

Most folks here in Albuquerque use swamp coolers, very little AC for homes.

[Rick]

The Grid startin to break down here.

Several substations have gone down one actually caught on fire.

With the windchill it's around 116F...

[Joe Guy]

Hmmm, I'm a feather duvet girl as well (although with a cat in the bed, not dogs). Even in this heat, I always keep one folded at the end of my bed --- you never know when the wind is going to shift and the weather will cool off!

Is this how you fold your cat to keep at the end of your bed?

[Guinevere]

My cat isn't quite that, er, fluffy. The duvet is, however

Gorgeous weather here today (and really most of the week). A light sea breeze blowing all night, in the low 60s for sleeping, and I could hear the surf against the sea wall from my bed this morning. Ahhhhhh, August!