The Great Heat Wave

[Colliemom]

Are we all surviving this current heat wave? Anybody going stir crazy yet?

It is so intense in some parts of the midwest and in the upper 90's here as well. Some parts of southwest MI have a Extreme Heat advisory out as do a lot of the areas to our west. Here we have a Heat advisory. I don't like this. Everything is burned up.

I'm not stir crazy yet as I have been in and out and have been able to do a few things outside in late evening, but I am so sick of having to keep the house closed up and running the fans and AC's. I have window AC's in two of my bedrooms and a fan in my hallway. Between them, I have managed to keep my house fairly comfortable at about 74-75, which is way better than the 90 degrees outside. My thermometer on my deck has registerd as high as 100 , but I know it's reading the heat radiating off the deck. Maybe I should see if I can fry an egg for breakfast on my blacktop drive

The "girls" aren't even interested in going out other than to take care of business and head right back in. So today I decided to take them for a nice ride in my air conditioned truck just to get them out of the house for the day. We went over to a town about 100 miles from here to check out a State Park I have been considering going to. Not a bad park, but a bit heavily wooded and a lot of small sites. A lot of popups and tents in there. Did find a few possibilities, but not going to rush over there. On the way home we stopped at a public access site on the AuSable River about 40 miles southwest of me here. I had some Subway for a late lunch and then let the girls wander in the river. This site is just below a power dam and is also a canoe launching and retrieving site. Tessa of course went right in and just stood there in the current while Sassy who is one of those "what, me get my paws wet" dogs, actually went in, up to her knees . But both wanted back in the cool truck in a short time. When we got home, after driving 216 miles, they didn't even want to get out. Think they would have rather stayed in the truck

I'm trying to get ready for a camping trip this coming Sunday. Easier said than done in this heat. Looks like I might drive through some rain and the cold front on my way up.

But anyway, just wondered how you all are faring out there. Keep cool, drink plenty of water and keep sane.

[BarbaraRose]

It is around 100 here in SoCal, so, very warm here, but at least we don't have the humidity to deal with. MN is having the record humidity levels with dew points reaching into the 80%'s. I can't even imagine how miserable that would be!

At least around here if it is hot, I can either drive up to the mountains or to the beach to cool off. Temps are about 15 to 20 degrees cooler there. Very dry around here too, tho. Haven't had rain here for quite awhile, but that is normal for this time of year. We get most of our rain in the winter months.

Stay inside where it is nice and cool! (I get 'cabin fever' in the summers too when it is this hot!)

On Edit:
Here is what it was like in Minneapolis today according to the local meteorologist...

"Incredible! I'm exhausted, drained, still in a mild state of meteorological shock. Between the heat, the (strange) midday severe storm outbreak, a new dew point record for MSP (82 degrees, but possibly as high as 84) and new state records for the highest dew point and heat index ever recorded (Moorhead now has honors). Details below. Yesterday was an incredible day: 118 heat index in the Twin Cities, just one degree away from the all-time record of 119 set in 1966. Severe storms around midday, supercell thunderstorms over the lunch hour (!) It's a brave new weather-world out there. Not sure if it's climate change, "sweaty corn" or some other factors in play, but something has changed. No easing into heatwaves anymore. The atmospheric thermostat is either "on" or "off". Yesterday was the equivalent of a "heat storm", coming on suddenly, and the heat will ebb just as quickly (Thursday, as dew points dip below 60). For a brief, fleeting moment, Minnesota was the hottest, most humid spot on the planet yesterday - Moorhead takes top honors, details below:

97 F. degree high in the Twin Cities yesterday.

118 F: heat index around the dinner hour, just 1 degree shy of the Twin Cities all-time heat index record (119 in 1966).

82 dew point at MSP Tuesday (on the hour at MSP International Airport). That's a new record for the Twin Cities.

84 dew point (unofficial, reported at 3:21 and 3:27 pm). The MN Climate Office will determine if 84 is the new MSP record.

88 dew point at Moorhead yesterday, setting a new all-time Minnesota state record for the highest dew point on record.

134 F. heat index at Moorhead yesterday, setting a new record for the hottet heat index ever reported in Minnesota.

[OutandAbout]

[quote="Colliemom"] Maybe I should see if I can fry an egg for breakfast on my blacktop drive

Someone actually baked chocolate chip cookies on their dashboard yesterday. The cookies actually baked, although I didn't hear how they tasted.

It has been so hot here, triple digits for 17 days in a row, with another week forecast. The record is 22 days, which we will most like break. We have been under a excessive heat warning for the past 10 days and will stay under it until the end of the month. Counties are being added daily. I hope this doesn't lead to brown outs with all the AC's working overtime. Mine doesn't cool the house completely, as it gets to about 78 to 79 inside during the day and is set for 72. The temp only gets down to low 80's at night, so the house doesn't really cool down then either. At least the humidity is taken out of the air and with a few fans going, it's okay.

Sue, my puppies are also just going outside to do their business and come right back inside. They have lost all interest in playing with their friends on the other side of the fence.

Doing errands yesterday I saw the employees of the community pool throwing ice chunks into the pool to help keep the water cool. It looked like a lot of mini icebergs. Whatever helps.

Hope everyone is able to stay cool. Linda

[Orchid]

There are heat advisories here in west central Indiana through Sunday. I've cranked up the air, grabbed some good books and will wait this hot weather out. Be careful working or exercising outside in this heat. Cheryl

[bluepinecones]

Pretty hard to believe now but I grew up in the south without A/C at home or school until the late 1950s. Not sure how much of it is old age vs decades of being use to living with A/C in summer, but I simply do not tolerate the heat well any more. Will be very glad when this heat wave is over.

[flick4411]

It's just bloody awful...and it's only just beginning here in the mid-Atlantic. We are expecting three days of heat advisories with 100 degree temps plus humidity--they say it will feel like 110-115 until Saturday night. OMG! This is just awful. I'm glad our new building at work has great A/C, but just walking to the car is nearly debilitating...and then getting into the HOT car...by the time I get home I'm soaked through and a bit chilled from the A/C and damp clothing. Can't win for losing. Oh well, at least we know it can't last forever! The Northwest is looking better and better every day...

Stay as cool as possible, Ladies, and don't forget to drink, drink, drink... No, Mitch....not that kind of drinking...I was talking about water!!!!!

[Readytogo]

Talk about frying an egg on the blacktop, when I was about 8 or 9 in Redding (north) Calif, I tried to fry an egg on my Dad's car. Got in big trouble! He was always saying "its hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk" You must always watch what you say around kids!

[JudyJB]

Back in the 50s when I grew up in Michigan, we kids used to play in the cool basements during the day. Then when our dads came home for dinner, we'd eat and go for a drive to cool off. A favorite place to drive to was one of the small amusement parks. Sometimes, we kids would be allowed to play outside until after dark. By the time we'd come home, the house would be relatively cool, and we'd sleep with fans blowing in cool air from outside.

I think it was air conditioning that killed off the drive-in movies and the local amusement parks.

Fond memories of hot summers!

[Nasoosie]

Back in the 50s when I grew up in Michigan, we kids used to play in the cool basements during the day. Then when our dads came home for dinner, we'd eat and go for a drive to cool off. A favorite place to drive to was one of the small amusement parks. Sometimes, we kids would be allowed to play outside until after dark. By the time we'd come home, the house would be relatively cool, and we'd sleep with fans blowing in cool air from outside.

I think it was air conditioning that killed off the drive-in movies and the local amusement parks.

Fond memories of hot summers!

I remember those 'basement' days!!

Even now, when I go down cellar to do my laundry, it is like going into air conditioning. Coming back upstairs into the heat is like going from an air conditioned store back into the real world.....it takes your breath away for a bit! Somehow, many of us survived extreme heat without any AC. Sometimes a bathtub full of cold water was a lifesaver for us all to take a dip in and then go out and let the water evaporate off our bodies. Some cities I lived in would open the hydrants for all to do the cooling thing, as some cities still are doing. I always felt really sorry for those living in the desert areas, or the plains areas where water was regarded as for drinking only----those people must have really felt trapped and roasted all summers. Cambridge, MA, had an iceman who would come around delivering ice to those with ice boxes (we were one of those families) and they would always chip off some chunks of ice for us kids to hoard, suck on, rub on ourselves, and share with our dogs. The ice man was regarded as somewhat of a saint! He had a horse-drawn wagon, and the horse was a second delight for us all to see and share ice with!

[WanderinMoon]

Ack it's terribly hot here on the plains too.
I wanna be a HeatBird...is that the correct term for the opposite of a SnowBird? lol