It’s not the heat . . . it’s the really high air temperatures.
I was born in the middle of winter. I grew up in the middle of winter. And about ten years ago, I moved to Austin, Texas in the middle of winter. I don’t like being cold and once I got to Austin all I could think of was, “What took me so long?”
It was wonderful living in an area that got one inch of snow every twenty years instead of one inch of snow an hour. The winters were as mild and the summers were warm. And if it ever got too warm, you could always cool yourself off by jumping naked into the neighbor’s pool when they weren’t looking.
It was fun for a few years, but now . . . well, I’m not so sure. It may just be coincidence that my infatuation with hot weather ended when my car’s air conditioning went out three or four years ago. But that’s also when it started getting really hot.
It’s no news that Austin has now experienced the hottest summer on record, breaking the number of triple digit days set back in 1925. The problem with this statistic is it makes it seem like everything’s been mild and normal for eighty-six years and now it suddenly got really hot again. It ignores the fact that the top ten list of hottest summers also contains 2009, 2008, 2006, 2001, and 2000.
We got a break yesterday when clouds moved in for the first time in (what felt like) decades. But our brief respite is over. Today, Friday, August 26, 2011, should be our seventy-first day of triple-digit temps. And the forecast for this weekend calls for 109°F both days with no end in sight. In fact, here’s the six week forecast, taking us well into October:
on August 27, 2011 at 6:06 am
Wow! That IS hot!
In London, UK, its been the opposite. Worst summer I’ve ever known. Probably 5 days of sun in the last 2 months. Feels like October already. Booo hoooo! 🙁
Think I need to head to Texas for holiday next year 😀
on August 27, 2011 at 7:27 am
I spent a few days in the Bay area recently where they are having a cooler/wetter than normal summer. The lows there every night were WAY lower than the temp we set our A/C at night to try to sleep.
I felt chilly the entire time and am honestly not sure that was any better than feeling hot all the time. What good would nachos and cold beers be in a chilly/wet climate? NONE. Case closed, Texas wins.
on August 27, 2011 at 8:38 am
The telltale sign that hit me was the fact that the weather man had chosen the word “WARM” to indicate a forecast of temps no less than 103!!!!!
on August 27, 2011 at 10:39 am
Meanwhile, Biz and I are sitting in the midwest in a nice gorgeous sunny 80 degrees. I suggest you go visit your sister this week.
on August 28, 2011 at 10:37 am
I’m sorry Charlie. When I bribed you to move down here and join me in the great misadventure that wasted about three years of our lives, I had no idea that Austin was on it’s way to becoming a desert. I’m hoping that we get another 2004 soon. We had less than a week’s worth of 100+ that summer. Nearly perfect!