SE TX/SW LA weather: Much cooler and WET after Tuesday

[Ed Mahmoud]

Just three days away from morning t-storms just West of Houston along a decaying front?

[southerngale]

My wife and kids have left me.


Well, only until we get the AC fixed.


Just happened this afternoon.


Warmer than last September, but that was 6 nights without even a ceiling fan.

I feel your pain. Mine was out for one day about a week ago, and it was the most miserable day of my life since post-Rita conditions (was in Ft. Worth for Ike). It was horrible! I didn't leave because I was waiting around for the A/C man to show up. Turns out they weren't coming until the FOLLOWING evening... long story, short... while my dad and brother were here to set me up with a portable A/C, my brother and I found the problem and we had A/C again! What a glorious feeling! Hope yours isn't serious, either.





Another Special Weather Statement due to this oppressive heat. I'm a little worried about irresponsible people handling fireworks this weekend. The ground is really dry in many areas.

Special Weather Statement

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
613 AM CDT FRI JUL 3 2009

LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055-TXZ180>182-201-215-216-040000-
VERNON-RAPIDES-AVOYELLES-BEAUREGARD-ALLEN-EVANGELINE-ST. LANDRY-
CALCASIEU-JEFFERSON DAVIS-ACADIA-LAFAYETTE-UPPER ST. MARTIN-
CAMERON-VERMILION-IBERIA-ST. MARY-LOWER ST. MARTIN-TYLER-JASPER-
NEWTON-HARDIN-JEFFERSON-ORANGE-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...LEESVILLE...ALEXANDRIA...MARKSVILLE...
DERIDDER...OAKDALE...VILLE PLATTE...OPELOUSAS...LAKE CHARLES...
JENNINGS...CROWLEY...LAFAYETTE...ST. MARTINVILLE...CAMERON...
ABBEVILLE...NEW IBERIA...MORGAN CITY...WOODVILLE...JASPER...
NEWTON...LUMBERTON...BEAUMONT/PORT ARTHUR...ORANGE
613 AM CDT FRI JUL 3 2009

...OPPRESSIVE HEAT TO CONTINUE INTO THE WEEKEND...

AFTERNOON HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TO BE NEAR THE CENTURY
MARK TODAY AND INDEPENDENCE DAY...WITH HEAT INDICES AVERAGING NEAR
105 DEGREES. PERSONS ENGAGED IN OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES ARE ENCOURAGED
TO WEAR LIGHT COLORED AND LIGHT WEIGHT CLOTHES...DRINK PLENTY OF
FLUIDS...AND TAKE FREQUENT BREAKS. THE YOUNG AND ELDERLY ARE
ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE TO INTENSE HEAT. ENSURE THAT OUTDOOR PETS
AND LIVESTOCK HAVE ACCESS TO SHADE AND PLENTY OF WATER.

DUE TO THE RECENT DRY WEATHER...OUTDOOR BURN BANS AND RESTRICTIONS
ON THE USE OF FIREWORKS ARE IN PLACE AT MANY LOCATIONS ACROSS EAST
TEXAS AND LOUISIANA. PERSONS ARE ENCOURAGED TO CHECK WITH THEIR LOCAL
OFFICIALS FOR THE SPECIFIC POLICIES IN THEIR JURISDICTION. THOSE
CHOOSING TO CELEBRATE INDEPENDENCE DAY WITH FIREWORKS WHERE PERMITTED
ARE ENCOURAGED TO DO SO WITH CAUTION.

[MGC]

I feel your pain Ed....those days after Katrina were hot...though they would never end. I worry about my A/C going out too since it has quite a few years on it. It is a heat pump so it gets run year round......MGC

[Ed Mahmoud]

Ceiling fan over the bed means at least I can sleep.


Running computer for limited time periods, don't want to cook anything internally.

[angelwing]

Ed, I can understand. Back in 2005, our electric had gone out for 2 days, I had to put my hubby in a motel room for that time-he was just discharged from the hospital and had 38 staples down his chest and he wasn't allowed to take showers or anything and had to get his sister to check on him. I had to stay in the apartment until PECO got the complex back on line-a generator had blown up and 440 apartments were without power and all this was in late July.

I hope the weather breaks for you soon!!!

[HarlequinBoy]

What is up with Hearne, Texas!?!?! How is it that hot? Oh my goodness. Heat index of 139 at 7:45!

[SaskatchewanScreamer]

Those poor peeps in Hearne!!!!

Overnight temps expected here 51°F......... I'll be turning SK's wind turbines shortly (re Canada sending down a cold front)

Hope you folks without A/C are sleeping in the basement, have all your windows open overnight, to bring in as much cooler night air as possible and have lots of box fans going!!!

[vbhoutex]

Expected high today for Houston is 103ºf with a possible HI of 110ºf in the shade with it around 125ºf in the sun. Glade I am going to the lake!!! If you hear about a whale water skiing in North Houston, that would be me.

I imagine that Hearne HI could be a miscalculation or the product of some heat source close by. That doesn't sound relaistic for that time of day. If it was during the hottest part of the day I would find it more believable because we have had 135ºf HI's during the hottest part of the day on occasion(not often).

SS, at least here in SE TX we have very few homes with basements and even at this time of night those box fans would be blowing around air that has a HI of 90ºf.

[SaskatchewanScreamer]

vbhoutex I've only experienced that hellish a summer once (2007) and now I dread summers of high heat with humidity much worse than I dread a winter where they are forecasting nasty, nasty extreme cold. That summer we still opened every window and door praying that a little cooler air would come in.

I wondered about peeps having basements there (it still shocks me that many in Tornado Alley don't have them.......or a storm shelter for that matter). Just about every home here has one so I was surprised when I visited California and discovered my Aunt's house didn't have one. In our hundred year old house the basement was built mainly for housing the enormous steam boiler, the coal that ran it then, a rain water cistern and for storage (it isn't fancy down there but it is cooler).

I just finished reading at a tomato forum that I belong to that the Texans are expecting a hand with a brush to reach down from the sky and start basting them. One fellow is tickled pink that he owns a small house that he insulated and is now thinking of taking his insulation up to an R30 (not for keeping his house warm but to keep his cold A/C air from leaving ) He is also considering giving up growing his beloved tomatoes (he mulches, drip irrigates, and grows them under a shade cloth) and joining a cactus forum (but he's afraid they too might give up the ghost). Other Texans are posting re their fight to save their trees and native plants from the heat/lack of moisture.

Wishing you folks a much cooler July!

[southerngale]

Happy 4th of July! Look at next week!

Independence Day: Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 100. Heat index values as high as 106. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 77. South wind around 10 mph.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 96. Heat index values as high as 102. West wind around 5 mph.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 77. South wind around 5 mph.

Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 93. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Tuesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 91. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75. South wind around 5 mph.

Wednesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 91. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.

Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 91.

Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.

Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 91.

And the discussion says rain chances could even go up! Let's hope this forecast doesn't wash away.

Also, highs in the low 90's!? brrrr

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
353 AM CDT SAT JUL 4 2009

.DISCUSSION...
A BIG TRANSITION IS ON THE WAY NEXT WEEK.

IN THE SHORT TERM...EXPECTING ANOTHER HOT DAY...WITH TEMPS
REACHING TRIPLE DIGITS ACROSS CEN LA AND E TX. NOT GOING WITH A
HEAT ADVISORY DUE TO DEWPOINTS STAYING LOW ENOUGH WHERE HEAT
INDICES SHOULD ONLY GET ABOVE 105 FOR MAYBE AN HOUR OR TWO IN THE
AFTERNOON. RAIN CHANCES WILL BE MINIMAL TODAY.

SUNDAY BEGINS THE TRANSITION TO A WET WEEK AHEAD. WITH THE 500 MB
RIDGE BUILDING TO OUR WEST...SEVERAL SHORTWAVES ARE FORECAST TO
MOVE NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST ACROSS OUR REGION...BEGINNING LATE
SUNDAY. WITH RESPECT TO THAT...THREW IN LOW POPS FOR CEN LA AND E TX
FOR SUNDAY AFTERNOON...BUT CONFIDENCE IS LOW AT THIS POINT.

HOWEVER...BY MONDAY...EVERYTHING IS POINTING AT SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS...THANKS TO THE MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVES. EARLY THINKING
IS WE WILL SEE AN ISOLATED SEVERE STORM...BUT WILL HAVE TO
CONTINUE TO WATCH THE PATTERN TO SEE IF A MORE WIDESPREAD SEVERE
WEATHER EVENT CAN DEVELOP.

THIS SCENARIO BASICALLY REPEATS ITSELF TUESDAY...WEDNESDAY...AND
THURSDAY. HARD TO PICK OUT SPECIFIC TIMING OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
...COULD SEE SOME MORNING ACTIVITY ALONG THE COAST...TRANSITIONING
TO I-10 CORRIDOR BY MID-MORNING...AND NORTH OF HWY 190 IN THE
AFTERNOON. CURRENT THINKING IS CARRYING 40-50 POPS...BUT MAY BE
BUMPING THIS UP TO 60-70 IF WET PATTERN CONTINUES.

AS FOR TEMPS MONDAY THRU FRIDAY...WILL SEE A LITTLE BREAK FROM THE
HEAT...WITH HIGHS EXPECTED TO BE AROUND 90 ALONG I-10 AND LOWER
90S NORTH THANKS TO CLOUD COVER AND RAIN COOLED AIR.

-------------------------------
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[vbhoutex]

vbhoutex I've only experienced that hellish a summer once (2007) and now I dread summers of high heat with humidity much worse than I dread a winter where they are forecasting nasty, nasty extreme cold. That summer we still opened every window and door praying that a little cooler air would come in.

I wondered about peeps having basements there (it still shocks me that many in Tornado Alley don't have them.......or a storm shelter for that matter). Just about every home here has one so I was surprised when I visited California and discovered my Aunt's house didn't have one. In our hundred year old house the basement was built mainly for housing the enormous steam boiler, the coal that ran it then, a rain water cistern and for storage (it isn't fancy down there but it is cooler).

I just finished reading at a tomato forum that I belong to that the Texans are expecting a hand with a brush to reach down from the sky and start basting them. One fellow is tickled pink that he owns a small house that he insulated and is now thinking of taking his insulation up to an R30 (not for keeping his house warm but to keep his cold A/C air from leaving ) He is also considering giving up growing his beloved tomatoes (he mulches, drip irrigates, and grows them under a shade cloth) and joining a cactus forum (but he's afraid they too might give up the ghost). Other Texans are posting re their fight to save their trees and native plants from the heat/lack of moisture.

Wishing you folks a much cooler July!

SS, that dude in TX needs to get his insulation to R30. That is what we have in our house and when we did it, it did make a difference. Of course our existing insulation was 30+ years old so it was compacted to about 2" . At this point that cactus garden is sounding more practical than tomatoes. Fortunately, as hot as it normally gets here in our part of Texas during the summers, this summer, so far, is definitely an anomaly. I will dream of your weather when I sleep! I hope your wish for us comes true!!!

[Ed Mahmoud]

$600 and a new switch and capacitor later, we are in business.


11 year old system, and 2.5 tons designed for the house before the addition, we are soon looking at about ten grand to replace/upsize the system.

But it is cool again for now.

[HarlequinBoy]

The high there though said 115. That would have to have been some sort of record?

[Ed Mahmoud]

The high there though said 115. That would have to have been some sort of record?

Hearne is in East Texas. If CLL and UTS exceeded 110ºF, I might believe it.


Bad sensor in the ASOS, if I had to guess.

[CajunMama]

I spy some showers out in the gom moving ne. It looks like south central la (lafayette) would be in their path. I hope they don't dissipate but instead increase. Fourth of July or not I would welcome the rain.

On a side note my daughter and i exited the mall here yesterday and it was raining. We walked right out into the rain enjoying every drop of it while others huddled at the entrance. We were laughing at them. I live 5 miles from the mall and not a drop there.

[Ed Mahmoud]

I spy some showers out in the gom moving ne. It looks like south central la (lafayette) would be in their path. I hope they don't dissipate but instead increase. Fourth of July or not I would welcome the rain.

On a side note my daughter and i exited the mall here yesterday and it was raining. We walked right out into the rain enjoying every drop of it while others huddled at the entrance. We were laughing at them. I live 5 miles from the mall and not a drop there.

I saw hail at that mall in late June, 1997. I was surprised. Nothing too big. But in June. (The mall on Ambassador, I assume).

I hope y'all get some beaucoup rain too, for the Fall crawfish season.

[CajunMama]

The showers are gone *poof*. I knew it was too good to be true.

[jasons2k]

Just a hot 4th of July:


Shot at 2009-07-04

[SaskatchewanScreamer]

bvhoutex

I will dream of your weather when I sleep!

I'm guessing that's why Texans, come summer, used to drive their cattle up to Saskatchewan and Alberta when the medicine line (border) was wide open (as was the land...no barb wire fences). We still have a number of small towns and ranches with Texan names (and some Americans/Texan cowboys that decided to stay).

There's one Texan family that continues makes a return trip every summer......I had to ask why? He said he had worked at the Air Force Base (CFB Moose Jaw) and liked the summers here (he sure didn't look happy in 2007 however).

[vbhoutex]

Even though we broke another record today in Houston with 101ºf for the high I didn't feel it as much. I immersed myself in the lake or riding in the boat for most of the afternoon at our son-in-law's P's house on the lake. They have a a really SWEET set up at Indigo Lakes Estates up in Montgomery County.