Extreme drought and ridiculous heat rant

[Brent]

My neighborhood looks like a desert, my yard looks like it was set on fire, we're in the once-every-50 years drought(and the only place in the country under it) but that's not even the worst of it. Hit 100 today with heat indexes around 105 all afternoon, and we're expecting basically the same thing for the entire next week and perhaps even WORSE come Wednesday/Thursday(possibly heat indexes over 110), with rain chances slim to none. The worst heat wave of the entire summer after a rather cool July(and pretty wet first 10 days, with minimal rain since then). HELP!



Just needed to get that out.

This place is looking great right about now: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/fin ... ery=Vostok

[Opal storm]

*Sends Brent a bucket of rain water he can pour over his head*

[Ptarmigan]

Take all the rain you want from Texas. You can have all of it.

[Brent]

Joy!

HAZY...HOT...AND HUMID CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THE ENTIRE
TIME FRAME. HEAT INDEX VALUES AROUND 105 DEGREES WILL OCCUR IN A FEW
LOCATIONS ON SUNDAY...ESPECIALLY IN THE BLACK BELT REGION. THE HEAT
INDICES INCREASE TO 105 TO 109 DEGREES MONDAY AND TUESDAY AND WILL
COVER MANY LOCATIONS. FOR THE PERIOD WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...HEAT
INDICES WILL REACH THE 110 DEGREE MARK AREAWIDE AND A HEAT ADVISORY
MAY BECOME NECESSARY.

HIGH PRESSURE THROUGH A LARGE DEPTH OF THE ATMOSPHERE WILL PRODUCE
HIGH TEMPERATURES OF 95 TO 100 DEGREES SUNDAY...MONDAY...AND
TUESDAY. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE TO NEAR 100 DEGREES
AREAWIDE WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. THESE TEMPERATURES COUPLED WITH
HIGH HUMIDITY VALUES WILL PRODUCE HEAT INDICES CLOSE TO 110 DEGREES
BY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.

THE HEAT INDEX IS A MEASURE OF HOW HOT IT FEELS WHEN THE EFFECTS OF
HUMIDITY ARE COMBINED WITH THE TEMPERATURE. A HEAT INDEX OF 105
DEGREES IS CONSIDERED THE LEVEL WHERE MANY PEOPLE BEGIN TO EXPERIENCE
EXTREME DISCOMFORT OR PHYSICAL STRESS. THE HEAT INDEX IS MEASURED
UNDER SHADY CONDITIONS...AND DIRECT EXPOSURE TO SUNLIGHT CAN INCREASE
THE HEAT INDEX AS MUCH AS 15 DEGREES.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES HEAT ADVISORIES WHEN HEAT
INDICES REACH 110 DEGREES OR MORE AND PERSIST FOR TWO OR MORE DAYS
AND THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE DOES NOT DROP BELOW 75 DEGREES.

Lovely... just lovely.

[Category 5]

I thought it was bad here

[Aslkahuna]

Of course, a heat index of 110+ can not be compared to an actual temperature of 110+. Arizona has been in the midst of a 400 year drought since 1996 and most of the state still is despite recent heavy monsoon rains in the SE corner.

Steve

[Ptarmigan]

Of course, a heat index of 110+ can not be compared to an actual temperature of 110+. Arizona has been in the midst of a 400 year drought since 1996 and most of the state still is despite recent heavy monsoon rains in the SE corner.

Steve

400 year drought is long. Then again, some parts of Atacama Desert have not seen rain for 400 years.

[Brent]

WOOHOO! I had a brief reprieve today. Just had a storm with about 10 minutes of torrential rain and some close lightning strikes. It didn't last long but it's better than nothing and it cooled the temperature down(but the humidity is even worse than yesterday, some sprinkles early afternoon had already made it bad enough).

[MGC]

Brent, look up the summer of 1980 and check out a real heat wave and drought. Back in 2000 we had heat indexes over 130 degrees for several days. Ahhh, those 80+ dew points. Actually, I measure a DP of 84 at my house in Diamondhead one afternoon without any rain to bump it up.....MGC

[HarlequinBoy]

My parents have told me about 1980. The heat ruined all my dad's crops that year.

[Brent]

100 again today with a heat index of 110. I hate summer. Looks like 4 more days of this(at least).

[jasons2k]

1980 - yep - Dallas/Fort Worth hit 113F (actual air temp, not heat index) and had 69 days of 100+. I think 56 days were consecutive.

[MGC]

Yea, seems like DFW is not having summer compared to 1980. Ya'll hit 100 yet?...MGC

[Opal storm]

100 again today with a heat index of 110. I hate summer. Looks like 4 more days of this(at least).

We're also stuck in the heat wave, though slightly cooler than your area cause we're closer to the coast. Mid 90's (pockets of upper 90's/100) with heat index 100-110. We got this pattern all week and into the weekend, only very isolated showers are developing in the afternoon. With all this heat and stale air a lot of water recreation areas are closed due to high bacteria levels.

[jasons2k]

Yea, seems like DFW is not having summer compared to 1980. Ya'll hit 100 yet?...MGC

I don't think they have officially at DFW yet.

IAH (Houston) has not yet either. I hit 100F for the first time at the house on Monday, I'm about 10 miles NW of IAH.

[Brent]

102 here with a heat index of 111. The dewpoints are a little lower today but does it really matter. I don't think I've ever recorded 102(I know I had 101 one day last summer but that was the only 100+ day).

101 at Birmingham(first 100+ reading in SEVEN years), 100 at Anniston, Auburn, and Atlanta, and 102 at Montgomery.

Meanwhile in Emporia, VA it's 106!!!

[Regit]

Florence, SC and Lumberton, NC reported highs of 106 today. Heat Index has been 110-115.

All-time records for both locations are 108.

It's gone from hot to obscene.

[txwatcher91]

I hit 104 today with a Heat index of 123F!

[HarlequinBoy]

Wow, that's crazy heat. Today, well yesterday I recorded 100 again.. I don't know what the heat index was. At the airport it was just below 110.

[Brent]

103 here with a heat index of 113. This is the most awful heat I've seen. Atlanta BROKE the record from 1980 by 2 degrees and also broke the all-time August record. There have been a number of others also.

More bad news, the drought continues to get worse quickly.