I took a little blog break in August to spare you all my whining about the heat, so let's just get this out of the way in one big chunk and then we need never speak of it again. According to my local weather station, this year in Austin we:
- set a record for the highest number of days with temperatures in the triple digits (76 so far, but the forecast calls for more over the next few days)
- set a record for the most consecutive days at triple digits (27)
- set a record for the highest number of days at 105 degrees or above (23! TWENTY-FRICKIN-THREE)
- tied the record for the hottest day EVER recorded in Austin (112 degrees -- pretty sure we did this at least twice this year)(so far!)
- had an average temperature (factoring in both high and low temps) this summer of 89.5 degrees, making this officially the hottest summer on record
- had an average high temperature of 104.8 OMG ARE YOU KIDDING ME degrees last month, making August 2011 not only the hottest August ever recorded here, but the hottest MONTH ever recorded, period
I managed to do very few of the things I had planned to do this summer, but that's okay. We survived, and that's all that matters. We didn't have any earthquakes or hurricanes, but it was a natural disaster all the same. I fervently hope that YOU are all safe and well and whole after whatever nature happened to throw your way this summer.
And now let's all flip the calendar to September, take a deep breath, and think about autumn in the northern hemisphere. (You lot in the antipodes are on your own. Good luck!)
Those are some unbelievable figures there. And possibly more 100 days to come? That's one crazy summer. I can't imagine how anything grows in that kind of dry heat.
ReplyDeleteUck, no thank you very much. I'd bottle & send some of my good 'ol reliable Bay Area fog if I could.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you. Always glad to turn the page to September.
ReplyDeleteI'm heading to Las Vegas for Labor Day weekend, where it's been over 105 for days and days. I'm dreading it. I know Vegas leads the nation in mortgage defaults. What I don't understand is why anyone wants to live there in the first place.
That sounds positively Horrible. Yes, with a capital H.
ReplyDeleteWe survived the "edges" of the earthquake but not without my learning that I'm an "earthquake sensitive human" (you can learn exactly what that is on my blog!) and we survived Irene without any damage. I'm ready for September, too, but I don't want to turn anymore pages after that. HATE WINTER!
I'm breaking into a sweat just reading this. Holy god. I have no idea how you Texans do it.
ReplyDelete--Erin
Your weather beat ours in Fresno, which is probably another record. The only thing that gets me through the horrendously hot days is I say to myself "It can't be this hot in December" and I count the days on the calendar.
ReplyDeleteI kind of get it in that my home town of Adelaide suffers from days on end of hideous dry heat at similar temperatures to yours (which we always thought was better than humid heat) but I don't think it ever ever has been as bad as that.
ReplyDeleteThat really does sound like a sucky summer. You were well entitled to whine about that. Fingers crossed one last heatwave doesn't sneak up on you, like ALWAYS happens in Melbourne.
ReplyDeleteI promise never to complain about our heat again.
ReplyDeleteNever.
HOORAY!!! September ... YAHOO!!!!