Wx Update....in case you don't know what's coming...

http://news.yahoo.com/upper-midwest-bracing-dangerous-long-heat-wave-161443611.html

Thought our weather buffs would get a kick out of this. And, thought the non-weather people would like fair warning if they are going to be affected.

Standard news story this time of year: Please check on the elderly who may not have working, or any, A/C. Like the frog on the stove, when the heat gets turned up gradually, you may not notice. This kind of heat can be fatal. Inner cities and brick buildings (that hold the heat at night) will be the most dangerous places to live if not used to this kind of heatwave. And, FOR GOD'S SAKE, take the kids in the freaking store with you....and leave the dog at home in her kennel. Sheesh. I can't believe I still see these stories on the news. C'mon general public...clue in!

FarmerVal, please take the heat back!!!

We were in the low 100s with heat index hovering at 120 last week for a couple days. AC didn't help a bit. It was 86 in the house with the AC running non-stop. Miserable. I was SO happy when it got back down to "only" the low hundreds.

We currently have posted an 'Excessive Heat Warning' until Wednesday morning. DH and I are getting one last shot at the driving range, then hiding in the AC for the weekend!

GG

It was supposed to be 86 here today, but we only reached 72. The next few days are supposed to be brutal.

Looking forward to it NOT!

I'm done with the HOT. It can just go away any time now.

Got up this AM (Saturday, of course) and it was 74 outside. And 86 inside. Something's wrong with the AC. Somebody book me a hotel room, quick!

Goosegirl wrote:We currently have posted an 'Excessive Heat Warning' until Wednesday morning. DH and I are getting one last shot at the driving range, then hiding in the AC for the weekend!

GG

You golfers? In that case, if you could only play one round of golf, and money was no object, which would you choose......Pebble Beach or Royal St. Andrews? (I guess I'll accept a write-in of Augusta National, but that's not currently an option for me.)

As for our heat, we have picked up the excessive heat warning, too. Only ours is through NEXT weekend. I've never seen one issued that far in advance and for that long. (Again, cry me a river statements coming from Texas are well understood) Our lows for Tuesday through Friday are only supposed to be around 82°! Lots of AC's will be failing this week. Hope all yours make it.

Mamachibi, where do you live? 6b doesn't give me much to go on. So sorry to hear about your AC. That bites!

No excessive heat warnings here yet but the predictions are low to mid-90s for several days. We have had 16 90+ days already! The only things loving it are my toms and peppers!

BackyardBirdGardner wrote:
You golfers? In that case, if you could only play one round of golf, and money was no object, which would you choose......Pebble Beach or Royal St. Andrews? (I guess I'll accept a write-in of Augusta National, but that's not currently an option for me.)

As for our heat, we have picked up the excessive heat warning, too. Only ours is through NEXT weekend. I've never seen one issued that far in advance and for that long. (Again, cry me a river statements coming from Texas are well understood)

Golfers? Just learning - this was my first time actually swinging a club at the range instead of watching and DH has been going for about 2 months now, so we couldn't give a real answer!

Our heat warning is extended into Wednesday night, but it is supposed to cool off a bit after that. I have never seen a heat warning for more than one day at a time here, so having it through Wednesday night is wicked!

Listening to the weather here in SE Wisconsin, tonight's heat index will be 91. Tomorrow's will be 115 and Tuesday's is supposed to be 120 plus. I don't think I've ever seen the HI so high. Although the heat advisory is through Wednesday, our local weather guy expects that it will be extended through the weekend. Here's hoping we don't have a power outage.

HouseofWool wrote: Here's hoping we don't have a power outage.

Don't even whisper that!

GG

It is a concern. We live in the sticks and the grid can be somewhat unstable when demand is high. The rule for the next few days is NO COOKING INSIDE.

Yup, I have already planned for crockpot and hubby grilling. Excessive heat thru next Thursday here also.

And we were fussing cause of the cool weather!

Thank goodness for ac (although it just can not keep up) and swimming pools. At least if we have one ac breakdown there are three households in town (two daughters)!

BBG, Nashville-ish. This week the heat index is only in the hundreds. Last week it was in the 110-120 range and I'm SO glad the AC held out through that. Eating and sleeping are the only real hard parts (oh, and sitting at the computer working.) Sitting in front of the fan with a squirt bottle I can manage.

Sorry BBG, it's takes me hours to recover from the heat when I come in, I just caught this post.

I'm outside atleast 2 hours in the AM, and then again at 6 or 7 for another hour to water, thank goodness I'm in the country and on a well. I drive by so many gardens and see dead plants all over, my thinking is "You live in TX, don't plant a garden unless you plan to water-and can afford to-DUH-HUH".

We have been under a heat advisery for a while now, it does not expire in the evening either, we also just got put back on a burn ban, I am not sure but I believe TX has just joined LA in a STATEWIDE burn ban, they even considered banning fire works on the 4th. I was hoping it would rain on the 15th, but since that means 40 days of rain and I don't have the time or the resources to build an ark, I'm almost gald it did not. They guy across the street said he may have some cows for sale, he's only got one cutting this year and was 4 rolls short of his average. 4 rolls may not seem like a lot, but it can mean the difference between keeping and selling livestock. We've also had several storms loom above and go around, my thinking is it actually is raining here, but evaporating before it comes down, it's happened before!!! I really hate to hear of a drought and heatwave like this, I remember 14 years or so ago the farmers here got 5 cuttings of hay, that's one more than the average, and most of that hay was sent up north to farmers who got only 1 cutting (donated of course) if no one is cutting hay, that's not good, it also means corn, grain, and well ya'll understand. 5 years ago, we here in NE TX only hit 100 1 or 2 times, that was a year or two after the year of 100 days of 100 degree weather, oi vey that was hot. The hottest and driest I remember was the year I was pregnant with my second child, I was hand washing ALL of our clothes and hanging them to dry, even the weeds under the clothes line (hand washing drips profusely) shriveled up and died. That was 1988, and the average temp was 114 in the shade. I did not go out much that summer.

You know, I don't know what it is, but some days are easier than others...no matter the temps. Yesterday, I quit working at 1130am because I was both done and really heat stressed. I trimmed a house that had about 22 bushes....ALL in full sun. I got in the car and it said 84°. I said, "Like hell." By the time I got home, the car said 90°. I said, "Like hell." It certainly felt hotter than that. I rarely go around the back of someone's house and douse my hat with their hose. Yesterday, I did that AND just sat under the hose for about a minute letting the cool water run over my head and neck.

However, today I had 3 yards to cut and they were very shady yards. I knew I wouldn't have much of a problem with them. I didn't even break a sweat until I pulled the trimmer off the trailer. No issues, no stress whatsoever. I get home and the temp is 96° with a heat index of 113°.

I don't understand the difference besides being in the sun and shade. It makes a difference, but I didn't think THAT much with all this humidity. Either way, I'm wrong....and happy for that. Today hasn't been hard at all.

But, they also say the heat hasn't peaked here yet, either. I really feel for you guys up north that don't have a/c in your houses. If you don't mind, tell me what you are doing to cope indoors please. My grandparents grew up in the 30s in San Antonio, TX, and I know they didn't have central air then. But, I don't remember much of what they said about coping, either.

BBG, I think it's more what you are acclimated to. Also cities were not as big back then and mostly dirt roads, not alot of concrete and asphalt to magnify the heat. I know we are anywhere from 5-10 degrees below what they are in town and we are 10 miles out. I did not start running the air all day until my older two went to school, it made them stay ouside longer and as long as I turned it on by 2:30 it was cool enough for hubby when he got home, kids and I were fine with fans going, now, no way am I going with out air, so I also think age has something to do with it.

Hey ya'll I saw BBG working yesterday, wanna see?

Good one Val!

BBG, I grew up in SE Iowa without AC. We had one floor fan and an exhaust fan in one bedroom. I don't know if they even make those anymore. It was a fan that fit over an open window and blew out rather than in. When mom turned it on, it would make this huge noise, sounded like a plane taking off and rattled the entire side of the house. It sucked air in through all the windows of the house (it was a small house), so there was always some kind of air flow.

Mom had two huge gardens. She canned and when it was like it is out now, she would start canning around 10pm and go all night. I don't know how the woman did it.

I think we coped by simply knowing nothing else. Some times for some thing special, I'd ride the bus to town and watch a movie in air conditioned comfort. Or walk to HyVee because they had air conditioning. I remember walking there in bare feet and when my feet hit that cool linoleum, I was in heaven. Swimming in the river was also a great way to cool off.

A lot of people also had attic fans, that makes a huge difference!!!

I promised myself I wouldn't whine this summer cause I whined all winter that I was cold. I didn't plan on living in a blast furnace for over a week! I'm trying to limit my whining as I'm enjoying watching my corn love the heat. Had to pull the lettuce as it tasted like arugula, but otherwise we are faring OK in NE. Thank goodness for A/C!

We are considering an attic fan (we have a 2-story house and it is easily 6-10 degrees warmer on the upper floor) or something like that. Anyone know if they actually make a difference?

Attic fans do work. Are they worth the investment? It's a matter of opinion.

I grew up with one. I loved it. If we didn't have a breeze in SE KS, we just created one with the attic fan. It can be in the low 80s outside and still be comfy inside because of the effects of wind chill. Ceiling fans do the same general thing. We have one in every room of our current house now.....so no need for an attic fan imo.

Also, ceiling fans run on 110 current while attic fans pull 220....the same as your a/c units. The cost is what you need to compare. Ceiling fans on a room by room basis, and used as needed, are far cheaper than one attic fan imo. Attic fans left to run for a couple of hours equate out to about the same energy usage, and cost, as running your a/c for the same period of time, except the attic fan doesn't cool anything down.

If an HVAC guy is in here, now would be a good time for him to speak up as I am no expert.

We are heading for our peak heat later this week and are under a heat advisory until Thursday pm. Too hot for me but I can almost watch my plants grow! The beans are shooting up daily, the peppers are loaded with itty bitty babies, and my 'Red Hot Cherry' peppers are beginning to ripen!

Are you guys talking about attic fans or whole house fans? They are to different things.

We have a solar attic fan which exhausts heat from the attic. It helps keep the attic cooler so the A/C doesn't have to works so hard.

I have thought about getting a whole house fan which would suck the air out of the house. It is installed in the attic.

102 degrees today!