There article has a picture of a smiling couple in front of a sign showing the temperature - 130 degrees. I can't imagine what that feels like - the hottest temperature I have ever experienced was 121 in Parker AZ, years ago, and that was bad enough.

I'll bet they did not stand there very long...

Yesterday in Death Valley

quote:

In the midst of a historic heat wave in the West, the mercury in Death Valley, Calif., surged to a searing 130 degrees on Sunday afternoon, possibly setting a world record for the highest temperature ever observed during the month of August.

Seattle set a record yesterday. I think it was 98.

Many years ago, I went to Kuwait to teach a class. It was July. We landed about 11:00 pm and the pilot announced that the temperature was 40C. I had no idea how much 40C was in F, but I had been in Hong Kong the summer before and it was 35 and I remember that was HOT. Turns out 40C is 104F. But the next thought I had was "if it's 40 at 11:00 pm, how hot is it during the day?"

In Kuwait, the law says that if it is over 50C everyone can quit work and go home (this was shortly after the war and there was a lot of construction, so a lot of people working outside). According to the weather reports on the radio, we had several days of 49C -- but I can tell you that some of those 49s were a lot hotter than others. So, I'm guessing I've been out in well over 122 (take that, Steve).

Fortunately, Kuwait has a predominately offshore flow, so, as they say in Arizona, it's a dry heat.

Then one day I noticed the sky was getting dark. Growing up in the Pacific Northwet, my brain assumed it was going to rain and cool down. Those weren't clouds. It was a sandstorm that lasted three days. It did cool off a few degrees, but now it's hot and everything is covered in sand. Yeesh.

A lot of the Kuwaitis own Mercedes or BMWs. But they don't drive them during the day. The windshields and dashboards melt in the heat. The most popular car then was the Chevy Impala -- a big ol' American air conditioner on wheels. Built to survive Death Valley.


I was in Guangzhou for several weeks to teach a class. It was in the mid- to high-30s there and the air pollution was really bad. Then it rained. When it rains here, it washes the pollution out of the air. There, it just got a lot more humid. Yeesh. (I hear the pollution got much better once they opened the subway.)

quote:

A lot of the Kuwaitis own Mercedes or BMWs. But they don't drive them during the day. The windshields and dashboards melt in the heat. The most popular car then was the Chevy Impala -- a big ol' American air conditioner on wheels. Built to survive Death Valley.

Back in the 80's we had a Volvo sedan. That car had the best heater of any car I've ever owned, but the air conditioner could barely keep up at 90 degrees.

Yikes. Hottest I've lived through is about 104.

The dewpoint reached 82 during one of the heat waves. It was awful. But nowhere near as bad as what you guys are describing.

Chicago's worst heat waves:

https://www.weather.gov/lot/1999Jul29

PJ

I love your stories!

India in April, right before the monsoon. It was in the mid-120s every day. I kept a wet washcloth on the nape of my neck during the day. It's surprisingly helpful in preventing heat stroke.

quote:

Originally posted by pianojuggler:

...
A lot of the Kuwaitis own Mercedes or BMWs. But they don't drive them during the day. The windshields and dashboards melt in the heat. The most popular car then was the Chevy Impala -- a big ol' American air conditioner on wheels. Built to survive Death Valley.

The hottest I remember being was many years ago in Eilat, Israel (top of Negev desert). One day I somehow found myself needing to run an errand near mid-day (August). All I remember is needing to make dashes between the shadows of telephone poles (where it was slightly cooler).

And being quite scared in the middle when I realized I'd have to go either backwards or forwards to escape it - standing it again. The heat was like the hottest spice you ever tasted; you almost don't notice it until suddenly your whole mouth is numb and on fire at once.