Weather Report

Christ:

Eight days in a row of highs near or at 100 degrees. In September.

After that, highs in the mid-90s.

God.

Weather Report

Another heat dome is on the way. Ugh

Today is almost nice -- 70 degree when I went to the park with the dog at eight a.m.

But next week looks terrible.

Two more weeks of summer.

Weather Report

It's been killing hot over the past week, with highs in the 100s -- 105, yesterday. Today, the high is predicted to be 99, and the same tomorrow.

After that, it will "cool down" to highs of 95 and 96. 

But fall is in sight. Only eleven days until September, and once September hits, can fall be far behind?

Fingers crossed.

Weather Report

I was hoping coming to the end of the dog days meant we'd get cooler weather for awhile, but nope:

Highs in the high 90s and 100s for the foreseeable future. UGH.

The AC cannot keep up with this heat -- it takes until 9:00 before the inside temperature finally gets below 72 degrees. (I need it to be in the 60s to sleep.) I spend the day sitting between two fans and whimpering.

Six more weeks of summer.

My Major Complaints about Life At the Moment

In general I am pretty happy with how life is going right now, but I do have some complaints.

(1) I have to put my shoes on every day. Sometimes multiple times a day. Often socks are involved as well.

(2) If I don't feed and hydrate my body, it gets really cranky and sometimes starts hurting

(3) I have to fix meals. Like, every single day. Sometimes more than once a day! [See #2]

(4) Summer

(5) Dishes, laundry

(6) I have to take showers. It's such a production. First you have to arrange a time when the shower is not being used by someone else and the laundry and dishwasher are not running. Then you have to get out a towel and a washcloth and a bath mat. And soap. Then you have to undress. Then you have to get in the shower. Being in the shower is okay, even pleasant, but eventually you have to come out of the shower. Then you have to dry off and dress and clean up the towels and shower and bath mat and now there's more laundry.

(7) Not only to I have to bathe and feed and hydrate my stupid body, I have to exercise it. Even in the summer. UGH.

(8) Republicans and MAGA. Can't we vote them off the island?

(9) So many books are very bad. True, there are also good books. But I need to sort through all the terrible ones to get to the good ones. GOD.

(10) Once you hit about 65, everything starts hurting pretty much all the time. This is also when you retire and finally have plenty of time to live your life but how can you when everything hurts all the time?

(11) If you're thinking about getting a border collie mix, remember it's like installing external ADHD.

(12) Summer. Did I mention summer? Let's mention it again. It's going to be 101 degrees on Tuesday and there are still eleven more weeks until we can reasonably expect some cooler weather. If we must have summer, couldn't we just have it for a weekend in August like they do in some European countries? Or well, I guess as they used to do, since climate change has changed that.

What's that? What's that out there? Let's GO SEE!!

Weather Report

It's not as hot as it could be, I guess.

Highs in the 90s for the foreseeable future, plus high humidity. It's too hot to stay very long at the dog park, even in the evening when the shade is pretty deep.

July and August are my least favorite months. Could we not just skip them and go straight to October?

Weather Report

We've had a (relatively) cool summer so far, with highs in the 80s. But come July, the weather forecast says we're going to get into the 90s. UGH.

Today is cool and damp, because of all the rain we've been having. 

Fourteen more weeks of summer.

Whaaaat!

Weather guy says we might get rain today. And the high tomorrow is 77? 

Whaaaat!

It hasn't rained in maybe a month here, and the grass has gone crunchy underfoot, so rain will be nice. Fingers crossed.

Tips for Surviving the Heat Dome

Live on popsicles and watermelon. Frozen bananas and frozen peas are also good. (You eat them frozen!)

Never leave the house between one o'clock and seven o'clock. (We violate this one by going to exercise at 3:00 p.m., but we tried going at 5:00 a.m. and I was wrecked for the rest of the day, because insomnia.)

Get one of those re-usable cold packs for putting on injuries. Freeze it and put it on your neck and down your back and on your feet. Three cold packs is obviously better, you can do all three places at once, but they're pricy.

Move your workspace directly under your AC vent, or (in my case) your heat pump.

Take cool showers.

Don't cook. Don't cook ANYTHING. See living on popsicles, up there. (Dr. Skull violates this one at least once a week, making chili or a pizza, and I am SO HOT.) 

Don't eat big meals, since eating means digesting which means your body is working harder which means it's running hotter. One popsicle, and then two hours later some watermelon, and then maybe a piece of cheese a couple hours after that. Yogurt is also good. Have iced coffee in the morning, and iced water with lemon in it after that.

Wear almost no clothing. (I have a spaghetti strap shirt and very loose, very thin shorts.)

Count the weeks left until mid-September, when maybe things will cool down. (Seven now.)

Whine a lot.

 

Weather

 After three days of lovely cool days and 55 degree nights, we have a forecast of highs of 98 degrees and a 100 degrees coming next week.

Only seven more days of summer. Enough, please.

How to Survive a Heat Dome

Murderously hot weather continues. I took my dog outside (he's blind now, so we have to carry him outside and then stay with him so he doesn't get confused) yesterday afternoon, and a hot wind was blowing across the city, fever hot against my face. 106 degrees at four in the afternoon.

Today will have a high of 103, says the weather channel. Tomorrow is cooler, if we can count a high of 99 as cool. And then back up into the 100s.

How are we surviving? Some tips for living in an old house in Arkansas during a heat emergency (that's what the weather guy called it yesterday -- more than 30 without rain, and killer temps every day):

(1) Eat cold or frozen foods. I've been living on watermelon, cheese, salad, and popsicles. Sometimes I eat pistachios as well. I keep thinking I will have some peas and rice for dinner, after it cools off, but it doesn't cool off until well past midnight, so I never do.

(2) Wear as little as possible. I had two sleeveless shirts and a pair of loose shorts that I wear around the house. 

(3) If you have to go outside, don't stand in the sun. Find some shade. You won't be cool, but you won't get heatstroke either. Also, don't stand in the sun if you're wearing sleeveless shirts, unless you like getting a sunburn in ten minutes.

(4) Don't leave the house after 10:00 in the morning. You can leave after sunset if you have to, but what's opening in your useless town after 8:30? Not much, and I'm speaking from experience here. There's a drugstore which is open all night, and it sells very bad ice cream. Not worth the trip. Get everything done at dawn if you can.

(5) If you do have to leave the house after 10:00 in the morning, take it slow. Park your car in the shade if you can. Drink a lot of water. Be kind to each other. 

(6) The gym has an indoor swimming pool. Unfortunately, this means you will have to go to the gym at 3:00, since the pool is scheduled for classes until then. See above concerning leaving the house after 10:00 a.m.

(7) To save a little $$$, turn off most of your window units at dawn. Keep the curtains drawn after 10:00, especially those on the southwest side of the house. Don't use appliances if you can help it. Eat off paper plates so you won't have to use the dishwasher more than twice a week. Since you're not wearing any clothes and you're showering at the gym, you won't need to do laundry very often either. Yay!

(8) Take naps.

(9) Obsessively check the weather reports. Maybe the forecast will change! Maybe it will only be 95 degrees next week!

(10) Remember fall is only -- checks notes -- nine weeks away!

More Weather Complaints

We're having a high of 109 here tomorrow (that's 43 degrees to anyone living in a sane country), and highs of 100+ through the end of the month. Plus it hasn't rained for nearly 30 days. The grass in my yard crunches under my feet like toast. Smells like toast, too.

Arkansas Summer

Christ, y'all:

That's 11 out of the next 13 days with the temperature over 100 degrees. And the two that aren't are at 99 degrees.

Seventy more days before we can start even thinking about fall weather. Not sure I can make it.

God I Hate Summer

I have rearranged my living room so that my new writing station is directly under the heat pump (which despite its name is actually our main air conditioner). Now instead of being 77 degrees at three in the afternoon my space is 74 degrees at three in the afternoon.

My new writing space

This is because it's been over 100 degrees here for the past three days and will continue to be over 100 for the next six days. 

Last night at midnight it was 89 degrees outside. And 77 degrees in our bedroom. We have a window unit in the bedroom, but it just can't keep up with the heat.

Sixty-eight days until we can reasonably expect the summer heat to ease, just a little. But who's counting?

Where I used to write 

Summer Again

Just four or five days ago I was musing to myself, "Wow, this is an unusually cool spring for Arkansas. I wonder if this weather will keep up all summer? Wouldn't that be great?"

HA HA HA.

Even with the air conditioning on, it was 80 degrees in my house at six o'clock yesterday evening. Four more months of this at least. UGH.

Summer Arrives

 After a relatively cool spring, with days in the upper 60s and low 70s, it appears that summer has arrived in the Fort.

I put the AC on last night, and it looks like it's going to stay on. Six months of summer. My least favorite part of living in Arkansas.

Global Climate Change in Arkansas

 It's 76 degrees on the third of December here in the Fort.

I may have to put the AC on tonight.

But yeah, it's all just a liberal plot to destroy capitalism.

See also this.

I'm currently reading Termination Shock, by Neal Stephenson, about rich Texan who decides to do something about global warming his own self. Stephenson, who would be a better writer if he could quell the urge to include snide comments amounting to "LOL librals are silly" every 40 or 50 pages, makes good points about the expense of climate change. I'm not entirely convinced by his fix, and the book badly needs an editor -- it's over 700 pages long, and honestly should have been half that.

Also, the feral hogs seem a side issue, frankly. But I'm only on page 419. Maybe they make more sense later.

High of 95 Today, October 9

 I swear all I do these days is fret about why fall refuses to arrive. Today, for instance, the high is projected to be 95 degrees. WTAF.

Weather guy is promising us fall in a few days. Fingers crossed.

Nothing to do with the weather, but I enjoyed this graphic:

Original source is here.

 

It's 70 degrees here today

 ...and almost cool.

Next week, we're back in the low 90s and high 80s, though.

I have hopes that we may achieve fall at some point before November.

Weather Report: And There Was Much Rejoicing

 

A big rainstorm came through last night, with a cold front behind it.

Well: cold.

How about cooler? It was in the high 60s most of the day, and when I took the dog to the riverfront park for his walk, it was almost chilly.

Please let this be the end of summer.