How Do You In Hot States Cope

[jyl]

It hit 108F in Portland today. It sucked.

We get this sort of heat wave about once every other year, for a few days. At least it’s a dry heat, and it’s over quickly.

I gather that other parts of the country live with this kind of heat, or a heat index equivalent, for weeks on end.

How do you deal with it?

We’re going to get more frequent and longer heat waves here. I think other parts of the country are going to get hotter for longer as well.

I’m not sure exactly what my tolerance point is, but if we got to where triple-digit temps lasted for weeks and weeks every year, I’ll be moving away.

How much hotter or hotter for longer would it have to get where you are, for you to leave?

[pwd72s]

C'mon, how long have you actually lived in Oregon? I'm a newcomer, have only lived here 75 years.
Cindy was born here. So what makes you think we'll be having "more frequent and longer heat waves"? So it got above the century mark...big deal. Both Cindy & I have seen it before...many times over the decades we've been here.

Which TV weather show broadcast prompted you to post?

[Bill Douglas]

Eeek, that's hot.

I'm always doing something, and I couldn't be busy doing something(s) in heat like that.

[Rick Lee]

I like it. I don't get all the hoopla about a hot summer in Phoenix. When was it not a hot summer here? So it was 110 deg. for more consecutive days than any summer since 1974. Oh my! And here I was wondering when we'd beat that record. Last year I kept thinking to myself, "Gee, I wonder if we'll get one or two more days of 110+ weather and beat that record." It's hot here. For that we get eight months of near perfect weather. I'll take it. No snow, not much rain and pretty low humidity. I'll take it.

[look 171]

Most here are screaming already if we get into the mid 90s. There are few days in the year that we get real heat wave of over or near 100 then its over in a week or so back to normal, mid to high 80s in the dead middle of summer. I hope our heat wave is over for the year. We had a few days this years, but not too bad at all. Still we have September to deal with.

If we leave, where would we go? They all have their issues caused by mother nature. We are staying put so far. The CA central cost is really beautiful and not real issues.

[asphaltgambler]

Here in northern Va, we have heat AND high humidity and since I work in it with my job and my hobby - sometimes very tiring during this time of year. Lived here all my life, Pretty sure I wouldn't move too much farther down south....

[KFC911]

Those temps I see Steve post (Houston... humid), and 110+ elsewhere are beyond what I've ever experienced, but mid-90s and high humidity ... is normal here.... it's in my DNA ... how do I cope...

I sweat

I don't even use the a/c in my truck either...

[Dixie]

One word. A/C
People who moved to Florida from the mid-west love to say, "you get used to the heat." This is a lie. I'm a southern girl and I've always lived a screen door away from Hell. You do not get used to the heat.

[rfuerst911sc]

You just deal with it , just like when it's minus 30 with the wind howling . Work outside in the morning before it heats up . Stay in the shade when possible . Use AC when needed . Really just common sense . Stay hydrated !!!

[Shaun @ Tru6]

It's not just the heat, I've been in AZ at 105F and extreme heat is not a big deal, it's the humidity.

This is easily the worst weather summer in my 55 years on the planet. It's rained so much we have already surpassed all of 2022 precipitation. And been extremely humid nearly every single day since May.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Capt. Carrera

One word. A/C
People who moved to Florida from the mid-west love to say, "you get used to the heat." This is a lie. I'm a southern girl and I've always lived a screen door away from Hell. You do not get used to the heat.

For some folks.... they do get used to it ... others.... NEVER! I never went to a school with a/c until college and am an outside person... and heat & humidity are tolerable for me .... within reason.

I would not be able to tolerate northern winters tho.... fuggetaboudit

[GH85Carrera]

It is just the same as living in freezing cold, only no big ass heavy coats, boots, and gloves needed.

You go from an air conditioned house to an air conditioned car and into an air conditioned building.

I mowed the yard on Monday, and with the heat index, it was 110. Drink lots of water, sunscreen, and a big ol' hat. Then take a shower. It sure beats shoveling snow in single digit temps.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

It's not just the heat, I've been in AZ at 105F and extreme heat is not a big deal, it's the humidity.

This is easily the worst weather summer in my 55 years on the planet. It's rained so much we have already surpassed all of 2022 precipitation. And been extremely humid nearly every single day since May.

Summer of '77 I was in Dodge City when it hit 105 (hotest spot in the nation that day), but dry, and the hottest temp I've ever seen....

It wasn't all that bad ....

This summer hasn't been either fwiw... here

[id10t]

While I much prefer Fall, Winter and Spring temperatures around here...

With super high humidity it puts a cap on the actual upper temperature. Sure, 93 degrees and 90 percent humidity suck... But with a little breeze, and some shade, it isn't that bad. Lots of cool/cold drinks, I tend to do water with a little splash of cranberry juice for flavor.

[Rick Lee]

105 in Phoenix in the shade is very comfortable. Really nothing at all. Being in direct sunlight is where it's no fun. And for some reason, I really feel the heat when it gets above 108. But after that it's all the same, just scorching hot. After about one more month things will calm down here.

[Superman]

PNW humidity is, in my experience, a bit higher than Jyl suggests. At least in the Western Washington area.

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

It's not just the heat, I've been in AZ at 105F and extreme heat is not a big deal, it's the humidity.....

This is very true. Rick is correct. Phoenix is remarkably comfortable in the shade, even in triple-digit temps. Coming from the PNW, this surprised me greatly. Here, with our humidity, triple digit temps are miserable. But only for a few days. If, as Jyl worries, those temps expand to weeks instead of days, then AC is the answer.

Back to humidity: The range of temperatures at which our bodies are comfortable changes greatly with humidity. In humid conditions, than range is narrow. In arid conditions, that range expands greatly.

When temperatures and humidity are higher than our comfort zone, and we turn on our AC, the first thing that happens is not a change in temperature. The first thing that happens is the AC system takes humidity out of the air. This alone provides relief. Then, as the AC system continues to run, temps fall and this provides more relief.

[Zeke]

I worked outdoors in Vegas during the summer. I took pain pills and drank a ton of water. That's how you do it. I did the same in AL the summer before. You could wring sweat out of a tee shirt. Lots of water. It was so hot I drove home with the windows down and the AC off because of being soaking wet. That was some 30 years ago, now the heat at my age is debilitating. Over 85º and I'm inside.

I paid all those dues.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Zeke

I worked outdoors in Vegas during the summer. I took pain pills and drank a ton of water. That's how you do it. I did the same in AL the summer before. You could wring sweat out of a tee shirt. Lots of water. It was so hot I drove home with the windows down and the AC off because of being soaking wet. That was some 30 years ago, now the heat at my age is debilitating. Over 85º and I'm inside.

I paid all those dues.

Pain pills?

[aschen]

been brutal the last few weeks here, I cope by reminding myself it is nice for 8 months. Coping mechanism is not entirely working lately though

[GH85Carrera]

On my summer trip to and from Palm Springs, CA it was HOT the entire time. As I pulled into the hotel parking lot it was 107. I was taking three showers per day.

On the way home I took a detour to visit the Very Large Array radio telescope facility, then down to Truth or Consequences, NM.



It was lunch time, so I drove to the downtown area looking for a restaurant. I saw a large painting on the side of a building with a cowboy riding a horse and the words CAFE. Then I saw the hook for me, covered parking.



I started assuming it was a typical small town cafe. Bad assumption! I go into the front door area, and it is a open patio seating area with a bit of shade from a netting. It was 105 degrees, and a dozen people eating OUTSIDE! I knew I did not fit in as 100% of the people there had multi colored hair and not normal human hair colors. Lots of greens, blues and oranges, stripes, and neck tattoos, facial piercings and somehow a old grey haired white man like me felt like the oddball. They had a seating area inside of three bar stools that were occupied. So outside eating only, in 100 plus heat. Nope, I will skip that.

So maybe the heat cooked their brains, or just living there has adapted them to like heat. I just think they were all lizard people, likely at night they eat the out of town people. I was happy to head out of town long before I found out.

I was going to stop at White Sands museum but it is outdoors and 105 is too hot for me. I did spend time at the Alamogordo Space museum, but it is mostly indoors. Roswell was 105.