Heat wave: 1,000+ records fall in US in a week

[geetrue]

This is record breaking at a time of indecision on what is the cause ...

Wild fires all over the place, plus 108 degrees in the Dakota's spells change on the way to me.

http://news.yahoo.com/heat-wave-1-00...tPDD8AXKnQtDMD

Feeling hot? It's not a mirage. Across the United States, hundreds of heat records have fallen in the past week.

From the wildfire-consumed Rocky Mountains to the bacon-fried sidewalks of Oklahoma, the temperatures are creating consequences ranging from catastrophic to comical.

In the past week, 1,011 records have been broken around the country, including 251 new daily high temperature records on Tuesday.

Those numbers might seem big, but they're hard to put into context — the National Climatic Data Center has only been tracking the daily numbers broken for a little more than a year, said Derek Arndt, head of climate monitoring at the center.

Still, it's impressive, given that records usually aren't broken until the scorching months of July and August.

"Any time you're breaking all-time records in mid- to late-June, that's a healthy heat wave," Arndt said.

If forecasts hold, more records could fall in the coming days in the central and western parts of the country, places accustomed to sweating out the summer.

The current U.S. heat wave "is bad now by our current definition of bad," said University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver, but "our definition of bad changes. What we see now will be far more common in the years ahead."

Wildfires pack intense heat, but soaring temperatures and whipping winds are piling on the men and women battling the blazes raging across the Rocky Mountains.

U.S. Forest Service firefighter Owen Johnson had to work overnight to avoid the piping-hot daytime temperatures in the region, which toppled records in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. On Tuesday, Colorado Springs reached 101 degrees, and Miles City in eastern Montana soared to 111 degrees, the highest ever recorded in that area.

A call came in after Johnson's regular shift Monday in the Helena National Forest in Montana. A wildfire was racing through the Scratchgravel Hills, threatening at least 200 homes. But firefighters had to wait to attack it until midnight, as the fire was too intense and the weather too hot and too dry.

Oh PLEASE!!
Mankinds recorded records reflect nearly nothing on the total time Earth has been around.

I don't buy the 'We caused it all' slop that is thrown out there.

Discuss.

[Falkirion]

Those are some very hot temps. Over 40 degree celcius weather is not fun. That's when you generally hole up inside with the AC on full down here in Melbourne, Aus.

[August]

Out this way except for a few days earlier this month the weather has been unseasonably mild.

[Seth8530]

Here where I live in Tennessee we have expected temperatures of 107 degrees with an index of 136 on Saturday 0_o

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by August

Out this way except for a few days earlier this month the weather has been unseasonably mild.

And where I'm at it's been about average for this time of year.

[krashkart]

Originally Posted by Seth8530

Here where I live in Tennessee we have expected temperatures of 107 degrees with an index of 136 on Saturday 0_o

Yikes. I thought a heat index of 108 was bad...

[Seth8530]

A heat index of 108 is bad. Heat indices like that are almost unheard where I live. The scary part is that it isnt even July yet. However, I dont believe that I will be leaving the safety of my air condition this weekend so I shall be spared the worst of it.

[Herr-Berbunch]

Any consolation that it's raining here, can't remember if it's seasonal or not as it's all gone to pot in the last few years.

Flooding in my village today, nothing too serious but got in some shops and houses. Kids enjoyed it when the fire brigade turned up to help clear the area.

[vienna]

Discuss.

Privateer, are you any relation to the "Coffee Talk" host?





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[Karle94]

40 degrees celsius. I could`t possibly survive in that temperature. On a hot Norwegian summer day, like 25 degrees I can respiration problems. It litterally gets hard to breath. It`s like standing in strong headwind and trying to breath. Ì always start to wear shorts around february/march when there`s still low temperatures and snow. I stop wearing them around oktober/november. I love the cold, and despise heat almost as much as communism and religion.

[Codz]

Originally Posted by Karle94

I love the cold, and despise heat almost as much as communism and religion.

I can agree with all of that.

[Blood_splat]

The weather is getting crazy.

[Task Force]

I say we all declare war on summer.... there has to be a way to kill it!

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by Herr-Berbunch

can't remember if it's seasonal or not as it's all gone to pot in the last few years.

You know, if just you'd stop smoking that stuff it might still be possible to save what's left of your memory. :P


But seriously folks... IS IT HOT ENOUGH FOR YA?

We've had heat indices over 100 degrees F here for several days running as well... in addition to that terrible storm system that moved through here overnight on Friday. Probably the same one that did such terrible damage to parts of the Eastern seaboard over the weekend. Straight line winds, I don't know how strong, I was on the way home and it was blowing street signs off their poles and everything that wasn't nailed down was airborne.

Last night we even had a hail storm.

My refrigerator decided to stop cooling its insides late last week and they couldn't get here to fix/replace it until today. And I was really disgruntled about no ice, no cold drinks, and nothing but takeout food, until I saw all the people without any power at all. At least I still have lights and A/C.