How is the heat affecting you?
Posted at 5:00 AM on July 19, 2011
by Eric Ringham
(52 Comments)
Filed under: Environment/Energy, Health
The current heat wave has reportedly tied a dew point record, but official information is scarce because of the state government shutdown. Forecasters say they expect the heat to continue at least through Wednesday. Today's Question: How is the heat affecting you?
Comments (52)
nice to see such type of post .
pro cleanse
Curious; in posing the question MPR still can't help but put in a little reference to the "state government shutdown". Seems that no question lately is safe from being made just a bit more provocative. Can't we just complain about or praise the weather without having to mention our protracted political dilemmas?
My personal spiritual practice is to be awake, aware, experiencing everything without judgment. For that reason I have chosen to live in my condo without air-conditioning - after all, summer is meant to be hot and I want to experience it all. However, this week has been frightening to me. Walking outside on Sunday evening, I felt like I was in a rain forest. I have never experienced such intense humidity. I lay awake that night thinking "What have we done?" There is a shift this summer that feels palpable and scary.
I also feel for all those who are elderly or with health problems and who have no air-conditioning, but not by choice.
But, this evening, there is a definite breeze. I have opened my windows and it feels much better. There is always hope.
I like to say, "I wouldn't live in a state that doesn't share it's northern border with Canada. Anywhere else is too hot!" Until I came to Minnesota, the land of 10,000 weather extremes.
I often wonder why we keep records anymore. Seems as though we break them all the time. I only hope one day we will run out of weather records to break and we can decide on what "normal" weather really is.
I'm proud to say as a Minnesotan, our weather is ridiculous. And that's a good thing. It gives us bragging rights. Somehow we can be colder than Alaska in the winter and hotter in the summer than Texas. Last year we earned the title Tornado Capital of the USA. Way to go Minnesota!
"Minnesota's interesting weather gives us all something safer to talk about than politics."
It looks like this crowd proved you wrong, Sue. These days, even the weather is political.
When was the climate change debate, I missed it. But I've been watching the news, listening to MPR/NPR for 30 years and nothing. They just come out and say we cause it.
Mars and Pluto are heating up, why, is that ours too?
What a bunch of crap; just another way to TAX!
Our wild blackberries and gooseberries are cooking on the vine. Looks like we are going to lose a bumper crop. The rhubarb is growing well and we'll get a second picking. The wild plums are finishing early. It's hard to keep up with the gardening. The roses haven't been cut because of the heat. Nearly all of the flowers have bloomed completely for the summer. In all the heat has brought out the bounty of beauty in our back yard and expended it in a few short days.
Cheryl! How wonderful to know there's somebody else out there. Congratulations.
Considering all the "climate control" we have at our fingertips for our personal comfort, methinks people get altogether too bent out of shape about The Weather. Now when I was a girl.....!!!
We had Weather. And coped with it. Without all the anger and whining and gnashing of teeth.....
If it wasn't so unbelievable humid, this would be tolerable. The humidity is what kills me. Just went out and did 10 minutes of work in my veggie garden and started to feel sick. Blech. Give me 80 degrees, low humidity and partly cloudy skies and I'll be a happy Minnesotan
It makes me cranky. I don't like it all and dream of January and February on days like this.
I'm with Audrey F. Love the heat. No air and I don't run the air in my car. My office is freezing. I walk outside to warm up. This winter was great too. Last night I sat on the front porch at 1030 and it was 86 degrees out side. Beautiful!!
Again. Seriously?
Oh, and the humidity makes my life a living hell.
I wouldn't believe ANYTHING on wnd.com! Even if their raw data is accurate, they'll spin and twist it in some convoluted way to make it fit their theory.
// "...winters are going to get much colder..."//
That's possible, John. And did you know that that's a symptom of global climate change? People who deny global climate change always say "We had our most severe winter ever - guess that shows you there's no "global warming!" Well, global climate change is causing all kinds of severe weather, including more severe and colder winters.
Carrie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P36x8rTb3jI
Wow. Seriously Peggy?
My family and I were camping last week, my husband and I got heat-stroke while packing up on Sunday morning. We got really sick- and both missed work yesterday. I slept until the power went off at our house around 6 pm- no more air conditioning. Ugh!
I LOVE it.
And y'know what? I don't have air-conditioning. What's more, I really really hate air conditioning. (All winter,people whine about the cold and come the first time the temp breaks 70 F, the air conditioning is set at a temp that if it were still winter, they would have a full-scale tantrum)
And y'know what? I love winter too. And I really really loved last winter especially.
We're keeping the dogs indoors and skipping the yard work for the week.
This is all the fault of the weather forecasters in the service of the mainstream media. It's all part of their liberal plot. They've jacked up the temperature in hopes of getting more people to believe their climate change myth, so they can put more taxes on fossile fuels, expand the scope of government, and ultimately deprive us of our liberties!
Ps. I hope all you "environmentalists" are going sans air conditioning.
It's making me sweaty!
Rolling blackouts here in La Crosse. Local weather dorks advise people to just stay indoors. Perhaps if we were not all carring a couple 25-50 extra lbs., the heat wouldn't be all that bad. Keep your head cool as the brain effects how we tolerate the heat. It will be sweatshirt weather before you know it!
It's W's fault,,, Barry guna fik it
We lost power last night, so we all went outside and pulled weeds. We were going to sweat anyway.
Ok. After mowing the lawn and picking raspberries, I'm officially done for the day. It's only 11:45, but a siesta is on the agenda after lunch.
I am making sure that I keep my dog indoors during the heat wave and trying to stay out of the heat myself.
I live with a chronic illness, and the humidity is kicking my butt.
I wonder what the Republican Flat Earth Society has to say about climate change this week.
I don't mind heat out in the open moving around. But restricted movement in a crowd is not good in 100+ heat index. My son has Twins tickets for today's game with the Indians. I have decided, at age 69, I don't feel safe in a crowd in that environment.
I don’t like hot.
I’ll take -5 over 105 any day.
Things are just ramping up for more extreme weather for the next few years.
∑
DTOM
The heat makes me crabby but ever so grateful that I have a/c but then worried we might have an outage, then back to crabby. Such a circle.
I worry about those without the ability to cool their homes. Please check on the elderly near you.
What's with all this pavement failure & road buckling? I've never seen this happening before in the thirty+ years I've been living here. Now I'm seeing it every other week in these heat waves.
Are they just being caused by extraordinary heat, or are they also due to the roads getting older and less structurally sound?
Yesterday morning I rode 28 miles before the heat index hit 105. It wasn't uncomfortable as long as I kept moving. It drank two big bottles of water during my two hour ride. The hottest I've ever experienced is picking cucumbers. That's hot! But I got used it after 2 or 3 weeks. I'm off to mow the yard before it gets hotter.
Ah...it's Hot!
Yesterday Golden Valley shut off the power at 3:30pm and had it scheduled to be off till 5pm...
Thanks for the midday vacation!! :)
It gives me another excuse to gripe about Minnesota's weather. We put up with the winter's - and the last two have been significantly below normal, and now this.
Still, I do what every Minnesotan does: shrug, say 'what can you do', and put up with it.
It actually isn't so bad when you accept it as a part of your outdoor activity. I biked a few times around the lakes and just drank more water. I don't even remember feeling more uncomfortable than usual.
I'm enjoying it...finally feeling like my bones are thawing out. Bring it on!!
Wow John, if wnd.com says its so it's got to be true. Wait a sec, what's wnd.com?
I like the variety in MN, the heat is nice because our winters are going to get much colder. The BS of global warming can be seen in the data below:
United States and Canada experienced cooler-than-average conditions since 2000
http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=118346
Minnesota's interesting weather gives us all something safer to talk about than politics.
These are the days I waited for all winter! I love it!
I'm finally making good use of the delay settings on my washer and dishwasher, at least I hope running them in the middle of the night is saving some electricity costs.
Yesterday I had to drive to town to buy envelopes: All mine -- 100 count -- had steamed shut. I don't have air conditioning, so last night at 11:30pm I headed to the lake and submerged myself up to my nose like a rhinoceros to cool my core body temperature for bed. Why up to my nose? The heat hasn't affected the mosquitoes.
I suppose I'll get through it. Do I have a choice?
It certainly provides something for us all to talk about.
Between the blizzards in winter and this oppressive heat in the summer, on average Minnesota's weather is great!
That 5 minutes in the car this afternoon before the AC starts working is going to be miserable.
Sat in the upper deck of the Twins game last night. Surprisingly, a nice breeze. Still hot, but bearable.
The Twins need to get a hit with guys in scoring position though.
It is making me hot hot hot!
Record heat and humidity. State government shut down. The federal government heading at mach 3 towards an economic implosion. Are we now living in hell? I'm looking around to see if it's time for Lucifer to shove a pineapple up Hitler's rear end. Where is Nicky when we need him?
Hot in the city hot in the city tonight
In the heat, I feel weak, shaky, tired, & sick.
For the first time since October, my knees aren't aching.
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