Phew, what a scorcher!

[jellysundae]

What you see there is the headline the UK tabloids LOVE to trot out whenever the weather gets hot, so some years they never get to use it.  But THIS year that's not gonna have been an issue! Longest heatwave since 1976, and SO many more people now than then...

You all know the stereotypes about UK weather, but this year our summer is behaving as summers do in rosy-tinted remembrances of childhood; day after day of beautiful sunshine and no rain, it's not rained for weeks apart from the odd shower here and there.

But it's the temperatures that I want to ask you guys about, and how you deal with them.

 

Here on our temperate little island it doesn't generally get, or stay, excessively hot, the general pattern is a few days hot weather then thunderstorms. During this current heatwave it's been mid to upper 70s, tipping over into lower 80s occasionally. That's 23-26C rising to 28. Creeping up to 30-32 in places like London where the urban sprawl holds the heat in.

This kind of temp is perfectly normal for UK summer, it's when it's like it for weeks on end that it's pretty hideous by our standards as we just can't cope with it. We live in homes that aren't built with hot weather in mind, plus they're full of loft insulation to keep the heat in in the winter, no-one told it it only needs to do that in the winter.  So the upstairs of our houses end up like when it's hot for a long time.

UK air con is opening the windows  AND, we've pretty mean about windows in this country! US homes tend to have multiple windows per room I notice, none of that here, oh no! One window, and if it's a house built after 1990 or so, that window will be small because builders decided that smaller windows mean less heat-loss in the winter... again with making life harder in the summer! and, if it's been replaced with double-glazing, probably only a fanlight at the top that opens so hardly any air manages to get inside.

 

A good example of a replaced window if ever there was one! You can bet your life that the wooden window that plastic one's replaced had a casement on either side that opened so breeze could be caught and channeled into the house, but now only little bits of that nice big window opens.

So the UK right now is sweltering in its stuffy airless homes during these endless days of relentless sunshine.

Hosepipe bans are springing up everywhere as water supplies dwindle, so grouchy dads as they watch their lawns die; TREES in parks are wilting; every homeware store on the isle has no doubt sold out of fans; many people will be sick from badly cooked barbecue food; tempers are frayed from lack of sleep; and next week most schools break up for the summer holiday so add shrieking kids to the mix!

 

Cool archeological discoveries being made though, as reservoirs dry up and crops die... is it comforting to the farmer to discover the outline of a Roman villa highlighted by his field of dead produce? I don't suppose so, lol.

So what's summer like in your neck of the woods ?  Horrify me with the stuff you have to deal with.

[DesertRose]

I'm in Florida, and the summers here are brutal! The average day is between 87 and 92 degrees, and that's *before* the heat index. My bestie, WhiteWolf, and I go on vacation together to Indiana where it's in the 70s and 80s with little to no humidity.

[jellysundae]

22 minutes ago, DesertRose said:

I'm in Florida, and the summers here are brutal! The average day is between 87 and 92 degrees, and that's *before* the heat index. My bestie, WhiteWolf, and I go on vacation together to Indiana where it's in the 70s and 80s with little to no humidity.

OH gosh, Florida, the heat+humidity there is insane compared to what I'm used to, lol. My brief experience of Memorial weekend weather in Orlando was enough to last me a life time.

Interesting you mentioning Indiana, my mum had a penpal in Indianapolis and we stayed with her for most of October in '82 and we couldn't get over how the temperature was mid-70s at that time of the year. Autumn in Indiana feels like UK summer, lol.

[Angeló]

Lebanon is a Mediterranean country

we have coast and mountains (no desert)

i live in Baalbeck .. in a valley between two mountains ... about 1000 meters above sea level ... weather is hot and dry .. cool in the shade ... unlike the capital Beirut where humidity is a killer ... Baalbeck is a Phoenician name meaning Land of Baal (the main Phoenician god) .. it is called Heliopolis (Sun City) due to its sunny weather and ancient Sun worship ...

temperature can get to 35 in summer ... but at nights usually there is a breeze ...

no wonder the Romans chose my city to be a base-camp and food storage for the entire Roman empire and they built a huge castle (to be more precise they finished and added to some of the old Phoenician monuments etc)

[iheartsaku]

I am in Canada which is mostly known for it's cold weather haha....however, this summer we have been getting hit with some heatwaves as well.

We had a week staright of 35C+ (feels like 45C with the humidex) ....apparently, another heatwave like that is supposed to start Sunday.

Our normal summers usually range from 25-30C with little humidity. 

[jellysundae]

42 minutes ago, Angeló said:

Lebanon is a Mediterranean country

we have coast and mountains (no desert)

i live in Baalbeck .. in a valley between two mountains ... about 1000 meters above sea level ... weather is hot and dry .. cool in the shade ... unlike the capital Beirut where humidity is a killer ... Baalbeck is a Phoenician name meaning Land of Baal (the main Phoenician god) .. it is called Heliopolis (Sun City) due to its sunny weather and ancient Sun worship ...

temperature can get to 35 in summer ... but at nights usually there is a breeze ...

no wonder the Romans chose my city to be a base-camp and food storage for the entire Roman empire and they built a huge castle (to be more precise they finished and added to some of the old Phoenician monuments etc)

So is the heat dry in your area because of the height above sea level then ?

 

Also, as someone who's watched SG-1, the name Ba'al makes me want to punch things.

Look at that smug git

right on the snozz

38 minutes ago, iheartsaku said:

I am in Canada which is mostly known for it's cold weather haha....however, this summer we have been getting hit with some heatwaves as well.

We had a week staright of 35C+ (feels like 45C with the humidex) ....apparently, another heatwave like that is supposed to start Sunday.

Our normal summers usually range from 25-30C with little humidity. 

HA, yeah Canada suffers from the same thing Britain does in that regard, doesn't it. Globally known for only one kind of weather.

I experienced 45C once, but that was in Lanzarote where the heat's dry, ofc being able to retreat into an air-conditioned hotel room makes stuff like that so much easier to deal with, too!

[Nielo]

Holland's in pretty much the same situation as the UK's currently in. We have less of a reputation for rain than the UK does, but I'm not sure that's entirely fair. Our summers usually aren't this hot for this long either, and the lack of rain is visible everywhere. Our houses also weren't built with hot weather in mind, and neither was I.

[Rayd1978]

Nebraska, where it might be over 100F, or below 40, with a high humidity or none.  There's almost always a breeze, but those rare days with high temp, high humidty, and no breeze?   Yikes.
Typically we'll have a front come through with rain and a temp drop, days dry out and get warmer, and then another cycle of rain, but other times we'll get a drought, or a flood, on rare occasions both...  below average rainfall for the year, but what rain does come all come in one massive storm.

[midnight_spell360]

5 hours ago, jellysundae said:

so grouchy dads as they watch their lawns die

You remember that here in TX, where are days have been 97 -100+ this past week, that we don't have grass in July-Aug, just not possible...the lawns are brown patches of grass-that-used-to-be. BUT, the HOA knows not to send my mom any more notices about not having a green lawn  unless they are willing to pick out a spray paint color for our "lawn" !

[jellysundae]

1 hour ago, midnight_spell360 said:

You remember that here in TX, where are days have been 97 -100+ this past week, that we don't have grass in July-Aug, just not possible...the lawns are brown patches of grass-that-used-to-be. BUT, the HOA knows not to send my mom any more notices about not having a green lawn  unless they are willing to pick out a spray paint color for our "lawn" !

HAHAHAHAHA, yes, I remember that indeed ! NO-ONE MESSES WITH YOUR MUM.

 

3 hours ago, Nielo said:

We have less of a reputation for rain than the UK does, but I'm not sure that's entirely fair.

I think this is another case of The Netherlands generally keeping its head down, isn't it. Britain can't seem to manage that, too much ego from when it ruled half the planet I suppose !

3 hours ago, Rayd1978 said:

Nebraska, where it might be over 100F, or below 40, with a high humidity or none.  There's almost always a breeze, but those rare days with high temp, high humidty, and no breeze?   Yikes.

See these temperature ranges are what I struggle to get my head around, lol. It's like the weather in 2 completely different countries depending on the time of year.

 

I wonder if there's a single place on the planet where the topographical features produce comfortable weather, all year round... I'm living in dreamland here, aren't I ! 

[Kute]

I laugh in the face of your heat wave!  Its been 107 degrees + for about 2 weeks. Depending on what city, it has been up to 114. I have 2 Aussies that I cant even put outside because they cry to come back in. Theyre active doggos man . Theyre destructive when bored. 

 

@Angeló . Okay seriously thats really cool. I bet you have the best freakin food. I try to eat Mediterranean style food as often as I can, they say its the best diet in the world.  

[jellysundae]

17 minutes ago, Kute said:

I laugh in the face of your heat wave!  Its been 107 degrees + for about 2 weeks. Depending on what city, it has been up to 114. I have 2 Aussies that I cant even put outside because they cry to come back in. Theyre active doggos man . Theyre destructive when bored. 

HAHAHA.  Laugh all you like, lol. In all seriousness though, if the UK had 2 weeks of 107 degrees it would solve the population problem because most of us would be dead.

I'm so glad you clarified that the Aussies you were talking about are DOGS, I was thinking you were being a bit peculiar with your treatment of guests there.

[Nielo]

57 minutes ago, jellysundae said:

I think this is another case of The Netherlands generally keeping its head down, isn't it. Britain can't seem to manage that, too much ego from when it ruled half the planet I suppose !

Lol, I think it might just be that some of the things we're known for tend to distract from any conversation about the weather. XD

[Angeló]

8 hours ago, jellysundae said:

So is the heat dry in your area because of the height above sea level then ?

that is correct :)

2 hours ago, Kute said:

@Angeló . Okay seriously thats really cool. I bet you have the best freakin food. I try to eat Mediterranean style food as often as I can, they say its the best diet in the world.  

true .. we have the best food ever  

Baalbeck is famous for its own meat-pie : Sfiha 

 

[Kute]

8 hours ago, Angeló said:

that is correct

true .. we have the best food ever  

Baalbeck is famous for its own meat-pie : Sfiha 

 

lol this is great! I actually really enjoyed this.  Now I have to try that. Dang. they need to invent cheap food delivery thats fast and worldwide. 

[Rayd1978]

19 hours ago, jellysundae said:

I wonder if there's a single place on the planet where the topographical features produce comfortable weather, all year round... I'm living in dreamland here, aren't I ! 

California, maybe?   Nice place, except for the earthquakes... 

[sajixx]

Here in Ohio it's been pretty miserable - We have a small, second floor apartment, and our little window AC unit just isn't strong enough. It's been running full blast all day and my apartment is still a cozy 85. And it's....*checks weather* 85 outside. Great. It's cooler than it has been the past few weeks though. I guess it's fairly humid here - on the 4th of July we tried to go for a walk and it was 94 percent humidity. It was hard to breathe. 

[DragonPhoenix]

I live near Kansas City, Missouri right in the middle of the US and it's been nasty here this summer too. Actually this whole year has been off - it snowed at least once a week all thru April this year, May had about 3 days that it didn't rain, and then as soon as June arrived we immediately went to 95+ degrees and ridiculous humidity. But, ya know, climate change is a myth... there is nothing irregular about all these irregular and extreme weather patterns all over the place  

Seriously though, I hate the summers here. It's so sticky and muggy out most of the time that you don't even want to spend any time outdoors. I thought my kids would just wilt in the field playing baseball last month, thank goodness we don't play during July or August in our town! I know your heatwave is making you guys crazy in the UK but I'd trade with you in a second 

[Winter]

On 7/14/2018 at 8:04 AM, jellysundae said:

I wonder if there's a single place on the planet where the topographical features produce comfortable weather, all year round... I'm living in dreamland here, aren't I ! 

Actually, it does exist... Hawaii and the Canary Islands. However, they are somewhat isolated islands along with Hawaii being the most expensive US state to live in. The Canary Islands is a lot more affordable but you'll need to learn some Spanish 

[jellysundae]

You guys who live in the central part of the US, you have my huge sympathies, big continents just don't do temperatures politely, do they.

5 hours ago, Winter said:

The Canary Islands is a lot more affordable but you'll need to learn some Spanish 

A small price to pay, lol. Though having holidayed in Lanzarote I'm not sure I could live there. Coming from England's "green and pleasant land" the desert environment of the Canaries isn't something I could take for too long. It's beautiful in an alien moonscape kind of way, but I need green around me, and I don't like cactus much, lol.

It WAS comfortable during the week there, temps were 45 most of the time but it's dry heat there, and it was windy the whole time. But further down the coast it was 55... I think that's pushing it for comfort, lol.

But then comfortable for a holiday-maker, who's got nothing more strenuous to do than walk down to the beach, isn't quite the same as comfortable for someone who's living their daily life. If think I'll stick with my UK heatwave, lol.

The weather forecast is teasing us with the prospect of rain tonight... peaking at a 37% chance of precipitation at 4am...

I'm wondering where the term heatwave came from. From what I've read the definition is simply a prolonged period of hot weather. Not higher temperatures than normal, just normal heat but with no normal respite of cooler days/rain. I dunno what's wavey about that, lol, unless it's people flapping their hands trying to cool themselves down. xD

[Nielo]

On 7/14/2018 at 8:04 PM, jellysundae said:

I wonder if there's a single place on the planet where the topographical features produce comfortable weather, all year round... I'm living in dreamland here, aren't I ! 

I actually just read an article that mentioned that studies have determined the ideal temperature for most humans is 22˚ Celsius (71˚ Fahrenheit), and the article mentioned (among other places) Perth in Australia and Santa Barbara in the US as places that come close to this ideal pretty much throughout the year. 

[jellysundae]

11 minutes ago, Nielo said:

I actually just read an article that mentioned that studies have determined the ideal temperature for most humans is 22˚ Celsius (71˚ Fahrenheit), and the article mentioned (among other places) Perth in Australia and Santa Barbara in the US as places that come close to this ideal pretty much throughout the year. 

Well that's interesting !  Certainly 71 is a temp I find very comfortable, looking at my thermometer it's 80 in my living room right now, even with the window wide open.

[Kute]

On 7/15/2018 at 6:32 AM, Rayd1978 said:

California, maybe?   Nice place, except for the earthquakes... 

Oh nono no nonooooooo. LOL! Our weather is starting to become florida.  Also....

 

 

Bwahahaha. 

[Nielo]

2 hours ago, jellysundae said:

Well that's interesting !  Certainly 71 is a temp I find very comfortable, looking at my thermometer it's 80 in my living room right now, even with the window wide open.

Wait, are you using Fahrenheit as your default temperature measurement? I thought it was only the US and this handful of other countries that actually used it. (I had to google how to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, because I always forget. Because Fahrenheit makes no sense to me at all.)

[jellysundae]

2 hours ago, Nielo said:

Wait, are you using Fahrenheit as your default temperature measurement? I thought it was only the US and this handful of other countries that actually used it. (I had to google how to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, because I always forget. Because Fahrenheit makes no sense to me at all.)

MWAHAHA. I'm just being awkward.

The UK doesn't use it, now. But I grew up with Imperial measurements so they're what I'm used to. It's Fahrenheit, feet and inches, and stones and pounds for me, forever.

Any metric measurement, and Celsius, confuse the heck out of me.