Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Red Hot Heat Wave

     For the last four days we have been experiencing a heat wave in Central Alberta. For four days we have had temperatures in the 30 - 32 C (88 - 92 F) range. That is hot for this area. Now I know that some people would scoff at me saying this is hot and a heat wave! I've been watching heat waves in other parts of the continent and they are brutal. You have my sympathy. My daughter keeps me informed about the heat in Chicago.  

      Our usual summer day time highs are about 20 C ( 70 F). A few days each summer we may have a 26 C ( 80 F) temperature and once every five years or so we get what we're getting now. 


     Now very few houses here have air conditioning. It just wouldn't make economic sense to install air conditioning. Our houses have a high insulation value to keep heat in in the winter. Most commercial buildings will have air conditioning.


    However, life goes on here heat wave or no heat wave. Outdoor workers continue the regular routine. Plants, crops and wildlife suffer from the  heat . Farm crops suffer some damage as yields could be less. I remember when I lived on my Dad's farm and we had a heat wave how it would bother my Dad. He knew that he was losing income as long as the heat wave continued. 


    So I have fans running in my house hoping to keep the temperature down. I stay in my house from noon to 3:00 pm to try to stay out of the heat. 


    I hope that all heat waves end now and that we go back to normal temperatures. Then I can stop being grouchy.

29 comments:

  1. even though our heat waves range in the 101-107 range on a usual basis, it is all in what you're acclimated to. i feel for you and hope you get relief soon.

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    1. You are so right. It's what you get used to. I could get used to heat if I was in it on a regular basis.

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  2. Yuck, I am so sick of the heat. We've had a little break but it's supposed to be back at 33C by Friday. We do have central A/C. Hope things cool down for you soon, Red!

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    1. You've had a lot of heat this summer. I can see why you've had enough of it.

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  3. Right there with you on the grouchy part! My optimum temp is about 75, we don't have central air either. Popsicles become a good thing on days like these.

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    1. Ya after 75 it's just miserable if you're trying to do something outdoors.

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  4. The hottest we've reached here in Portland is eighty-six degrees, but we're told warmer weather is coming. Eighty-six is just fine with me.

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    1. 86 no way! that's just cruel and unusual punishment.

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  5. Oh we had rain and a could front today 89 degrees, down from 103. Actually spent time outside between the rain showers.

    But excessive heat does cause grouchiness, Red. Hope things cool down.

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    1. You're the one I hope that has a cool down. 103 is just too hot.

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  6. It sure has been hot! I've also got the fans running and drapes drawn during the day to keep the sun out, but it's still HOT! It's so strange, in Australia it was hotter than this but I didn't feel as hot, it must have something to do with being so close to the ocean. Also in Australia they are reverse of us, most places have AC but no central heating... or a lot of the places I visited were that way. It's so hard to write in this heat, it's hard to focus and stay put but the show must go on as they say.

    Here's to hoping it cools down a tad, for us and for the farmers!

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    1. Was interesting that in Hawaii the houses were in pilings so that the air could go under the house.

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  7. We got to 81 (27 C) here the other day and it felt brutal, since we are not used to such warmth. Nobody around here has air conditioning either, since we just don't get many really warm days. I hope for your sake that your heat wave will break soon!

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    1. Well, heat waves don't last too long here so don't worry.

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  8. My AC hasn't been off for a month.It has been brutal here in Iowa.

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    1. The air conditioning keeps you cool inside but I think it makes things feel worse when you go outside.

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  9. I sure understand and feel for you! I'm crossing my fingers that 'normal' summer temps come to you soon. Too much heat is pant, pant just WAY TOO MUCH!


    Linda
    http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
    http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com

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    1. Any hot spell we get doesn't last too long. This one is really hot for us. Our nights cool off.

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  10. We've been getting hit fairly hard here, too. I do have a/c though. I hope you have some relief soon.

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    1. Our hot spells usually don't last too long.

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  11. Grouchy??? That is most unbecoming of you, Red.
    You should have reversal A/C. I note that "darlin" reports on her stay in Australia.
    If memory serves me right, "darlin" was in SA, somewhere near or in Adelaide. Adelaide is on the southern coastline and can become excessively hot (dry heat) in summer and freezing in winter (winds from the South Pole).
    I have been in Adelaide for both seasons and I can assure you I preferred the hot version over the cold. The "Crow eaters" as South Aussies are called have reversal A/C's. Even some houses here in sub-tropical Brisbane have the reversalable A/C's. Fans here are useless, they just move the room heat around in circles.The only time the humid heat drives me crazy is at night and for the last couple of summers, well that hasn't happend. Due to all the bloody rain and it is now raining in Brisbane. Just had the wettest June on record and looks like July will be the same.
    I can assure you, mate, I prefer the heat to that damn white stuff that you get in Alberta! Go and sit in a pool and get a beautiful suntan, a Canadian version of the Aussie sun worshipper, ha ha.
    Cheers ( now where is my bloody umbrella, I have to go shopping - yuck in the rain!)
    Colin (Brisbane or is that Wetsville, Australia)

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    1. Most people who are not acquainted with snow think it's cold not so. We get snow when it's cold sometimes. Snow is an excellent insulator. Build a snow house and cook a little bit and the temperature gets up to freezing even if it's minus 40 outside.

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  12. It's been HOT here too......even at night and we don't have the luxury of AC either. We were in Red Deer today on our way to Leslieville.....its starting to look a little dry your way.

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    1. Cooling off at night is one thing that helps in the heat. In Sask. where I'm from the nights stay warm.

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  13. HiYa Red - Yah, we are going through the same thing - heat wave time. I walk the dog before 7a.m. and then again after 8pm. We are experiencing warmer than normal weather even for here. Then last night, after a really hot humid day of 97, the temp went down to 38D, so we actually had a fall evening?? Back to the high temps again today. Its erratic is what it is. Time to go for a ride, have a orange popsicle and a cold summer salmon sandwich. There Ya Go - we're all in a good mood. ha,ha
    Have a great night!

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  14. 38 is pretty cool after a 97 day. At least you get a few hours of relief. We expect a high of 26 tomorrow and hopefully it gets a little cooler after that.

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  15. you are in good company..the heat makes me grouchy too:)

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  16. I would love to have a snow house right now! We have been sweltering here in Chicago, and it was depressing flying in from Virginia last week and seeing all the brown patches of lawns (except the golf courses, naturally!). For me, it's the humidity that makes the heat unbearable. Having spent so much of my life in dry Alberta, this humid mid-west weather is something I'm still not used to after 4 years of living here. Hot feels hotter, cold feels colder. We made improvements to upstairs windows and attic insulation this past year and are enjoying the difference, but it's still nasty outside (and then you need a sweater in so many AC overloaded interior spaces like malls or offices) and making summer less than ideal. Wonder if I will ever truly get used to this??

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    1. Well you can always come back to Alberta!

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