h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Downtown got up to 106 today, still waiting for the afternoon's maximum report from Camp Mabry. So far it's 104 there.

Ultramegahellascorchio!

Pretty much

We're promised a mere 96F tomorrow

Yep, 105 at Mabry today.

Once again there's another big area of storms to the north of Travis county around the time of the morning rush hour! I should just about make it to work before this one hits Austin, but it's already brushing the northern county line. It's going to be touch and go. I hope it's not raining when the beer deliveries arrive. Wet cardboard isn't much good at holding 24 bottles of beer, and the drivers never seem to notice that they've just put the beer down in a puddle

And yet again more rush hour storms, but this time immediately to the south of Austin, and just as yesterday's rain missed us, these ones will too. Monday's high of 97/36 felt quite pleasant compared to the 104/105/106 we were getting last week and into the weekend, but those are coming back this week It was already 80F when I woke up today at 7am.

It's raining here at work... I'm hoping this cloud moves South to the house. We haven't had a drop of rain there in a month.

106 today. WTF? That's a full 10°F above the average for this time of the year, and we've still got something like two more months of this to come

I don't remember the exact number, but I recall that last summer ended up as third on the list of most 100°+ days in a summer for Austin. It seemed though, that most of them were only just 100, maybe 101 or 102. Not the 104, 105 and 106 that we've been getting this summer, damframmit.

A mere 95F / 35C for South Florida today...just unpleasantly sticky.
Flash flooding in Miami but no rain here.

I really feel sorry for you guys out in Tx.


...meanwhile, life continues unabated (for most of us) here in the sunshine state...
http://cbs4.com/local/miami.shooting.gunman.2.1075290.html


alec.

Speechless. Meanwhile...

We were above 100 for six hours today, and at 10.40pm it's... 92F/33.3C. Now, I know that's nothing compared to somewhere like Phoenix http://www.srh.noaa.gov/data/obhistory/KPHX.html but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with. And more fool them for living in the damn desert. They're going to get 112/44.4 this weekend, and that's a number burned (no pun intended) into my brain because it's the hottest temperature ever recorded in Austin... and I had to stand waiting for a bus in it!!! Although, to be fair, the temperature had decreased to a mere 107 by the time I stepped out the front door.

Why on earth did anyone ever settle this part of the world?

There is a film titled '92 in the shade' staring Peter Fonda and Warren Oates from 1975. It's set in Key West during a hot summer and as the temperatures rise so does the tempers of these fishing guides (there's a woman involved as well, Margot Kidder). That news article just reminded me of that film.

Right now I'd be happy if it was just 92 in the shade.

I always listed this as a good film to watch for people just moving to my area along the Texas Gulf Coast. The folks along the coast are just a bit different than those from the rest of Texas. Another film I recommended to the recently arrived was Full Moon in Blue Water (1988, Gene Hackman, Teri Garr, both films have Burgess Meredith.) It's the only film I know that was set AND filmed around Galveston Bay. They have vaguely similar plots in that there's a fight over a woman between to crusty gulf coasters (Key West is technically on the gulf or close enough).

I wish 92 in the Shade was on Netflix. That would make a good double feature right now.

103 on Friday and 105 on Thursday.

NOAA is confirming that a new El Nino is forming in the Pacific http://news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=245857 If we get a summer like that of 2007 when it rained all through May and June, and maybe part of July too, and we had hardly any 100­° days, I'll be very happy.

Sunday 102
Monday 101
Tuesday 104
Wednesday (so far) 103

This is now officially the hottest start to summer since records began here in 1850. These are the five hottest average temperatures from June 1st to July 13th in Austin:

1. 2009 - 87.5/30.8
2. 2008 - 86.7/30.4
3. 1998 - 86.6/30.3
4. 1925 - 86.1/30.1
5. 1990 - 85.9/29.9

There's a forecast maximum of only 94 next Tuesday

It's amazing how "cool" mid to lower 90's feel after this heat wave (tsunami).

Very true.

We eventually made it to 104 on Wednesday.

It's official. Texas is experiencing "The Summer From Hell"... Look, graphical proof:

http://frankensteam.wordpress.com/2009/07/15/summer-from-hell-meme/

Yep, it's that big ole high pressure ridge that's about to move west, and good riddance I say!

Look again... Over Northwest Mexico and Southern AZ and NM.

Yep, that looks kinda spooky.

101 on Friday, 105 Thursday

This morning, however, it feels relatively fresh. So much so that the first thing I did after getting dressed was open the balcony door, rather than turning on the a/c We're promised some lower temperatures and even some rain over the next few days. In fact there's not a single 100° temp forecast for the next eight days, and a slim possibility of rain each day from now until next Thursday. I may