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

Hey, you're a third of the way through Austin's forecast number of Scorchios!

And scorchio number 14, which I think is not only the hottest one so far, but makes a full week of scorchio. The afternoon clouds and radar promised storms, but as is so often the case, they mostly avoided Austin while dropping up to 3½" only a few miles to the north The cool air they brought with them though was wonderful The temperature dropped from 101 at 14.51 to 92 an hour later, then 83 an hour after that, and finally to 75 at 17.51 And the temperature actually went below 70 overnight for the first time in I don't know how long.

Yesterday 99/77 (20% chance of storms) (actual: 103/68, 0.16" rain)
Today 96/76 (50% chance of storms)
Monday 94/75 (50% chance of storms)
Tuesday 96/75 (20% chance of rain)
Wednesday 98/76 (20% chance of rain)
Thursday 100/76
Friday 100/77
Saturday 98/77 (20% chance of rain)

Average for this time of the year: 96/74
Record high temperature for yesterday: 108° (1925)
Record high temperature for today: 105° (2000)

No scorchio But only by one degree so it hardly counts And I got the actual readings for Saturday wrong. It should have been 103/73, 0.16" rain. The 68° reading is for Sunday.

Yesterday 96/76 (50% chance of storms) (actual: 99/68, no rain)
Today 94/75 (50% chance of storms)
Tuesday 98/75 (20% chance of rain)
Wednesday 99/76
Thursday 100/76
Friday 100/76
Saturday 101/77
Sunday 101/77

Average for this time of the year: 96/75
Record high temperature for yesterday: 105° (2000)
Record high temperature for today: 105° (1984)

Gosho Mansions did get a little rain yesterday evening, with a few rumbles of thunder, but it wasn't exactly the storms that were being predicted. Some stations (including Downtown, which is only a little to the north) recorded between 0.2" and 0.4", but the one I use every day for these posts (NWS station at Camp Mabry) recorded nowt.

Yesterday 94/75 (50% chance of storms) (actual: 98/77, no rain)
Today 98/75 (20% chance of rain)
Wednesday 99/75 (10% chance of rain)
Thursday 100/76 (10% chance of rain)
Friday 101/77 (10% chance of rain)
Saturday 102/77 (10% chance of rain)
Sunday 102/77 (10% chance of rain)
Monday 102/76 (10% chance of rain)

Average for this time of the year: 96/75
Record high temperature for yesterday: 105° (1984)
Record high temperature for today: 107° (1923)

Scorchio number 15. And it won't be the last.

Yesterday 98/75 (20% chance of rain) (actual: 100/76, no rain)
Today 99/75 (10% chance of rain)
Thursday 101/76 (10% chance of rain)
Friday 101/77 (10% chance of rain)
Saturday 102/78 (10% chance of rain)
Sunday 102/78 (10% chance of rain)
Monday 102/78 (10% chance of rain)
Tuesday 100/77 (20% chance of rain)

Average for this time of the year: 96/75
Record high temperature for yesterday: 107 (1923)
Record high temperature for today: 105 (1951)

Scorchio number 16.

Yesterday 99/75 (10% chance of rain) (actual: 101/77, no rain)
Today 101/76 (10% chance of rain)
Friday 101/77
Saturday 100/77
Sunday 101/77
Monday 102/77
Tuesday 100/77 (20% chance of rain)
Wednesday 99/76 (20% chance of rain)

Average for this time of the year: 96/75
Record high temperature for yesterday: 105 (1951)
Record high temperature for today: 104 (2000)

It's not even 8:00AM and I'm drenched in sweat.


82° with 94% humidity and it already "feels like" 94°.

Yep, it's summerer. Damframmit.

Scorchio number 17. And suddenly we have a chance of storms on Sunday

Yesterday 101/76 (10% chance of rain) (actual: 103/77, no rain)
Today 101/77
Saturday 102/77 (20% chance of rain)
Sunday 98/77 (30% chance of storms)
Monday 101/77
Tuesday 99/77 (20% chance of rain)
Wednesday 99/77 (20% chance of rain)
Thursday 100/77

Average for this time of the year: 96/75
Record high temperature for yesterday: 104 (2000)
Record high temperature for today: 104 (2000)

Scorchio number 17, and a record-tying one.

Yesterday 101/77 (actual: 104/77)
Today 102/77 (20% chance of rain)
Sunday 98/77 (30% chance of storms)
Monday 101/77
Tuesday 99/77 (20% chance of rain)
Wednesday 100/77 (20% chance of rain)
Thursday 102/77
Friday 103/77

Average for this time of the year: 96/75
Record high temperature for yesterday: 104 (2000)
Record high temperature for today: 104 (2011)

Number 18

By the time we reach July 31st I don't think we'll need even one hand to count the number of non-scorchio days.

Scorchio number 19. This year is turning into a 2011 wannabe.

Yesterday 103/77 (20% chance of rain); (actual: 104/77)
Today 98/77 (30% chance of storms)
Monday 103/77
Tuesday 101/77 (20% chance of rain)
Wednesday 99/78 (20% chance of rain)
Thursday 102/77
Friday 103/77
Saturday 104/78

Average for this time of the year: 97/75
Record high temperature for yesterday: 104 (2011)
Record high temperature for today: 104 (2011)

Scorchio number 20. Well, there were plenty of storms just to the west, and one localised one over east Austin which came along at precisely the moment I was leaving work, but it only landed a few drops of rain on me. I didn't hear any thunder or see any lightning, and the temperature did drop quite pleasantly immediately, and by almost 20°F over two hours.

Yesterday 98/77 (30% chance of storms); (actual: 103/78, 0.04" rain)
Today 103/77
Tuesday 101/77
Wednesday 102/78
Thursday 103/77
Friday 104/77
Saturday 102/78 (20% chance of rain)
Sunday 101/77 (20% chance of rain)

Average for this time of the year: 97/75
Record high temperature for yesterday: 104 (2011)
Record high temperature for today: 105 (1934)

NOAA has announced that so far, this year is the 2nd hottest on record, 2nd only to last year. This is despite this el Niño no longer being in effect this year.

http://www.noaa.gov/news/globe-had-2nd-warmest-year-to-date-and-3rd-warmest-june-on-record

As a matter of fact I heard a little piece about that in a local features slot on KUT this morning - this piece http://kut.org/post/austin-used-be-cooler-literally

The increasing number of scorchio days per summer has not gone unnoticed in this conversation nor at Gosho Mansions. And speaking of which...

Scorchio number 21. And once again we missed out on the storms. There was a nice area of red heading directly at us but, as so often happens, it simply dissolved as it approached Austin.

Yesterday 103/77 (actual: 102/76, 0.01" rain)
Today 101/77
Wednesday 101/78 (20% chance of rain)
Thursday 103/77 (10% chance of rain)
Friday 104/77 (10% chance of rain)
Saturday 101/78 (20% chance of rain)
Sunday 101/79 (20% chance of rain)
Monday 98/77 (20% chance of rain)

Average for this time of the year: 97/75
Record high temperature for yesterday: 105 (1934)
Record high temperature for today: 105 (1923)

Scorchio number 22. And no late afternoon rain on the radar yesterday. Work on Saturday is going to be so much fun, in a place with no a/c

Yesterday 101/77 (actual: 103/78)
Today 101/78 (20% chance of rain)
Thursday 104/77 (10% chance of rain)
Friday 105/77 (10% chance of rain)
Saturday 106/78 (10% chance of rain)
Sunday 100/79 (20% chance of rain)
Monday 98/77 (20% chance of rain)
Tuesday 97/76 (20% chance of rain)

Average for this time of the year: 97/75
Record high temperature for yesterday: 105 (1923)
Record high temperature for today: 109 (1954)

Scorchio number 23. And we finally saw some rain yesterday evening* As well as a rainbow

* Even though none was recorded at either of the official NWS stations in Austin - it was very localised.

I'm still having a hard time finding a reliable (and timely) source of record temperature information for Camp Mabry. Weather Underground, the source I've been using, had yesterday's record as 109, but apparently the hottest ever July temperature is 106, and that's the one that the NWS is showing for yesterday now, but they don't put that information up until too late for these posts

Yesterday 101/78 (20% chance of rain) (actual: 103/78)
Today 104/77 (10% chance of rain)
Friday 105/77 (10% chance of rain)
Saturday 106/78 (20% chance of rain)
Sunday 101/78 (30% chance of storms)
Monday 98/75 (20% chance of rain)
Tuesday 97/74 (20% chance of rain)
Wednesday 97/75 (20% chance of rain)

Average for this time of the year: 97/75
Record high temperature for yesterday: 109 (1954)
Record high temperature for today: 105 (1954)

Scorchio number 24.

"NOAA's latest 6-10 day outlook (August 2-6) calls for wetter-than-normal and cooler-than-normal conditions across much of Texas". Oh my

"The monthly outlook shows above-normal temps but near normal rainfall". Oh

Yesterday 104/77 (10% chance of rain) (actual: 103/75, no rain)
Today 105/77 (10% chance of rain)
Saturday 106/77
Sunday 101/78 (30% chance of storms)
Monday 98/76 (20% chance of rain)
Tuesday 97/74 (20% chance of rain)
Wednesday 96/75 (30% chance of storms)
Thursday 93/75 (30% chance of storms)

Average for this time of the year: 97/75
Record high temperature for yesterday: 105 (1954)
Record high temperature for today: 105 (1923)

Scorchio number 25. A record-tying one.

Yesterday 105/77 (10% chance of rain) (actual: 105/76, no rain)
Today 106/77
Sunday 101/77 (20% chance of rain)
Monday 97/76
Tuesday 97/75
Wednesday 95/77 (30% chance of storms)
Thursday 92/75 (50% chance of storms)
Friday 93/73 (40% chance of storms)

Average for this time of the year: 97/75
Record high temperature for yesterday: 105 (1923)
Record high temperature for today: 105 (1925)

Scorchio number 26. A record-*breaking* one.

And now both Firefox and Avast are flagging Weather Underground as a deceptive site

Yesterday 106/77 (actual: 107/77)
Today 101/77 (20% chance of rain)
Monday 99/75 (10% chance of rain)
Tuesday 98/74
Wednesday 94/76 (40% chance of storms)
Thursday 95/73 (60% chance of storms)
Friday 95/74 (60% chance of storms)
Saturday 94/73 (60% chance of storms)

Average for this time of the year: 97/75
Record high temperature for yesterday: 105 (1925)
Record high temperature for today: 104 (1957)