There is a reason I plan to relocate to the Appalachian Mountains in the next year or so…And the following is a big part of it…
Second warmest June on record
The globe recorded its second warmest June on record, 0.02°C short of the record set in 2005, according to the National Climatic Data Center. The period January – June was the fifth warmest such period on record. Global temperature records go back to 1880. The most notable warmer-than-average temperatures were recorded across parts of Africa and most of Eurasia, where temperatures were 3°C (5°F) or more above average. The global ocean Sea Surface Temperature (SST) for June 2009 was the warmest on record, 0.59°C (1.06°F) above the 20th century average. This broke the previous June record set in 2005. The record June SSTs were due in part to the development of El Niño conditions in the Eastern Pacific. If El Niño conditions continue to strengthen during the coming months, we will probably set one or more global warmest-month-on-record marks later this year. The last time Earth experienced a second warmest month on record was in October 2008.
I was born and raised on the Texas Gulf Coast. In the years when I was growing up, summers were hot. We were outside from can to can’t because it was so much more comfortable outside than in. Of course, those were BAC (before air conditioners).
The house I grew up in was typical of the houses in our part of the world. We had an “attic” fan (also known as a whole house fan) for summer cooling. It worked so well at night that I remember sleeping with a blanket most nights. But during the day, it was pretty much useless…Therefore the above mentioned outside living.
I watch the daily forecast up and down the Appalachians each day and they sure look good as we go into the 110° heat index area…
It has been so hot and dry around here that almost every time it rains you’ll catch us outside watching the water fall from the sky. Rain is becoming such a novel experience that I found myself walking to the mailbox in the rain today and enjoying the trip…Go figure. As a matter of fact, I find myself meditating to a 40min thunderstorm. The sound of the rain falling and dripping from a roof…It puts me in mind of some of the better days we spent in the mountains above Valle Crucis. Sitting in a rocking chair as a small shower blows through listening to the rain and the birds…
via Wunder Blog : Weather Underground.
Hi, Gary — Isn’t it odd how official stats can conflict with personal perceptions and anecdotal evidence? Here in Northern California we had an unusually mild/chilly spring and summer — until just a couple of weeks ago — and didn’t the East Coast freeze and drip for weeks this year? I’ve never met a number I trusted, and statistics are the notorious bad boys of math. I guess you can’t argue with “facts” — or can you?
Hope you’re doing well — and stay cool!
Hi Cynthia,
I wish I could say I had reason to be skeptical, but here where I live there is no question about the heat and the warming trend. It’s been going on (and up) for the last decade.
I am doing fine as long as I stay out of the heat…Hope you are doing well.
I just returned from the Blue Ridge Mountains. I have some friends who moved there after Katrina. “Experts” declared that there would be more killer hurricanes from global warming in years to follow 05. They were exactly wrong. The family property was sold, after being in that family for almost 70 years… My friends bought a small house in Asheville at the top of that housing market, but enjoy the cool weather there and safty from all those killer storms… It works well for me, because they can provide a place for me to stay when I come to visit.
We’re enjoying a cooler than average summer here where they used to live.
My friends in Asheville have been amazed at the amount of rain they’ve received this spring. Some folks think they are in a drought… I’m amazed at what people choose to believe, and why.
Figures lie and liars figure, but the draconian response to “global warming” is one of the craziest socio -political circuses i’ve ever seen- of course I’m only 58, so my experience is limited.
Hi Chas, Seems like Rita and Ike both fill the bill when it comes to killer storms. Of course if you only want to count storms that hit New Orleans you can wait a few years…They’ll come.
I am happy that you are enjoying cooler weather than normal…I am not. Your Asheville friends moved eastward into a higher rainfall area during a severe drought. They are now facing an upswing in the rainfall that seems high to them since their normal was so low.
Your views about figures lying may seem right from your viewpoint, I find that figures accurately reported can be used to predict future outcomes. Inaccurately reported figures are being used to spin the facts on a daily basis. Me, I plan to join your friends in the mountains because I find my home on the coast too exposed…Global warming or not. The number of hurricanes I have lived through here keeps pushing my luck…I do not plan to push it too much further…It’s a lot like when I went out drinking in my youth and then would drive home. I got away with it for years. I used up a lot of luck…Then I stopped doing it. It didn’t seem worth pushing my luck any longer when I was gambling with my life and the lives of others. That is the same way I look at Global Warming…We are running out of luck and it will one day bite us on the ass.