Saturday, July 4, 2015

Washington Heat Waving In The 100s While Texas Chills In The 90s

No, that is not a trio of Fort Worthers jumping in the Trinity River at Thursday's Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Float you are looking at here.

The looming volcano in the distance is a pretty good clue this location is no where near Fort Worth.

That and the ultra clear, clean, blue water free of alligators, but currently, apparently, blooming with dreaded algae.

What you see here are a couple items from yesterday's Seattle Times front page that I found interesting, due to the heat subject, so I morphed them together in one image.

That would be Lake Washington being jumped into, with that volcano being Mount Rainier.

My old home zone is wilting. East of the Mountains is experiencing day after day well over 100, while West of the Mountains is a little cooler. When I saw this yesterday Seattle was sweating at 87 degrees at 3 in the afternoon, while I was perfectly comfortable at my Texas location at 93 degrees.

Western Washingtonians start wilting when the temperature gets in the high 70s. When it gets into the 80s the temperature becomes a major event, called a HEAT WAVE, with thousands seeking relief on the beaches that are located all over Western Washington, both of the salt and fresh water sort. Or by going shopping or to the movies, those being locations with air conditioning. Most Western Washingtonians do not have air conditioned domiciles.

I think the year was 2004 when I flew up to Washington in early August, leaving a Texas heated well over 100. Arriving in Washington with the temperature in the high 70s. It seemed chilly to me. The locals were in full "it's too HOT" whine mode.

The last time I flew back to Washington, July of 2008, for what turned out to be a miserable month in multiple ways, I flew out of Love Field with Dallas heated to 108. I got to Sea-Tac after dark. The temperature was in the 50s. And it was drizzling. And I was soon shivering.

My dear sweet little baby sister took pity on me not bringing cold weather clothes with me and got me a nice insulated jacket at Costco and sweatpants. My first night there was spent shivering in the basement under a cover of multiple blankets that I had to find in the middle of the night because I was so cold.

On my third day of trying to get warm I discovered my sister's unused third floor loft type bedroom space. It was roomy and had a big bathroom. And window air-conditioning units. I was told that this space was too HOT to use in summer. That the air conditioners did not make it cool enough. I begged to move up there from the frigid basement.

Permission was granted.

Soon I was back comfortable. I was met with disbelief when I said I did not want the air-conditioners on, aghast were they that the digital temperature reading device on the air conditioners was indicating it was 81 degrees. Too hot for a human to bear. I don't think they understood that 81 degrees is about what I chill my Texas space to and feel quite comfortable.

Right now I have the A/C set to 85 and am feeling a bit chilled by the cold air blowing on me.

Looking at that above info from the Seattle Times I am wondering why Western Washington lakes start getting algae infested when the temperature gets HOT. Does that same woe plague Texas lakes, where it gets way HOTTER? Seems like I remember about something unfortunate growing in Lake Texoma. Was it algae? I don't remember. Maybe it was giant catfish....

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