Everyone Okay With Heatwave & Power Outages?

[vdub]

When I first heard the weather channel using the derecho term I thought it was probably something from Arabian Nights and hot Sahara Sun, but, suprisingly, according to wiki, it is a genuine North American term originating in 1888.

"Derecho comes from the Spanish word for "straight" (cf. "direct") in contrast with a tornado which is a "twisted" wind.[1] The word was first used in the American Meteorological Journal in 1888 by Gustavus Detlef Hinrichs in a paper describing the phenomenon and based on a significant derecho event that crossed Iowa on 31 July 1877."

[Jaha]

We were hit hard in this area and lost power for 6days. It was a very miserable and costly week. We had to find two generators one for our house and one for my mom's appartment that is built on to our house. Her boyfriend who is 85yrs old is on an oxygen machine and we had to keep that going. You really forget what a blessing air conditioning and a hot shower is until you don't have them.
Jana

[pberggren1]

I think this is what we call plough winds up here.

[Al]

Haboob, derecho--whatever, those convection storms just go to show that you can't fool Mother Nature. Not for very long, at least, and get away with it. The needs and desires of actual humans are of minor concern in the long run.

In any case, Don, I can't personally see hanging out, voluntarily, in the desert in July. You can't even play golf decently. Of course, it is all relative. As one local columnist put it, around here, 80 degree days is like putting banana slugs under a heat lamp--we shrivel. I do, at any rate. and it has been upper 70s and 80s in the Northwest for a few days now, and it has been hard on me. Can't sleep (very few houses in the NW have AC) so well, and I have been off my feed. Today is blessedly cooler, though.

Sorry to all you who have suffered. I have a spare bedroom....

Al

[Psyborg]

Lost power for a few hours the night the storm hit, but thankfully got it back quick. My uncle was without power for 5 days...nasty with the heat. It's funny how we get used to Air Conditioning, 30 years ago nobody had it and we just kind of suffered through the heat with fans. Of course the sheer number of air conditioners now actually made restoring power more of a challenge.

[Lightwarrior]

We are supposed to get to 116, which means it will probably be 120. Knock on wood, we have not lost power. Even the swimming pools have hot water. I heard about your derecho's , horrible!! A haboob is quite an experience, sand stings if you are unable to get inside.

[vdub]

We are supposed to get to 116, which means it will probably be 120.

But it's a dry heat.... :-)

[Sangye]

We were hit hard in this area and lost power for 6days. It was a very miserable and costly week. We had to find two generators one for our house and one for my mom's appartment that is built on to our house. Her boyfriend who is 85yrs old is on an oxygen machine and we had to keep that going. You really forget what a blessing air conditioning and a hot shower is until you don't have them.
Jana

Oh no, Jana. That must have been horrible. Glad you could find generators-- they were sold out everywhere.

[Sangye]

Lost power for a few hours the night the storm hit, but thankfully got it back quick. My uncle was without power for 5 days...nasty with the heat. It's funny how we get used to Air Conditioning, 30 years ago nobody had it and we just kind of suffered through the heat with fans. Of course the sheer number of air conditioners now actually made restoring power more of a challenge.

Yes, we are somewhat spoiled with A/C but 30 years ago we weren't having temperatures this high for this long. Here in Maryland the Weather service said the heatwave was hotter than anything in the history of the state!

[Sangye]

I have a funny story about an Arizona dust storm, though it wasn't a haboob. Many years ago my parents had moved to the Valley before it was built up and overpopulated like it is now. They were out in the boonies! They had just moved in and were outside sitting in lawn chairs one afternoon, when all of a sudden they both found themselves sprawled on the ground with upturned chairs and covered in dust and leaves. Apparently a "surprise" dust storm had blasted through without warning. Their neighbors later explained what had happened. ROTFL Still cracks me up all these years later.