🇬🇧BRIT Reacts To BRITISH HEATWAVES AINT GOT NOTHING ON AMERICAN ONES!

[@theprogressivecynic2407]

The reason why the US has ACs set up for this sort of heat wave is because our heat waves are more common, more severe, and have tended to kill people when we don't prepare. In general, weather in the US is just a lot more violent and dangerous than the UK

[@JustMe-dc6ks]

Also because our typical summer may be worse than what would be a heatwave in Britain.

[@hadnick1]

So am I… LOL!

[@idalily3810]

Europeans really can't grasp just how hot it gets in the US. AC is vital to us. There are parts of the US that just wouldn't be habitable without AC.

[@Happyface1981]

Indeed the fire departments used to give out fans to the underprivileged in our area depending on the length and intensity of the wave and electric couldn’t be turned off it could only go to collections

[@captainnerd6452]

Basically the climate of North America wants to kill us, either slowly and painfully or suddenly and violently.

[@LisaMarshall0]

How bad the wave is really depends on how high the humidity is. The heat feels so much worse when the humidity is cranked up too. This causes the "feel like" temperature to skyrocket. In the midwest it is not unusual to experience "feel like" temps of 105°-110° in the summer and -20° to -25° in the winter.

[@justanotherdayinthelife9841]

Was JUST about to mention the importance of humidity

[@Alex-kd5xc]

Yeah I moved from New Mexico where summers are 110 with 0% humidity to Austin where summers have been about 100 with like 60% humidity. New Mexico summers have always been hot but manageable but the never killed me like Austin’s. And Austin isn’t even that humid of a place.

[@HeyIts_B_A_618]

@@Alex-kd5xc Exactly humidity is the worst part of it. We seldom ever reach the 90's and even less 100 in St. Louis, but the humidity is oppressive here in the summer (80-90% isn't uncommon). Our heat index values in the summer are routinely in the triple digits.

[@thefreedommovement]

I moved to the PNW coast, and some days when it’s 68 degrees actually feel hotter than 100 degree days in dry heat. All the ocean water evaporates and makes this hot, thick mist. Kinda looks/feels like everything is on fire, but the “smoke” makes you soaking wet. It’s weird

[@AspasiaB]

Ah yes, "air you can wear". I'm outside of Chicago and lived in Minnesota for a while. The humidity is gross and usually not even a little bit of a breeze off the lake. Just still, thick, oppressive humidity. I too prefer cold to hot. You can only take off so many clothes to cool down.

[@TwistedSisler]

The hottest temp I ever experienced was in Kuwait. It was close to 130 degrees. The hottest I've ever felt though was one summer in Mississippi (I can't remember the year) but it was about 110 and the humidity was so thick you just felt like you were suffocating in someone else's bathwater.

[@msdarby515]

I spent a weekend in St. Louis and have never gone back. It's the most miserable place I've ever been. I was a young bride and asked my sister-in-law, 15 years my senior, "Why on EARTH would anyone live here???" (Soooo rude!). She said, "Because my husband likes it here?" But seriously......why would anyone live there???

[@benkerry2006]

28th of November 2019 parts of Australia reached 54°c which is 129.4°f, this was during the black summer bushfires which remains the worst fire season in recorded history in terms of flame heights, speed, smoke emissions, and area (18,736,070 hectors or 46,300,000 acres)

[@johnriddle934]

I've lived in either St. Louis or Mississippi my entire life so I can take the heat. But when you get heat AND humidity, that test you metal.

[@morgankuikka4940]

I grew up in mn, iv been in florida in july, and kuwait in july, (also monsoon season) and iv been in poland in january, i agree, humidity makes a major difference, ill take 120 with low humidity over even 90 with high humidity, but i prefer below zero when both Fahrenheit and celcius are the same number.

[@jairosoto3445]

Holy shit that’s insane! I’ve played soccer in 118 degrees. My body shut down and I got goosebumps that wouldn’t go away. My body became cold and I couldn’t get warm. I had to kick myself out of the game and lay down in some grass on some shade while they poured water on me. How everyone else continued is still a mystery to me. This was in bullhead Arizona

[@solbringer2483]

As a Phoenix native I was there to experience June 26th, 1990. Temperatures reached 122F (50C). As one used to temps over 110 I can say it was a whole new level of heat. There was a slight breeze, but it was so hot the wind was painful instead of helpful.

[@alflyover4413]

I was down by the airport, Sky Harbor, on a job site with air temperature of 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius) in 1995. The airport closed because the air was too thin to allow the jets to develop enough thrust to get rolling fast enough to develop enough lift in the heat-thinned air to launch.

[@andi1003]

I was in the Scottsdale area when it reached 125° in 2017, i mostly just tried to stay inside that day

[@xScooterAZx]

My friends and I rode in the back of a pickup from Phoenix to Parker to go swimming in 122 degrees a few years back. And yup,the hot wind burned us more than the sun.

[@jasonskeans3327]

same

[@elsievickie]

Tending Bar by airport. Airport had to shut down.......equipment wasn't proramed for such high temperatures. Bar was full, until the grid went out, all around us...no one had air....HOT

[@daricetaylor737]

We have been suffering with 100+ temps here for weeks on end. I honestly do remember a specific heat wave that hit us back in 1976, temperatures topped out at 117 and 116 for two days straight.....the ground out back of the house was so hot and dry that it cracked and looked like the a dry lake bed rather than our back yard. It was unbearable. I remember going out and feeling like I had stepped into an oven. Europeans bag on us here in the USA for our air conditioners.....but they honestly are the only reason more people don't keep dying from the heat of our summers here. AC is a very real necessity.

[@kindadecent9754]

AC should be mandatory for certain climates

[@jLutraveling]

We grew up without air conditioning. We kept the rooms dark. Some people put foil on their windows. There is also a trick of taking a bowl of ice water adding some water and aiming a fan at the bowl. It cools thing’s down.

[@ronclark9724]

Before we had air conditioning in the 1960s, we lived in a old home with a big screened in porch under several unfortunately small trees. With a fan in every room circling the hot air around, we survived drinking lots of ice tea, mind you this in the Texas panhandle... At least its the air is dryer in west Texas unlike the gulf coastal areas of humid Texas... During the summer months we probably got 60 days at least with temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit...

[@leeyaferguson9019]

YEP!!

[@DeLee596]

We had nothing but an attic fan when I was a child. Lived in Texas, so it was hot.

[@TwinMama-jv3zb]

I rent my house and the ac is older than me, it's shocking how the landlord has kept it "working" all these years. I feel like we live without ac lol It is the least efficient thing I've ever seen in my life and when we run it the electric bill is insanely high. The windows are old and don't seal anything in and the walls and attic basically have no insulation left. I use fans EVERYWHERE and I put a window unit in the livingroom where I work so it's at least not horrible in there during the day. I only run the ac at night so we don't drown in our own sweat. I've added cellular shades to several sun facing windows to block out heat, but we live in a dark "cave" to keep the temps down. All my siblings and my dad have houses 2+ times the size of mine and their electric bill is easily 1/4 the amount mine is. It's ridiculous. Although it is funny to go to 1 of their homes and it's silent...no stand and ceiling fans running in every single room 🤣 plus the window unit and a dehumidifier. My house is like 1 big white noise machine.

[@SherriLyle80s]

Also don't forget foil on your windows. ~Florida

[@mortensen1961]

"Have you ever experienced 120 + degree temperatures?" Having lived in the Laughlin, NV/Bullhead City, AZ area since May 1991, 120+ temps are an annual event. .

[@GlutenFreeVegas]

Love Laughlin!

[@lorane1961]

Yep, live in Havasu...120 is nothing

[@lizc.214]

As someone who lives in south Texas, I definitely prefer winter!! Our summers are consistently 95° and higher and rarely less than that. And as some have already said in the comments, it's the humidity that makes it worse! Once you come out of the house it doesn't take long to start sweating. Also, while rain helps bring down the temps a bit, it's better that it doesn't rain at all than for it to be a short, light rain because that'll just bring up the heat from the street.

[@DeLee596]

I believe the record for consecutive number of days over a 100 degrees in Texas is 42 days. I remember this heatwave back in 1980. I remember because I had no air conditioning in the house I was renting.

[@kattytatty7266]

I definitely feel for you, dear Texans. I’m in England and just about endured our heatwave. Roll on Autumn (just around the corner). Keep it cool. 🇬🇧❤️🇺🇸

[@christineschutten248]

Southerners know!

[@Utoober729]

You chose to live in Texas

[@damiengrief]

When I lived in Phoenix, Arizona the summers were hot every year. Not even a heat wave. It was *normal* for the temperature in the summer to get up to 115ish F or so for a couple weeks. Neither extreme cold or heat are good. At least you can layer up with the cold, I guess. But when I lived in Wisconsin for a bit, the winters were fucking brutal. Every year I was there, we had a couple weeks where it was -40 degrees F. That's fucking cold. You can't be outside more than a couple minutes without getting frost bite. It literally hurts to breathe. The air you exhale will freeze to any facial hair you have. It's insane.

[@ThurgoodJenkins1]

I live in Phx. In 2020 we broke the record for days above 95 (172), 100 (145), 105 (102), 110 (53), 115 (14) degrees. There is no escape. When the low is above 90 degrees for an entire month its miserable.

[@haileybabcock4492]

Me a person from wi…. Winters have gotten a lot warmer

[@Luvmypugs3]

Guess extreme heat is similar. Can’t stay out for long either. Very dangerous of elderly and kids and pets too.

[@CuriousMind2525]

I grew up in Phoenix and have worked through Alaskan winters. The heat will suck the wind and moisture right out of you and cold will burn your lungs.

[@lorirarich1875]

That must have been a windcjhilll lol. But far north Mn. away from Lake Superior which is a few farenheit degrees warmer all winter, it only gets 10 or 20 below F. Yet I remember one winter...nights were that low. Pipes broke many cars had frozen gas lines etc. And they didn't close scool for a day or 2. Finally Universities even closed due to the Governor and that never happens. Cars are the worst in cold! Sometimes in heat too.

[@harveybojangle475]

The hottest temperature I've ever been in was 121F, while in Nevada. As someone who grew up around Dallas, it was just assumed that most summers would be in the 90F-100F area. And, "summer" lasts for a majority of the year out there. I live in Southern California now, which can also get quite warm. I think you'll find that many American states can get very hot. Then again, places without air conditioning are rarities here.

[@misterkite]

I once had my car break down on i10 near Casa Grande, AZ. I remember sitting on the trunk of my car, waiting for a tow truck, in the middle of a 115F summer day.

[@armanii4005]

@@misterkite holy fuck dude i know you was melting waiting for that 😂

[@SaguaroBlossom]

As an Arizonan, when it's 115° it doesn't matter that it's a 'dry' heat. It's still an oven (especially in cars), and 115° isn't at all unusual here. You definitely just melt outside. Summer is also monsoon season, so it can get a little humid too. We usually hit 100° in mid April, and stay there until late October. Some weeks during the summer it doesn't get below 90° even at night. Death Valley may have the highest recorded temp on earth, but not many people live there. Millions live in Arizona.

[@NanciBK]

The whole NW part of the country doesn’t have AC - it’s rare here.

[@harveybojangle475]

@@NanciBK If the country you're referring to is America, which states don't have AC?

[@nomdeplume7537]

I prefer colder rather than hotter, and my rationale is thus When it's exceedingly cold, you can always put on enough clothes to keep you warn. Conversely, when it's oppressively hot, you can only take off so much ... before they come and arrest your ass

[@susanp7432]

VERY TRUE!!! Totally agree.

[@tracyfrazier7440]

I generally agree, except when you add cold weather with Wind. Unbearable.

[@brianabc83]

I don't know, unless its a major crime I feel the cops most likely will stay in their car w/AC blowing and break up disturbances with their PA system.

[@jJohnMcClane]

When its exceedingly cold you can never get warm. When its exceedingly hot, shade and a breeze is all you need

[@nomdeplume7537]

@@jJohnMcClane I wish to take that statement to task ... 1. You can't always expect a breeze. 2. I pulled into Phoenix at Midnight ... can't get any more shade than that, ans the temperature was 99 degrees. "it was a dry heat" ... yes, but so is an oven

[@jolenewitzel7919]

I am in the California desert. It gets to 100 to 105 here all summer. Once i remember it getting to 115 and we spent the day outside with the hose. At night you sleep outside as it's too hot inside. People have lived in Death Valley for centuries. They know how to survive.

[@janetnwonderland]

I live in Arizona, so some of these Temps seem like nothing to me. Yes, we have had over 120 degree days. It doesn't usually get over 122, but in truth, that is rather rare. Lake Havasu actually hit 128 one year. But usually our summers exist between 110 to 118 degrees. It last far longer than 10 days, anywhere from two to three months. It is surprisingly, not as bad as one might think. We don't usually have high humidity here. I remember being back home in Oklahoma and walking 50 feet from my front door to my car in 89 degree weather, taking deep breaths just trying to breath, and working up a sweat so bad that it looked like my hair was just washed without drying, and clothes were taken straight from the washing machine. It was miserable. And that was at a mere 89 degrees. Arizona can hit triple digits without that problem. But heaven forbid we have any humidity! When we do, it can be bad, but still not as bad as back home. Even our humid days don't offer the same type of heat. And moving to Arizona, I finally understood the old phrase, "It's 10 degrees cooler in the shade." Back home in Oklahoma, that made no sense. There was no change in temps in the shade there. I guess the humidity just wouldn't allow it. But here in Arizona, a step into shade causes a noticeable and sudden drop in the temperature. I admit I miss trees and grass since coming to Arizona, but the one thing I do not miss is the sweltering lower summer temps of back home Oklahoma. Ah geeze! Now I'm feeling a bit home sick. Maybe I'll head back home for a visit...in the fall.

[@TwinMama-jv3zb]

This summer we had several weeks of triple digit days in a row, most days we hit 111° and at night it would only get down to the upper 80's. There was a high pressure system over us for months that stopped rain too so it was hot and dry. We still had humidity because we are near the ocean, but it was "low" for us. I remember summers as a kid that were this hot though, so it's nothing abnormal for us. Some summers are hotter just like some winters are colder.

[@jairosoto3445]

I’ve played soccer in 118 degrees. My body shut down and I got goosebumps that wouldn’t go away. My body became cold and I couldn’t get warm. I had to kick myself out of the game and lay down in some grass on some shade while they poured water on me. How everyone else continued is still a mystery to me. This was in bullhead Arizona

[@nerasomnia]

I don’t remember a summer that stayed in the triple digits for so long, though. It got to a point where weather in the 90s felt cool.

[@archerfire77]

Here in the PNW Seattle, Washington we were around 105-110 last summer in an earth shattering record for our region, destroyed records by 10+ degrees. Very little places with AC, just businesses and rich people. Our summers are also becoming tinder dry, so we've had months without rain before. Had 6 straight 90°+ days this summer, setting a new record as well. Our warmest night occurred the other night, remaining above 72° for the coldest part of the morning. Our eastern side of the state has been between 100-115 this entire month

[@pnwajs3532]

I'm in Beaverton just west of Portland OR and that was a brutal early summer last year. I remember one day specifically we hit 115 and it was rough! No AC so it was a stay indoors, 3 fans running the entire week, only wearing shorts at all times, and sitting by the open fridge a few times a day. My cat nearly died due to the heat. Thankfully I was home the entire time to watch him. If I worked a job away from home I'd probably have come home in the evening to find him dead. I feared a repeat of it this year, but thankfully we made it through and are nearly out of the 90+ temperature days until next summer.

[@RutabegaNG]

See, and there's the difference. Most places here (SW Ohio) do have air conditioning, and it's standard in most apartments to at least have a small crappy window unit. Even with that, more than a few days at 100 plus would cause issues here. Did cause issues here, if I recall 1988 correctly. But we have the infrastructure to handle it. I can't imagine how much of a nightmare it is in a place where temperatures like that are so far off the norm.

[@Lelexlexie]

I'm in Spokane...hellllppppp

[@randallshuck2976]

I would imagine there were a lot of very young, very old and unhealthy Brits who succumbed to the heat. Britian is north of the US state of Maine and is only temperate because of the ocean current that brings warm water from the tropics to their coasts. In my childhood and early years air conditioning was not available in homes. In the Midwest we developed basements for protection from heat and tornados. It isn't the heat it is just the extreme change of temperature since we generally have months to acclimate to the rising temps. I've been through 110 to 120 degrees. Drink lots of water and if you have to be outside wear big-brimmed hats, lots of loose light-colored clothes and stay in the shade and breeze as much as possible. If you can, move into the basement and become nocturnal.

[@thefreedommovement]

One of the hottest days on record in London, I happen to be in the morden A&E with an eye infection. Don’t know if it was the heat or a virus, but there were dozens of people of all ages there throwing up. It was bad.

[@thefreedommovement]

One of the hottest days on record in London, I happen to be in the morden A&E with an eye infection. Don’t know if it was the heat or a virus, but there were dozens of people of all ages there throwing up. It was bad.

[@randallshuck2976]

@@thefreedommovement Yeah. I lived in Mildenhall, Suffolk for 3 years in the early 70s. I don't remember it getting hotter than 75 degrees Fahrenheit at any time. When I got back to Kansas the first summer with 100-110 degrees I had boils everywhere my clothes were tight. Worst summer of my life.

[@thefreedommovement]

@@randallshuck2976 for 3 days it was reaching 100 degrees in south London. I honestly thought it’d never get that hot there. My very first week in London was warm too, but not that bad (tho, I was staying in a hotel next to grenfell that week… the week of the fire. That night was pretty warm too. And massively traumatizing)

[@randallshuck2976]

@@thefreedommovement I can imagine how miserable it would feel to someone not acclimated to the heat. I would go to the summer beach in Yarmouth wearing a coat after two years of getting used to the cold and dampness. It's easy to warm up not so easy to cool down. Take lots of cold showers and stay hydrated. Best of luck.

[@zacharyricords8964]

Hotest i ever experienced was 133 degrees in iraq 2011. It was so hot that many aircraft were grounded due to overheating. It was brutal. A/C froze over from overworking. Imagine sleeping in a large metal box mid day with no AC and 130 degrees outside.

[@juliayoung537]

I've lived in the southern US all my life, cold weather is not my friend, especially at my age now 😂!

[@reedperrino6772]

Last year in New Jersey and PA, where I lived had a heat wave of about 120°, and the thermometer at my house hit 122 at the highest. That’s the hottest I’ve ever experienced for a prolonged time

[@kingjellybean9795]

Bout 115 in PA last year where I live, spent the whole day in a local creek

[@ashleydixon4613]

In the South, every day you have highs of 90°F or higher for about three months straight. And we know that every summer we’re going to have a triple digit heat wave. that’s just how it is although things are much worse now. The hottest it’s ever gotten here in central Arkansas is about 113°- the high humidity here typically keeps the heat from rising much past 100° but the humidity makes it feel so much worse. At least we have air conditioning but I honestly don’t know how people like my parents and all of those who lived here before air conditioning got through it. It’s miserable and uncomfortable, but you notice you don’t have hundreds or even thousands here dropping dead from it. A lot of that is because your body does acclimate to the heat somewhat.

[@tazepat001]

I live in the southern California region and yes we had multiple years where we experienced 125°F days. I now work in air conditioning and being in an attic during a heat wave is no fun. Last recorded temp I took last time I was up there a couple weeks ago was 149°F

[@pilsplease7561]

Congrats your a efficient liar

[@Gizmo42Rodeo]

It's no better doing commercial rooftop HVAC. Not as high of temperature but you get the added bonus of being cooked by the sun all day. Extra fun if there is a black rubber membrane roof.

[@MrfuckinBeilke]

Phoenix broke a daily heat record on Thursday (June 17th, 2021) Hitting 115 degrees at about 1:30 p.m. and had climbed to 118 around 2:00 p.m.

[@ChaoticCobras]

i live about 2 hours from chicago (where lawrence lives) and just last month the highest temperature i’ve dealt with was 110 degrees and that was with humidity. it was so hot and humid it felt like you walked outside into a pot of boiling water. just moisture and extreme piercing heat, it felt like the air you breathed in was made up of mostly water vapor. it was absolutely unbearable, not even AC on full blast in the car IN THE SHADE did much

[@fruithippie]

I'm in Central IL, this summer has been pretty bad. I've lived in south Texas where one summer there was a 3.5 month drought and heat wave, but it isn't as humid as it is here. My AC just broke today 😫

[@JonnyQuest64]

As a roofer from Rockford illinois let's be honest with everyone...there are 80 something degree days that were hotter feeling lol I roofed a full day that day but only half a day when it was like 86 that week

[@cherylbrunette2490]

That is NW Florida starting in May thru late October every year, and it does not cool off at night.

[@Cghodnett]

I am in Georgia where it is not unusual to have stretches of temps in excess of 100-108 degrees, but also with high humidity. That makes the “feels like” temperature upwards of 120. We did not have central air (parent’s house was built in the late 40s) until all of the kids were off to college, so I remember 1988 as a summer of pure hell. Every possible moment was spent in a pool, in a lake, or in a creek cooling off.

[@anarchyneverdies3567]

It was def over 100 consistently when I lived in Texas, with long stretches over 115. I literally couldn't deal with it, I moved back to Illinois. I got heat stroke too many times and was sent into early labor from it, it wasn't worth the low taxes I went there for lol.

[@ephennell4ever]

The whole northern tier of states (bordering or almost bordering on Canada) are nice for the summer-time. Flip side is the winters ... not so nice if single-digit temps (or sub-zero!) is too much for you! Hope where you're at is working for you!

[@pilsplease7561]

I was in texas and never saw a temp above 70 in 2 months during summer, so idk where you were.

[@laflines8711]

No PilsPlease. I live in Dallas. So far for this summer in 2022 we have had 40 plus days of over 100° weather. Where the heck do you live in Texas that's under 70° for the summer?

[@pilsplease7561]

@@laflines8711 I dont live in Texas, I just spent a year in Texas. I am thinking about moving to Texas though seeing how its an absolute trainwreck here prices are far higher on everything and stupid laws and cost of living is impossible.

[@ClaytonBrownMusicOfficial]

Texan here! I work an outside job, and 115 degrees Fahrenheit is about par for the course. For reference, we keep our house at 78 Fahrenheit and still wear jeans and jackets. Heat is simply my lot in life, sir.

[@MelaniePoparad]

When i was a kid, i was at summer camp where the only air conditioned places were the main buildings and some advisor cabins… it was about 108F outside, felt like day and night. They actually changed a lot of the planned activities and gave us extra rec time.. aka pool, lake or hanging out in an ac building. Well i had the brilliant idea to get incredibly ill. I was rocking 105F body temp and got to sleep in the nurse’s (ac) cabin, then was sent home.. where we did not have ac in our house. We had a single window ac unit that was in our living room. So i was incredibly sick, ended up sleeping in our living room and laying in our pool all day for like 2 weeks. I can’t remember how long the heat wave was because it didn’t seem to make much of a difference when my body was right at the same abhorrent temps. That was not a fun summer camp.

[@Brazbit]

We used to vacation in Las Vegas in the middle of summer every year and it would regularly be over 110°F and occasionally get over 120°. The dry desert air made it feel more like standing over a heater vent or having a hair drier blowing on your whole body as opposed to how oppressive and muggy it feels at home in anything over 70° heat. The biggest challenge was staying hydrated as even a 5-minute walk outside would start to be felt as signs of dehydration would set in, being from Washington state we our bodies do not take well to that kind of heat. Getting to Vegas would take us past Death Valley and temps there were even higher. Still existing in that heat was nothing compared to a hot day back home. So, everything is relative. I remember visiting Lake Havasu, Arizona (where the old London Bridge was relocated to) on summer vacation as a teen with my family. The temperature was well into the triple digits, and the humidity was also very high. The day was miserable, offset by water activities on the lake. But the night was unbearable. The temperature was still over 100 and the humidity only seemed to rise. Breathing felt like what trying to breath while dangling over a giant vat of hot soup would probably feel like. There was no escape from the heat or the sweat. We were spending the night in our van which meant no A/C and a vehicle that had been baking in the sun all day long. With the family unable to sleep we all decided to get up and go to the campground shower facilities. Taking a cold shower that night felt amazing only for us to be dripping with sweat again before we could dry ourselves. After another 20 minutes in the van my parents decided there was no point in continuing to lay there miserable, and more than a little danger in prolonging the situation, so we started up the van and drove several hours down the road to somewhere with more bearable conditions. Let me tell you, a constant 100° with humidity is far far far worse than without.

[@MichaelScheele]

I've experienced > 120 F (48.89 C) in Phoenix, AZ and > 110 F (43.33 C) in Las Vegas, NV. Air conditioning was key to dealing with the heat. It reached 110 F near Seattle, WA, last year. Like many people in the area, I didn't have air conditioning where I lived. I found air conditioned spaces during the day to make it more bearable. This year, it hasn't gotten that hot, but we have had more 90+ degree days than in previous years; not quite the record, but close. While uncomfortable, it's manageable.

[@hadnick1]

I live in the high desert of north eastern Nevada in a fifth wheel trailer. This year we had 9 days straight of temps of 105F or more and last winter temps got as cold as -22F and -31F with the wind chill. I don’t have AC so I just hang out in the shade all day and do my farm chores in the early morning or in the evening after the sun goes down. Most days when it’s over 100F, during the hottest times of day, I’ll sleep in a hammock in the shade so that I’m surrounded by air and when the wind blows it’s fricken orgasmatic! Lol! One thing that’s nice though is since I’m in the high desert it’s a dry heat and by 5am it’s usually down around 55F-60F. It was 96F today with 11% humidity… The hottest I’ve ever experienced though was 112F, thankfully only for one day but the days before and following were still 100F+… Also “drought” is subject to interpretation. Last year my town received only 7.39 inches of precipitation and we generally get less that a tenth of an inch of rain between May and September. Since January of this year we have only received 3.1 inches of rain and only about .3 of an inch between May and now. It’s the last week of august. About 90% of our annual precipitation comes between October and March in the form of snow or hail…

[@xxTheMouseThatRoaredxx]

I grew up in California and spent 26 years there. I also lived in Phoenix Arizona. The hottest temp I experienced was 124f. We were very very poor so we couldn't afford air conditioning. To make matters worse, I had alcoholic parents so they drank all night and slept all day so they made us go outside so not to disturb their sleep. I remember walking barefoot in that ridiculous heat to reach the ice cream man. The asphalt was so hot (I was 7-9 when I lived there in the early 70s) that it squished under my weight which was maybe 45 lbs (I have always been very petite). I'm near Cincinnati now. The recent weeks long heatwave here was just the upper 90's but the heat index with all the humidity back east caused it to feel up to 114f. In California it's a dry heat but we deal with brutally cold winters and snow but not nearly as cold as when I lived in Nebraska.

[@kindadecent9754]

Dry heat + wildfire smoke is whats really bad about California summers. The sunrises and sunsets look wild though

[@sadantnanl1717]

Temps are measured in the shade. With readings over 120 in the shade it could mean much higher in the sun. Inside a vehicle is insanely hot. There was one year the vinyl around my console melted along with the metal bracket that held the outside mirror control. When I pushed the button to adjust the mirrors it dropped through to the floor. Best way to stay cool without air conditioning is to soak a cloth in ice water and hang it in front of the fan. It is like a make shift evaporative cooler.

[@douglascampbell9809]

2016 I was working in a factory in western Wisconsin. I can remember checking the bank's thermometer reading on the way into work. So many times it read 115 F ( 46 C) with the humidity around 90%. The heat index on 2nd shift was 126 F (52 C). We had to be super careful about people getting heat stroke, (it will kill you easy) I was drinking over a gallon of water a shift. You could weigh yourself at the start of the shift and lose 8 lbs is sweat over 10 hours. Not kidding about that I did not personally for a week.

[@redssracer4153]

Hello there Kabir... Where I live at in Northern CA, we get about 3.5 mos. (about 107 days) of "high-temperature"... We get for the year, on average about 88 days of temps between 90°F (32°C) to 100°F (37.8°C) and about 19 days of temps between 100°F (37.8°C) to 115°F (46°C)... The highest recorded temperature was 115°F (46°C) on July 23, 2006. So far for this August, there have been... 11 days of temps, between 90°F (32°C) to 100°F (37.8°C) and also 11 days of temps, over 100°F (37.8°C) The highest temperature I've experienced was 117°F (47°C) at the Joshua Tree National Park...

[@arctan2010]

When I moved to Dallas during Y2K, I experienced triple digit temperatures for almost a month. Quite a few senior citizens died because they couldn’t afford to run the air conditioner because they’re on a fixed income. Air conditioner thievery suddenly became problematic. Still, I rather be hot and miserable than cold and miserable.

[@deborahwilkerson5044]

That's the year I left Texas because 60 people both young and old died that summer from heat. I've been in Colorado ever since if you people know there's a high altitude desert in the south east. That's where I grew up. One Summer It was 95 degrees on Christmas Eve and I was playing basketball. I realized something isn't quite right here (sarcasm). We didn't have air conditioner and as a luxury my senior year in high school we got a swamp cooler. We were so excited for a year

[@ephennell4ever]

Hot and miserable? Uh, *no!* That's why I always regretted not moving to someplace like Alaska (or at least northern Montana) when I could have!

[@ghadrackpotato960]

I was package handler and part time manager for the U.S.'s second largest package delivery company in Phoenix Arizona, when the temperature outside was over 110°f in the trucks it could get to between 130° and 140°, we had to use "swamp coolers" and practice first aid drills for heat exhaustion when employees dropped out. Dock managers also had 100% responsibility for making sure there was cool water in the coolers outside every truck on the load and unload docks for handlers and up on the scaffolds for the guys and the techs running the conveyor belts. We ended up using a rigged system one of the electricians created to run cold water from the women's bathroom to the rafter platforms where the temps hit in the 120 plus range 3 or 4 on the a year The Southeastern US is gross because of the humidoty, we had a summer five years ago when we had 42 days with 100°+ temps, but it's like a rain forest and moist. In The South West you can get 120 with 0 humidity your body does not react as well when you are dehydrated from perspiration, evaporation and extreme heat

[@Timmycoo]

Growing up in Australia, I remember we would love swimming in our pool during 100-120 degree days but when it's a constant heat over periods of days, the pool will turn into a sauna lol as we didn't have a cover for it. Of course we moved to California where we were greeted with more heat, especially with climate change. We had the "heat dome" in the Pacific North West last year that killed people and broke temperature records all over. This heat wave, combined with other extreme weather occurrences elsewhere, yielded the hottest June on record in North America. In Oregon, we have people who fill up our cars for us at the gas station and during the heat wave, they were not allowed to work because it was so hot lol. I think it was estimated ~1600 people or so died and it was around $8 billion USD in damages.

[@samanthamyers4267]

I was outside in 105 F with approximately 30% humidity. Tips aside from AC: 1. Wear lightweight breathable clothing. 2. Seek out shade and/or a cool breeze if possible. 3. Move around very little. You are more prone to heat illness if you don't do 4, 5, and 6. 4. Keep hydrated. If you are overheated, make sure what you are drinking is cool not cold. 5. Replenish electrolytes. 6. Keep your blood sugar up. Don't rely on feeling hungry. You might not feel it until you are in trouble. 7. Wear a wide brimmed hat. Make sure it's breathable. 8. Know the signs and first aid for heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

[@theproceedings4050]

The highest temperature I've ever experienced in the Northeast is only like 104 F for a day or two. The problem in New England isn't the heat, it's the humidity when it gets really hot. Often 80s and 90s are accompanied by 60, 70, or even 80 percent humidity. It's not like Florida here, but it's much worse than anything I've felt in Europe. Your weather is actually quite pleasant most of the time (and yes that includes winter).

[@ManicReactions]

The higest temperature I’ve experienced was in Mesa, Arizona the day I moved into my new house in the desert in June 2021. It was 121°F/49°C. Manageable, because “it’s a dry heat” (a.k.a., the big lie). It’s the one place I lived where you could walk into a store and walk out with a free bottle of water, by law. If you thoughrt getting your liquor license suspended for selling to minors was bad, Phoenix metro was the place the police would set up sting for shops not allowing people to walk out with free water. They would shut y°ou down for up to a week or longer. I could drink hot Starbucks lattes until the temperature reached 108When I was in college in Iowa City, Iowa, the highest is experienced was 109°F/43°C in 1989. The city was breaking 1929 dustbowl records left and right. Conversely, the coldest I experienced was there in January 1989 at -29°F/-34°C. Back where I grew up and now live in Western NY near Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, wind chills have dipped to -48°F/-44C. Largest one-day snowfall: 23” - January 1996.

[@barnowl5774]

When you have finished with the USA, check out Australia for its heat which also gets very hot and extremely harsh heat due to quite a number of factors. Also, there are high levels of humidity in areas. To compensate we have air-conditioning, ceiling and other fans, lighter housing structure that does not retain the heat, space around the house, vegetation around the house which keeps the temperature down, pergolas attached to the house with shading on them, outside shades over windows, a minimum of concrete-like surfaces in gardens which retain heat, backyard pools, public pools, and the majority of Australians live within 50 kms of the sea for the cooling sea breezes. If people do not have A/C they may sleep outside at night. We try not go out in the extreme heat of the day. We wear the bare minimum of light clothing and footwear ie thongs/flip-flops, sandals. We keep hydrated. Take a number of showers. On very hot days I keep my house closed up, use fans until the mid-afternoon and then turn the A/C to about 20 degrees Celsius after that. Once the room/ house has cooled I turn the A/C up to about 27 degrees Celsius. I hope this helps you to cope with your unnatural heat waves in the UK.

[@kattytatty7266]

Many thanks for the wonderful cooling tips, although most UK homes don’t have AC - we’re not used to it. 🥵🇬🇧❤️🇦🇺. It’s also why Scandinavian countries laugh at the UK’s media response to snowfall - just not used to it. Nevertheless, rainfall is our friend.

[@shellygill5029]

Most of the U.S. can reach temps over 100° F. But the upper most northern states don't generally reach those temps.......but they could. It's the humidity that makes those high temps so unbareable. By we have our A/C and fans. When I grew up in the 50's through 70's we didn't even have a fan in the house. It's was so uncomfortable to go to bed sweating and wake up soaking wet! I loved in N.Jersey, not the south.

[@bmarie8939]

Here in Sacramento, California, we have 105 to 115 degrees of heat every summer for 8 to nine weeks in a row.

[@allieren]

It truly is the humidity that makes heat most unbearable, but I visited Las Vegas, NV during August one year and found out how little I tolerate even dry heat. The day I decided to wander The Strip it was about 114° F and it only took about 5 minutes for me to start feeling ill. I’m like you, I much prefer cold weather. I start getting uncomfortable when it’s over 80° F.

[@StargazerSkyscraper]

When I was a kid in SE Texas, the AC in my parents' house broke and we didn't have the money to fix it for about fifteen years. The summers get pretty spicy down there, though, so I can confirm that there are ways to survive spicy weather without AC! It's not fun though, and we did have ceiling fans and box fans to help out. Basically, open the windows during the night, and close them at sunrise. Once the sun comes up, close the blinds and open the outside doors as little as possible. Keep all the lights off in the house. Don't use the stove or oven in the house, and don't cook anything in general. We used a little camping stove on the porch. Don't eat or drink anything warm. Don't shower with hot water. Don't use the clothes dryer. Instead, hang your laundry up on a line outside or in the room in your house with the most airflow. Drink lots of water. Do most of your physical activities in the morning and evening. Nap during the hottest parts of the day (noon - 2PMish). If you have to drive anywhere, lower the windows with the AC on for a minute or so to blow all the super-heated air out of the car, and buckle your seatbelt very carefully, lol. If you have leather seats, you can cover them with cloth covers or towels to avoid getting burned, and there are also folding metallic sun shields you can put on your dash that will help prevent your car from overheating while you're not driving. That being said, this year's heat wave was pretty rough. I had AC in my apartment, though, kept all the blinds down, and only went outside to go to work and get groceries. At a certain point, though, you just kind of accept your fate and strip down to your underwear the second you get home so you can breathe again.

[@strawberryshortkate5413]

Born and raised in North Dakota. As a lot of people said a lot of time it's the humidity that makes it even worse in summers (windchill in winter). It's always fun waking up in the summer hearing oh were hotter than a desert today, and in wintertime hearing oh we are colder than Antarctica today. again. We also had a period of time where we kept flooding A LOT. We kept getting what were supposed to be floods that were every 100 years or 500 years every year. If you were over the age of 12 you left school and went to fill sandbags and build up flood dikes. Now we just sort of expect things to go bad and prefill sandbags (think like a million pre- ready) stored in temperate controlled warehouses just in case, so if it happens again, we have a head start.

[@brianjones8751]

Death Valley, California averages in June 110/82, July116/88, August 114/86. Hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth, 131.1 (56.7c) at Furnace Creek, Death Valley. But it's a "dry heat" 😬

[@haleybazer2496]

My husband & I live in north Louisiana. In July & August we consistently get days that are between 100-110 degrees Fahrenheit with 90% humidity. That's for days, weeks, & sometimes months on end. My husband is an electrician & works on new house constructions. When he comes home from work his clothes will literally be wet to the point that you can wring them out. He'll have to drink a gallon of water to keep up with the fluid loss from his sweating. Heat waves on top of that are hell on earth! The humidity is an absolute beast! You feel like the air you are breathing is wet & the heat & humidity wraps around you like a wool blanket that's wet.

[@dianecomly6132]

A heatwave, at least in the Philly metro area, is defined as at least 3 consecutive days over 90F. Highest Temps I've experienced was this year at 105. The humidity is a killer because as soon as you go out it feels like someone threw a hot, wet wool blanket on you. We have central AC plus ceiling fans and remote-start vehicles so coping is ok, but those people who work outside suffer.

[@WickedKingLycoan]

Lake Havasu Arizona. 125 degrees F., 100% humidity. My Father and I were repairing hvac units on a school. It was August late in the monsoon season at night. I could see my Father on the roof through the lightning flashes that struck over our heads, the thunder was deafening, and rattled my teeth. We ended up emptying the large cooler where our drinks were stored and filling it with ice and water, dipping our portable coffee mugs into it constantly to keep hydrated. Good times.

[@willcool713]

I used to work in a health club and one of my duties was to clean and sanitize the sauna. It was big enough that it wasn't economical to shut it off in the six hours the facility was closed, because it took too much energy and too much time to bring it back up to temp every morning. So it stayed at a balmy 175°f all the time. And when I mopped and swabbed it out, the humidity went all the way to foggy. But it had cedar benches, too, which meant finishing it off with a rub down of denatured alcohol. I did prop the door open for that last ten minutes, so I wouldn't drop from the fumes. But all told, I had between a half hour and forty-five minutes of work in ambient 175°f heat. That's just shy of 80°c, near enough to not matter. You could acclimate if you stood still and there was no breeze from the heaters, because a cooler layer of air would form around your body, relatively insulating you from the heat while you were still. But of course, I had to work, not stand still. Yet the temp in the direct sun in summer easily goes well into the same range, sometimes above 190°f, regardless that weather measurements are ambient air temps from the shade. From an astronomical viewpoint, the albedo of Earth shows spots that occasionally climb well above water's boiling point. And in situations like a closed car, the greenhouse like conditions can commonly get well above 200°f (93°c) often exceeding the boing point of water, which is why you don't leave children or pets in a car on a hot day. I work outside in my job, now, and I can tell you that here at the 45th Parallel, in Summer, the sun climbs to 78° of arc above the horizon, and even on 80°f days, if it's clear, the direct sun is just brutal. There are laws about how long you can work, access to running water below 70°f, and access to shade and climate control. Last year, 2021, we hit our new, local record high of 117°f (47°c). And this summer we're on track to have a new record of perhaps as many as 30 days of temperatures higher than 90°f (32°c), though locally the highest high this year was only 108°f (42°c). And when those days are consecutive and it doesn't cool much at night, after only a few days without A/C life becomes a struggle. People die when that happens, especially with the homeless population we have these days. The contiguous 48 US states have a record low of about -70°f (-57°c) one Montana winter, to that record high in Death Valley at 134°f (57°c) , about a 200°f difference (from -57°c to +57°c).

[@mattvsmetaverse]

Here in Alabama, high 90s to low 100s is pretty common, with a high humidity even outside of the hotter seasons. Can suck the life right out of you. The highest temperature ever recorded here reached 113 Fahrenheit. The humidity gets so high here, that it feels even hotter than it is. So when it's 90, at 60% humidity, it'll feel like 100. Our summers here average about that. The humidity is usually the coffin-nail though, and has to be looked out for. It can make the difference between being really hot, and getting heat stroke. Right now, we've had thunderstorms going on for days, so we've had the sun blocked out more than usual. Sitting at a much more comfortable 85 now. Too bad I can't go outside to enjoy it though. lol When the temp lowers here, it's usually only due to weather that brings clouds. Also, we RARELY see snow. I can't even remember the last snowfall. Our Christmas' here are quite hot, and sunny. Many southern states are comparable to Alabama in temperature (hottest state I've lived in; comparable to Florida), but the ones that are closer to the bay suffer from much higher humidity (like Alabama). Just 40 minutes from the beach here and you feel like you could drink the air at times. I'd take a slightly higher temp, and lower humidity any day. Edit: As far as dealing with it, AC is a MUST! The heat can even tax electronics, and affect power. I have two window units instead of one in my apartment, because just one was being taxed to death. Two seem to be JUST ENOUGH to keep the room cool. If that goes out, then you're kinda screwed. And it has. You just have to find every fan in your vicinity and aim it at you, soak some things in ice water to lay on you, take cold showers, drink cold beverages, etc. Basically, introduce anything that can still be cold into your life. lol

[@MissyA1966]

I live in North Alabama. My aunt was born & raised here but when she was 19yrs old she moved to California when she married a guy from there. Before she died she would come back to visit at least once a year but never in the summer.🤣 Her words were "Nope, Not Happening! I'll be there when it doesn't fill like hell!"🤣

[@totahsam8293]

I'm a 59 year old indigneous American from New Mexico. I was born in 63. We didn't even have electricity. My family lived in traditional homes called Hogans. There were two types. The big log or mud brick hogans and what can be called "summer hogans" which were open air shelters with a roof to keep out rain (rare) if it happens. AC was a wonder the white man had across the river. It wasn't uncommon for the temps to reach 115 - 118 degrees during the hottest part of the summer. The temps at night would stay in the 70 - 80's. My mother used to soak our sheets in water and that's how we cooled off in the night. Wasn't necessary all the time but during extreme conditions we slept wet. During the day we spent a lot of time in the shade. Usually rug weaving and curing of hides stuff like that. We had ponds and rivers to splash around in. It was miserable at times but we always found ways to cool off. Spent most of the time keeping the livestock hydrated and in areas with lots of shade. We got our first "swamp" cooler around 78 when electricity was finally run to our home. Evaporative coolers or swamp coolers use water to cool the air and the fan blows the cooler air into the house. Great for dry weather climates like New Mexico but during the monsoons they are completely useless. Humidity is the enemy. Wow. I rambled down memory lane. sorry about that. the older you get the more of a chatty cathy you become.

[@WanderingFig]

We drove from the east coast of America to the west coast and while driving through the desert to get from Arizona to California it was around 115 in the day and the ac even on full power wasn’t cooling enough, our dogs were panting the whole time. Once we hit the mountains there were water areas to stop if your car would start to overheat.

[@GunsmithSid]

Summer of ‘79 or ‘80 in West Texas, we had a week of 115-117 degree mid-day heat. The mesa would let it cool down at night, but the days! The house had a swamp cooler that worked pretty well in the dry heat. Outside it was miserable - the concrete, steel, stone, asphalt would all radiate heat so you didn’t want to be near those - shade of a tree that had some grass (well, dirt) around it was the best. The big surprise was that the wind wasn’t cooling - it would burn you like a convection oven! The wind was HOT! As kids we would turn the sprinklers on and run through it on the grass. It gets hot in Texas, but that time it was awful!

[@robertdedrick7937]

In North Carolina NORMAL daily temps are 36° C with heat index of up to 44°- 45° C . Heat index counts for the effects of humidity. Nights are 31° C In a "Heat Wave" we get 40° C with heat index up to 46° C . We could not live without AC . Many people work outside ALL Day and only get AC when they get home .

[@robertdedrick7937]

This Aug has been the coolest I've every seen .its been avg 30° C. Beautiful!!

[@adrianmcgrath1984]

Last year in British Columbia, Canada, we had three separate 'heat domes' where a heatwave stalls and doses not cool down much at night. The town of Lytton reached 49.6°C which is 121.28°F. Here in the coast, temperatures were a few degrees cooler, but in one spell it’s estimated a single piece of shoreline lost over 1 billion organisms, as mussels, oysters, crabs etc boiled in their own shells. Vets were reporting people arriving with dead pets, they had set off for the vets when the animals seemed distressed, they died in the car on the way. One wave was also estimated to have killed 800 people.

[@adrianmcgrath1984]

The coldest day recorded in Lytton is -31.7°C meaning between its hottest and coldest days, there was over an 80°C difference or, 146°F.

[@aliciaforeilly]

As a 40 year old person raised in Northeastern United States we had central air & heat everywhere. When it was super hot or cold we stay inside. In the winter we dig our car out and turn it on (heat on full) for a full 1/2hr. In the summer we race between buildings.

[@patriciatownsend]

From May-Sept or sometimes Oct the temps here in the River Cities region of Arizona can reach upwards of 100- 120 degrees F. Without A/C it is impossible to survive, as winds are often no help. The hottest I recall is around 125-127 degrees F.

[@Maeshalanadae]

Oregonian here. I’ve survived days of 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Best you can do without AC is to keep activity to a minimum and most importantly, down an ocean’s worth of water.

[@christianoliver3572]

I live in south Texas very close to Corpus Christi Bay and a 15 minute drive to the Gulf of Mexico. Amazingly enough we rarely have 100+ F days but it's pretty much always very humid here. Sometimes our heat index can be 110+ and if there's no breeze it really can be a problem. We've had special warnings about high heat index for 90% of July and every day in August except for two. But you get used to it because it's just not healthy to hide in the AC at home for 4 or more months a year. You would eventually get used to it Kabir but it would take a couple of years.

[@yugioht42]

Yeah umm Death Valley is known for actually melting shoes and tires so it’s possible that it gets that hot. In Florida about 110 is right but the issue is at 80 you sweat like crazy here and it burns you out fast. Every year heat related issues always appear and it’s dangerous. Both heat exhaustion and heat stroke occur with alarming numbers with the massive dehydration cases. All you can do to stave it off is tons of shade and lots of Gatorade to rehydrate. The hospitals will just dump iv fluids into you and cool you down the best they can.

[@olpossum]

I'm in San Antonio, we are record breaking this year. July had 28 days over 100 degrees F. Here is a quote " 2022 has so far delivered the hottest May, June, and now July to Austin. The temperatures we've experienced so far have beaten previous years by a landslide. We're entering into August, which is historically the hottest month in the calendar year for us, and the outlook is predicting even more heat than usual.Aug 2, 2022 2022 has so far delivered the hottest May, June, and now July to Austin. The temperatures we've experienced so far have beaten previous years by a landslide. We're entering into August, which is historically the hottest month in the calendar year for us, and the outlook is predicting even more heat than usual.Aug 2, 2022"

[@RamblingRose08]

I'm in the Central Valley California. Our summers have frequent days between 101 and 109 F. The hottest I have been in is almost 130 driving South through Death Valley on my way to Nevada. I did not get out of my car and I prayed that I wouldn't break down. The funny thing is that I took that route because if I drove the Northern route through the mountains I couldn't be sure the pass was open because of snow. CA has very diverse weather. For cooling an air conditioner is great. Attic fans are helpful. Whole house fans are wonderful but only work if it cools off at night. It sucks the air from outside into your house and pushes all the hot air out. We run ours in the early morning when it's the coolest and then shut the house up tight. We have sun shades on the outside of all of our windows and you can also pin felt (material or blankets) on the inside of the window (this works for maintaining a warm house in the winter too). The thermometer said 103 today and our house is 73 without the air conditioner. Cooling the house off early is key. Personal things can be putting your feet in a tub/bowl of water, stretch your legs out on a cooling pad (they have gel in them, are naturally cooler than the ambient temperature, and you can put them in the fridge or freezer to get them cooler), a wet bandana on your neck or head (especially nice when sitting in front of a fan).

[@twenty3enigma]

Here in Lancaster, California -- NE corner of L.A. county & SW corner of the Mojave desert -- we're having a hotter than normal summer. Nearly every week for the past month has had at least 5 days over 100° F -- and it isn't expected to let up for awhile. My 1st summer here in the Antelope Valley -- 1996 -- there were two days in a row that hit 120°F. Our house, like many older ones, doesn't have AC -- we have an evaporative cooler (commonly called a "swamp cooler") that sucks air through continuously dampened pads, and blasts the evaporatively cooled air into the house.

[@stellaandes759]

Salt Lake City had at least 23 days of 100F in a row. We lived in Yuma, Arizona, which is just 40 miles north of Mexico. It's part of the Mojave desert. We also lived in La Quinta, California, a few miles from Palm Springs. Heat in the summer is at least 105F, and usually 110F or more. It's been 117F there. When we moved from Yuma the end of May, our landlord said it was just getting nice at 104F, and he meant it. We moved to much cooler Colorado Springs, Colorado.

[@ellenbryn]

Hi Kabir! Yesterday at sunset I heard the little girl next door calling to my neighbor watering flowers on their patio, "Mom, aren't you too cold?!" It had dropped below 80°F, 26.7°C. In May 2020 after getting vaxxed I drove across the Mojave Desert, camping overnight, to visit my parents in Utah. It was 104°. It cooled off to a bearable 82 at night. The sky was covered in smoke like the fumes of Mordor from all the brush fires closer to the coast. The whole time I was visiting them, it was around or over 100° in St. George Utah, about 100 miles north of Las Vegas. The second to last time I made the drive (I'm still wary of risking airpoirts; they're old and I'm immunocompromised) it was in the 90s, but on the way back I had to wait for the fire crews to beat the fires back from the main north south highway over the pass behind San Bernadino so we could get through. We've definitely had stretches of days over 100° where i live recently: it did it this February, much to my annoyance: that is TOO HOT for southern California, especially that early in what used to be our rainy season. The hottest it's ever been here that I've seen for sure on the thermometer is 108°, although I'm pretty sure I've been out in 112. Los Angeles has definitely been over 110 in the past few years of heat waves; climate change is very obvious now. I found a "U.S. Streaks" page on NOAA'S "National Centers for Environmental Information" (basically the archives of our Met office) where you can look up weather records in every state. One of the "streaks" they have data for is consecutive days over 100°. Unsurprisingly, Death Valley, California holds the record of most days in a row over 100° at 145 days in 2003. Imperial down near the Mexican border, inland from San Diego, was there for 105 days in September 2021. Needles was for 100 days in 2006. A whole bunch of places had their longest streaks in 2020 and 2018, many above 60 days in a row over 100°, although the area where I was camping outside the city of Barstow had its longest streak at 50 days in 2000. Palm Springs, where the hugely popular Cochella Valley Music Festival is held, had its longest streak of 82 days over 100° in September 2018. We do have air conditioning, but it's expensive to run it all the time, and we have "flex alerts" asking us to conserve power in the afternoon so as not to overload the grid (solar and wind is helping there). Also, because electrical wires have sparked SO many devastating and deadly when the winds start blowing, communities near the mountains and hills where there's brush often have their power turned off now by the utility company, which is a frustrating stopgap until more lines can be buried. We solve the problem various ways: 2-story condos where we live mostly downstairs in the summer and upstairs in the winter, wide overhanging eaves to shade the houses, patio umbrellas, pools everywhere, shorts and sandals as business casual or just working from home where one can strip down, cold drinks in the fridge, chilling rolled cloths in water and putting them on our necks (some people have "neck coolers" one can put in the fridge and then wear), or, in a pinch, running water on wrists and feet to cool down if one has heat exhaustion, as it wicks heat away. The most important thing is to drink a lot more water or other fluids than you'd expect, including juices to replenish electrolytes and salts you sweat out. Also we almost never dry our hair after a shower, and may shower before going to bed: wet skin is cooling. Personally, my favorite trick is to put my hair up and tuck little ice cubes into it. Got me across the desert in a hot car. :) (Again, carrying water is KEY.) OH. Oh yeah. I think you asked about it at some point: we have sun shades we put up inside our cars when we park them outside. Most people have a big shiny or foil-coated one for the windshield that props against the mirror and dashboard, since the front windscreen is angled to catch the most sun. For camping in the desert, I had magnetic blackout shades to hang on the side windows as well, so i could put an air mattress in the back of my Prius. Amazingly, I have a dome tent that goes OVER the back of the Prius with the hatchback up, making a sort of gazebo porch for it. :D

[@caseyw.8325]

Today the high was 97... 5 of us were riding motorcycles this morning and talking about how the high was ONLY going to be 97! We were happy it was not going to get too hot to ride!

[@aneophyte1199]

I have experienced hot weather many times. I don't remember the temperatures in many of them. The latest was a trip from San Diego to Las Vegas in 2021. It was about 90°F (32°C) when I left San Diego, by the time I got to Ontario City it had reached 110°F (43°C). After I passed Barstow, the temperature reached 125°F (53°C). It was 122°F (50°C) in Las Vegas. The following days the temperature dropped in Las Vegas to 117°F (47°C). There was a period in the mid 1990's in the Los Angeles area when the temperature reached over 100°F (38°C) for several weeks. For about 50 days the temperature averaged about 98°F (37°C), getting to a high of 109°F (43°C).

[@ranger-1214]

Oklahoma, where I live now, doesn't get as hot as some other states but it can be prolonged and combined with humidity. Hollis, Oklahoma in 2011 saw 101 days over 100F. This year (2022) Odell recorded 116F; the same day Oklahoma City was 110F. The state's highest ever recorded was way back in the Dust Bowl days he mentioned of 1936 at 120F. Several years ago I worked outside Yuma, Arizona and in the summer 120F was common; some nights it never got below 95F and every day for weeks was over 100F. On cold, I was in the Army in central Alaska and routinely saw temps of -30F to -50F at test sites. It's true that you can always put on more clothes, but nothing works correctly, or maybe doesn't work at all, at those temperatures. Prepping for an interior Alaska winter takes some work.

[@pennydreadfull]

I too grew up with no AC ina state that regularly hit 110-115 during July and August. The lows overnight regularly didn't go below 85-90. My Mom would close up all the windows and drapes as soon as the sun was up and we would have fans going in a very dark house. Then as soon as the sun set all the windows would be opened and fans placed in the front door to draw cooler air in and one in the back door facing out to blow the now warmer air out. Even sheets were too hot to sleep under. Luckily I was a kid in school and too young for a job so I could sleep during the day and would be awake at night. In the winter it would be below freezing for months, on year dropped so low the high for the week was 25 below zero. I hated it and moved to Seattle as soon as I could for the weather. 90 feels cool after 110...

[@chris...9497]

I live in Seattle, a city pretty far north at 47.1 N latitude. Last year, we had a 3-day heat wave. It was 102 on June 25, 104 on June 27, and 108 on June 28. Elsewhere in the state temps reached 120-degrees; statewide, 100 people died from the heat. Seattle is a city of about 650,000 people; only 1/3 of Seattle residences have air conditioning. In fact, many of us don't have window casements that allow standard window AC units to be installed; we have to fit insulation around a 3in-4in hose to exhaust air from rolling floor-model air conditioners. At least Seattle is blessed with very low humidity. I lived several decades in Baltimore, Maryland, well-known for extremely high humidity. The humidity hampers evaporation, which interferes with the cooling effect of sweating. When you sweat in high humidity, the sweat doesn't evaporate, it just lays on you or drips off. I recall there was an annual 2wk period in summer where we hit 97 or better temperatures. It was not unusual for there to be several 99-degree nights in succession. I left Baltimore in 2007, but over the last decade or so, I hear the temperatures now max at 105 in the daytime. Believe me, Baltimore has PLENTY of air conditioners. Ordinarily, Seattle's summer temperature range is 75 to 85 degrees, peaking the last week of July going into August, so that June heat wave was an absolute aberration. We have recorded 3 instances of 90-degree or higher temps running 5 consecutive days; this WAS our record in Seattle. Our NEW record for 6 consecutive days of temps in the 90s is July 26-31, 2022. The city designated cooling centers, set up water spraying centers, and encouraged people to go to shopping malls and movie theaters (which are usually air conditioned in summer). In Seattle, 6 people died from heat during this heatwave.

[@lynrossi8409]

It is usually cheaper to buy window AC units off season, so wait for the coolest days of winter to make that purchase. As for temps, my area of Missouri sees a few weeks every summer where temps are in the high 90s to around 105F. Unfortunately, we also get high humidity which makes you think you're drinking the air outside. Our house is nicely shaded by several old oak trees and our basement never exceeds around 70F, so we are lucky. Fans, swamp coolers, and even swimming pools are frequently used if the AC goes out. Stay safe and stay hydrated!

[@bradpriebe9218]

As a long haul truck driver, I've experienced 110°F/43°C temperatures many times in numerous states. While you're driving it's not too bad as the vehicle A/C can usually keep up pretty well. In States such as Utah, Nevada, Arizona or the central plains where there's less humidity It's hot but not as bad as States like Florida, Louisiana, Georgia or the Carolinas where the temps might be a bit lower (95°F-105°F) but the humidity is MUCH higher (>90%). It's when I'm stopped either picking up or delivering (while the truck isn't running) that it's difficult. Sitting in the sun, temperatures in the cab of the truck can easily get over 50°C. You deal with it by drinking lots of water and trying to stay in any available shade. Sadly, every year TV and radio stations here have to remind people not to leave children and/or animals in a closed vehicle due to the heat risk but inevitably there are numerous deaths

[@janetilmann5305]

119 degrees Fahrenheit in Redlands, California in 2002, I think. I walked outside, turned around immediately, closed all the windows and blinds, turned off the lights, turned the AC on to high, stripped naked, and laid on my floor as much as I could for a week. At least it wasn't humid as well.

[@mischelepentz3613]

I grew up in Minnesota and the hottest I have ever seen was over 120 degrees Fahrenheit. We didn’t have AC in our house when I was growing up so we used a lot of fans and drank a lot of water. We had a large barn fan installed in the ceiling that helped a lot. Minnesota is a land of extremes, regularly seeing over 100 Fahrenheit in the summer and in the double digit negatives in the winter. The coldest I have seen was -60 degrees Fahrenheit.

[@grantcostelloe9807]

Oregon resident here! Oregon does get 100 degree weather a couple days in the middle of summer in Portland. It happens more often when go further east and south of the state.

[@louchat333]

It is August and I am in Louisiana. This has been a fairly normal summer. 3 straight weeks of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Now it is raining and the temperature is down. Enjoying that. My house is like a cave. No draperies or shutters open. Keeping out the Sun until probably October.

[@camillemayers103]

Kabir, in Southern California low desert (vs High Desert) it gets so hot that the pavement melts the soles of your shoes!

[@macah62558]

Last summer it got up to 116 f(46 c) here in Vancouver WA. It broke the record for the highest temperature recorded for the Portland metro area! When it gets that hot I stay inside or play in the HOA pool! My condo has a heat pump! Which does both heating and cooling. Depending on which way it circulates.

[@montegmur2704]

It's currently 106 degrees in Clovis, CA. Triple digit temperatures have persisted for more than 30 days and the forecast doesn't indicate any relief anytime soon.

[@24chadtsmith]

I remember driving through Needles, California during that heat wave on our way to see family in LA. I woke up at 3 in the morning to 113 degree temperatures inside of an extremely old van that didn’t have working AC or windows that rolled down. It literally felt like I was suffocating

[@babyfry4775]

I visited CA as a kid in 75. Went to Needles and ran into a McDonalds for a bite to eat. It was so freakin hot. Unfortunately, I didn’t know the temperature then. I went to Vegas in July one year….don’t ask me why I did that. It was 114 degrees and it felt like it took your breath away. I stayed in the casinos during the day. At night, at 11:00pm, I went outside thinking it would be much cooler. You always hear how the desert gets really cool at night. It was 90 degrees at 11:00pm! That’s why we have a/c here in the states. A lot of our states are really hot during the summers. I live in Denver and we’ve had many summers with 60 - 90 days of 90 degrees or more. I’d much rather live in cooler temps for sure. This summer has been pretty nice with more 80’s. Whew!

[@catbutte4770]

I've experienced 105°F (40.5°C) when I lived in San Jose, California, but since moving to San Francisco, the temps stay around between 65°F-68°F (18°-20°C) yearlong -though this city goes get a couple of days of hot weather, the heat doesn't stay for long. Luckily, the ocean breeze or the fog rolls in. San Francsico pretty much has 4 seasons: Winter (aka Spring), Winter II (aka Summer -where we have 4 or 5 days of true Summer temps), Winter III (aka Autumn), and true Winter. I love it here! 🥰

[@robrobert9541]

Where I live in Central Canada (Winnipeg) we have a very wide temperature range from summer to winter. The hottest I've experienced it here is 37C/98.6F (with a humidity that made it feel like 48C/118.4F), and the coldest I've experienced here is -42C/-43.6F (with wind chill that made it feel like -65C/-85F). So -42C up to 37C is a 80C/163F degree temperature range (counting 0 degrees), and give or take a few degrees is typical of our summer to winter temperature range every year.

[@ch2iss]

122F (50C) - Phoenix, AZ around 2017.

[@1buggiej]

In 1980 we rode our motorcycles from Arizona to San Diego. It was 113 degrees in the desert. We were wearing our full black leathers in the heat. We stopped by a gas station and really confused the attendant. We use the water hose to wet down the inside of our leathers. My husband and I let the evaporation keep us cooler. Our friend however sent shirtless and he really suffered. It didn't help that he slathered himself with sunscreen and then went through a dust devil. He was coated in bits of sand, tumbleweed and cactus for many miles.

[@deborahwilkerson5044]

113 f in summer; we marched four hours a day with a 15 minute water break. Period. We were in junior high, but we won the state marching band competition that year competing at the State Fair against High School bands ONLY. We paid for it with sweat equity, but we were very proud of ourselves and didn't think we could do it. Thanks for asking! We played the theme to the movie "Rocky"

[@tommiemama]

Here in California’s Central Valley, it’s common for the Summer high temperatures to be above 100° F for weeks on end. A heatwave is when it’s above 105 or 106 for more than a couple of days, and we often get above 110°.

[@tinaowens3772]

In 2009 I spent the summer months in Phoenix, AZ for medical treatments. The first few days I parked my rental car outside in the parking lot. When the day was finished, I went to my car to find the receipt for a small appliance I was returning had been burnt black. You couldn't read the numbers at all. Luckily this sort of thing happens all the time, it seems, so the store took it back anyway. Later I realized there was underground parking! Nevertheless, after a full day at the clinic, I'd go down to the fifth level below ground and the temperature in my car was still reading 208 degrees F. And the swimming pool at my rental condo was hotter than the hot tub.

[@strpdhatldy]

A couple of summers ago we hit 122F, tying the record for this area (of Arizona). When it is that hot, you just have no energy, even with the AC on. You can feel the heat pressing in on the building, even if your AC is a good one. It was too hot to swim. Sometimes you can get wet outside then go in and feel cooler for a bit. I feel like we just puttered around the house not doing much until after the sun went down. We had all tile floors and it was still sort of cool to lay on them in the center of the house. It does not cool off a ton after dark on those kinds of days, but it is still better. Thankfully the humidity was still pretty low.

[@CuriousMind2525]

122 (1990) & 121 (1995) degrees in Phoenix Arizona for me. Raised here so we are kinda acclimated, but it was still hot. In 1990, I worked outdoors. Lot of water, ice water. Retreat to cold bar and beer when work was done. I have lived in the desert most of my life. Early in life we used what is called swamp coolers, evaporator coolers that have water running through wood shavings with an electric fan providing the draw in and draw out into the home.

[@lindah5910]

115F on a July day on a road trip through Arizona. The locals kept saying, "but it's dry" rather dismissively . . . but a body could turn into a dessicated piece of leather in that environ. I live in the San Joaquin Valley of California (America's fruit basket) which spends most of the summer over 100F. I am ready for deep autumn and blissful winter.

[@itsahellofaname]

I grew up in northern Minnesota, right on Lake Superior. Air temps were one thing, but add the Lake Superior wind chill to it and you have brutal cold. I'll still take a northern Minnesota winter over a hot humid summer any day.

[@pjschmid2251]

The hottest temperature I’ve ever encountered personally is just over 110° when we were on a road trip driving through Kansas. It was a Dodge city Kansas and luckily we did have air conditioning in the car and there was air-conditioning at the restaurant we stopped at. It was very dry and it was the oddest sensation when getting out of the car; although it was broiling hot I actually experienced a chill. That is why when you are in the desert in extreme heat you keep lots of water around because you lose water quickly. That chill was sudden evaporation of perspiration.

[@matts156]

We've had several 99-100° days in NJ (Philadelphia region) this summer. We've been having a lot of mid-90s weather for the last month or so. AC is pretty much the solution I rely on the most. I don't really care for AC so I keep my house around 77, depending on how active I am. If I'm working hard, I have to lower it. You can always get a portable AC unit that has a large hose which you run to a window to vent the hot air outside. Before I had central AC installed, I used several of these. The drawback is, they use a ton of power and can't keep up in large rooms. A portable AC is probably only good for rooms that are 150 sq ft or less.

[@rebeccadavis3522]

Live in Virginia, USA, and this state gets not only HOT, but HUMID! Last year it was so hot and humid that the wallpaper in my rooms started to separate from the walls. From July-August you can expect 90 degrees and above every summer. So hot and humid that when you walk outside, it feels like you have just walked into a sauna. For the past two years I have had to keep a dehumidifier on in the house to keep the humidity down. I live in a home that is almost a hundred years old and I have never seen humidity like this as we have had these past two years! It has been so hot and humid that you can walk to your mailbox and back and be completely dripping wet. So yes, it gets damn hot here in America. If it gets this hot in Virginia, just imagine what people in places like Texas, Nevada, and Arizona must be dealing with. However, in Arizona and Nevada I don't think they have the humidity like we do here in the southern states. Whether it's 100 degrees and very little humidity in Arizona or 90 degrees with a lot of humidity in Virginia, it's still freaking hot whatever you say. No wonder Americans keep their air conditioners on full blast throughout the summer.

[@Indigolily80]

I live in Hampton Roads. For me this year was quite bearable. All month of June we kept having thunderstorms that kept the temps between 70 and 85. The 95 degree weather comes at the last week or two of July. August cooled back down by the 15th.

[@profanepersonality]

In Wisconsin the highest recorded temp was 114° F, and lowest recorded temperature, -55° F (-48.333° C). I have dealt with 100° F + (43° C) days before we could afford a/c, and we used box fans, and created a current in the house.

[@Jeeperskip]

Last year in Portland, Oregon it got to 114 degrees. My cat and I moved into my air conditioned office with a camp bed, Netflix and drinks. Right now we are going through another heat wave with temps above 90 but nothing like that 114 degrees.

[@freddiegillespie_05]

I like in Montreal. We go from the occasional -40C in winter to the occasional 40C in summer. A/C is essential (I'd also recommend buying your A/C now, if you can find a good one, as those things are always cheaper at the end of the season, but store it in a dry place.) as are hydration and shade. I have cooling pads that live in my freezers and they are put on a rotation when the heat gets high. Fans are also helpful, but only go so far. Also, I keep my windows covered all summer long. I'd rather be comfortable in my home than have a view.