Posts Tagged ‘heat’

Wyoming is the first place I’ve lived where the heat index is usually below the air temperature. Example: Right now it’s 79 degrees, feels like 78. The sun shines and a small breeze blows 90% of the time. The average temperature for the summer was likely between 70 and 80 degrees. At night it dips down into the 50s and 60s. If I had a porch, it’d always be perfect porch-sitting weather.

90 degrees, perfect day for tubing on the North Platte River. (Photo by Dan Cepeda)

There have been 95-degree days. I avoid them by running in the mornings and evenings and soaking up the way-too-cold AC at work. The hottest temp I ran in this summer was 70 degrees. 70 degrees!! You bet I was dying from the heat. Even when it’s 90 degrees, I’ll still walk down to the library or to the corner store instead of hopping in my car. Usually I leave the pool or beach because it gets too hot. This year, I left because I got bored.

The warm weather we’ve had (I refuse to say, “It’s hot” after living in New Orleans) hasn’t been fun for people without AC. I understand that because the AC in my Corolla is no better than those personal mini fans.

My apartment doesn’t have air conditioning. Or fans. Actually, my electric bill is about $2 cheaper in the summer because I’m not running a space heater.

Even on those 90-degree days, I routinely change into sweats after work because I’m — gasp — cold. Basement apartments have their disadvantages: little light, spiders, stuffy without a way to circulate air throughout. Those same disadvantages (except maybe the spiders) make my place a perfect summer hideout.

A porch would be nice.

If this post made you pine for Wyoming and want move west. Don’t… it will be snowing by the time you get here.

The average high temperature forecast for this week is 97. The humidity won’t dip below 70%. The UV index is “10+ Extreme,” which I don’t think I’ve ever experienced before. The ice in my glass melts in a few minutes. And that’s inside the house, which is cooled by two central air conditioning units.

I realized if I want to be comfortable on my jogs I either need to wake up at 5 a.m. or wait until 10 p.m. when it cools down to about 80. The third solution, which I chose during my days of funemployment, was to wake up at 5, skip the jog and go back to sleep until 9. Now that I found a summer job, it looks like I’ll be up at 5 and stay up.

Air conditioning is a strange addition to New Orleans. I’ve concluded that southerners aren’t used to the heat; they’re used to the air conditioning. Every home and store is freezing cold — or at least it feels that way after leaving the 100 degree heat. After living in a house with poor insulation for 18 months, I don’t know what to do with myself in constant coldness. It doesn’t feel right to sit in a 79 degree room on a sunny summer day. But I’m definitely not going outside.