Yikes!!! 110-120 degree days forecast for the Southwest later this week!

[LongTomH]

A post on the Weather Underground site reads: First 120-Degree Day of 2013 on the Way:

As high-pressure aloft builds overhead late this week, the Desert Southwest and the central valley of California will be heating up to extreme levels. We have a look at some of the locations that will see their first 110 or 120-degree readings of 2013 in the days ahead.

120 degrees days are in the forecast for Death Valley, CA, the hottest place on Earth. 120 degrees in Death Valley isn't exactly news, as the article points out:

Highs in the 120s are not unusual in Death Valley. In fact, only one single year since 1911 has not seen at least a single day of 120-degree heat. The average annual number of days in the 120s is 18 based on averages from 1981-2010.

Some other Desert Southwest locations are predicted to have temperatures near or exceeding 110 degrees Fahrenheit:

• Phoenix, AZ could have temperatures at or above 110 Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
  
• Las Vegas, NV will have temperatures near 110 Friday into Saturday.
  
• Temperatures in Fresno and Redding, CA are expected to exceed 100 this week, with near 110 expected Saturday. Record highs for these locations may be exceeded.

What's it going to be like in the rest of the country? Expect records for high temperatures to be broken.

[onehandle]

1. Welcome to extinction. nt

[kiva]

26. Why do you say this?

These are not abnormal temps in these places. I've lived in Las Vegas for 15+ years and this is summer, not extinction.

[Warpy]

2. Upper 90s at my altitude

and that's why I live up high rather than in a place like Phoenix. If I want to feel really cooled off, I can take the tram up the mountain to 10,660 feet, that's good for another 10-15 degrees.

But yes, I expect records to be broken this year and all of the next years.

[cherokeeprogressive]

15. 81 at 7, 000 feet where I live in the So. Cal. Mtns. n/t

[premium]

3. Nothing new for So. NV.

105-109 is typical during the summer months with a few days here and there at over 110. The trick is getting acclimated to the heat, or stay inside in the A/C.

I've lived in NV most of my life, so I'm used to the heat, but it can be quite daunting to those that aren't.

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

6. Adjusting to the heat in LV for me was fairly easy

coming from the heat and high humidity of NC. I much prefer 120 degrees of dry heat than 95 degrees and humidity.

[premium]

7. Same here,

I'll take the 120 degrees dry heat over the 95 degrees with 100% humidity any time.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. The downside is how dry it is out there

as in tinder dry. A few sparks and we are off to the races.

[premium]

11. There's no disputing that.

One of my nephews is an NDF firefighter and he's telling me that the slightest spark is going to light the region up.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. We got a scanner...full fledged scanner

What I have been hearing from Fire Chiefs (and already covering) gives me all but a warm fuzzy.

Finished programing the sucker this morning. I just tell people, even if you live in a city, have a few evacuation routes. I'm sure your son is saying the same.

[CreekDog]

33. but it hasn't been 120 degrees in Las Vegas

historically.

seems kind of cavalier to say one prefers something that hasn't happened there. I could understand if you said 100 and dry feels better than 90 and muggy. But 120? First, 110+ feels a lot different than say 95 and dry. Even 115 feels a lot worse than 110.

[premium]

65. Not really,

anything over 110 is basically the same, it's the same intense heat to those of us who have lived here pretty much our whole lives.
During our Monsoon season though, it gets pretty muggy and miserable, although nothing like the states that get 100% humidity.

[CreekDog]

67. anything over 110 is not the same

[premium]

68. I'm speaking from living here most of my life,

and I can categorically state that the difference between 110 degrees and 115 degrees is not really noticeable to those of us who live here for most of our lives.

BTW, do you live in So, NV.?

[CreekDog]

71. you're speaking from *where*?

well...

115 is 5 degrees warmer than 110, scientifically.

speaking from my own experience, each degree is even more noticeable when you get beyond 110.

but regardless, scientifically, they aren't the same.

[premium]

73. Well, you're right,

scientifically, they aren't the same, but after living in So. NV. for a significant portion of my life, the difference between 110 and 115 is not really noticeable to me.
I live just outside of Tonopah, NV., but I get to Las Vegas once a month.

[AgingAmerican]

81. I have family in Phoenix

They say the exact same thing you do, "It's all the same over 110 degrees"

[premium]

83. Yep.

I just love those tourists that say, but it's a dry heat, which only means that you burn up that much faster.

[CreekDog]

32. Actually, the record is 108 and forecast is 112 --so, it IS NEW

second, it's not summer.

[Xithras]

36. The record in Vegas is 117, not 108

108 may be the "for the date" record, but the temps in Vegas climb above 108 nearly every summer.

Second, the deserts always have very short springs, and June IS summer. Sorry if the southwestern desert climate doesn't jibe with the seasonal "normals" of the original European calendar writers. The average June temperature in Las Vegas is 99 degrees, which qualifies as "summer" just about anywhere on the planet.

[premium]

70. Thank you,

He can't even get his "stats" correct. Those of us that live here know this.

[Xithras]

90. I know.

My mother lived in Henderson for 15 years and lives in Phoenix today. I'm not really a big fan of the weather in that part of the Southwest, but I'm very familiar with it

I love the desert climate and 100+ doesn't bother me (heck, I'm still mowing the lawn at 102), but I generally max out at about 110. The temps in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts are just a bit too much for me in the summer.

[RebelOne]

4. At least it is dry heat and not the humid heat we get here in the South.

Many years ago, I traveled through the AZ desert with my ex-husband. We did not have A/C in the car, so we sucked on a lot of ice. When we stopped at a restaurant, the outside thermometer read 110 in the shade. I noticed I did not sweat because it evaporated when it hit the air.

[kestrel91316]

53. It gets quite humid here in Los Angeles in early summer.

Fortunately those muggy days don't usually coincide with the highest (110F+) temps.

[AverageJoe90]

60. Good thing, too, because here in D/FW, where I am....

It can get up to 100-105 in the summer and still be a tad muggy down here, especially in late July, mid-August.

[DCKit]

5. There is no climate change. There is no climate change. nt

[Berlum]

10. "You tell them. Smirk." - RepubliBaggers Against Life on Earth (R)

[Xithras]

25. This isn't climate change.

They're talking about records for the "date". They aren't currently projecting that the highs in any of these cities will actually beat their all-time record temps.

I've lived in these deserts all my life. I've never experienced a summer where it didn't hit 100+ for at least a few days. The hot, dry weather is why we live here!

[AverageJoe90]

31. Very true.

I mean, I think we can all agree that climate change is a truly major issue that should be dealt with ASAP, that much we know. But not every individual extreme weather event is even indirectly connected to climate change(though some can be, theoretically, at least. That may have been true for Hurricane Sandy, for example.), let alone caused by it(never seen any evidence for the latter, though). Sometimes, these things just happen.

[CreekDog]

34. Thank you for reminding us that climate change is true but is never ever observed

[AverageJoe90]

37. Hello, CD. I see that you have, once again, taken something out of context.

but is never ever observed

Where did I say that(here's a hint: ullshit-bay)? I merely said that sometimes, you cannot even indirectly link an individual weather event to climate change, let alone make any claim that it CAUSED said event. Do you honestly have that much of a problem understanding this simple truth?

[CokeMachine]

66. You have a freind. I think I remember that song!!

[AverageJoe90]

72. Thanks......n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. yup, will be "fun."

<------- Need to make scanner works well, fire potential and all that.

[Gregorian]

12. Until people start acting responsibly, it's going to get worse.

Breeding, driving, traveling. Burning fuel.

Even if we stop now, it's going to get worse for a long time yet.

I know it offends most people to hear this. Sorry.

[DCKit]

18. I'm tempted to rent, not to buy.

My next house is going to be underground.

[AverageJoe90]

30. Please don't spam these threads.

I know it offends most people to hear this. Sorry.

Gregorian, this isn't so much offensive, as it is annoying. Not every single extreme weather event is caused by, or even connected to, climate change....it's just common sense(based on records, too).

[kestrel91316]

54. The increasing average temps and increasing numbers of heat records

broken ARE an indication of climate change.

But you go right ahead and keep burying your head in the sand. Meanwhile, I will bemoan the fact that my apartment building, with its virtually nonexistent insulation, was built way back in 1972, when it didn't get hot like this so who the heck needed insulation?

[AverageJoe90]

58. Okay, and I never once questioned the fact that trends ARE in place.

All I, and a couple others have said, this one event, by itself, is not necessarily related to climate change.

But you go right ahead and keep burying your head in the sand.

Not that I have been, but whatev, bro(or sis).

....was built way back in 1972, when it didn't get hot like this so who the heck needed insulation?

No, this isn't quite a new thing for the Central Valley, sadly. If you've lived there long enough you'd likely remember at least one other heat wave such as the one forecast for this upcoming weekend. These things happen.

[kestrel91316]

59. My comment has to do with the San Fernando Valley IN LOS ANGELES.

[AverageJoe90]

62. Sorry, I just realized that after I saw another of your comments. nt

[MFM008]

13. were so lucky

tucked here in WA our temps are fairly constant. We have upper 60s to 70 with sun , rain on friday.
The ass clowns that deny global warming should be staked out in 120 degree sun for a while

[SoCalDem]

14. Yikes.. We leave for Vegas tomorrow night

We never leave the hotel but now it looks like our drive home on Sunday will probably be a wee-hours departure to beat the heat.

[cherokeeprogressive]

16. I've seen 126 on that thermometer in Baker! n/t

[SoCalDem]

17. me too.

I've also seen asphalt parking lots full of "heel-dents"

[WestStar]

41. I carry a kickstand pad for the Harley

And all the cars have oven mitts in them.

[premium]

57. Especially where the 18 wheelers park on the side of the Mad Greek,

there are some pretty deep ruts there because of the heat and the weight of the trucks.

[premium]

48. The one that advertises as the world's tallest thermometer?

Ever stopped at the Mad Greek right there at the 127 turnoff? Great Gyros.

[cherokeeprogressive]

49. I have stopped there. Great is right. Now it's the jerky place for me... that's my favorite.

I never fail to get the garlic stuffed olives. MMMMM.

I think I read somewhere that the thermometer is on its way out, if it isn't gone already. I don't know, it's been a few months since my last Vegas trip. Normally the Wife and I go about once every six weeks. Gotta love Hotwire LOL.

[premium]

51. I haven't been through Baker in a few years also.

Ah, yes, Alien Fresh Jerky, best jerky in the S/W, and their garlic stuffed olives are to die for.
I usually get to Vegas once a month, I don't like to leave Tonopah if I can help it, I hate the big cities.

[zappaman]

79. I heard that thermometer is for sale?

Not sure if it's true, but I would love to have it and put it...actually, I think I would have to tear down my house just to accommodate it on my lot.

Nevermind.

[premium]

85. Now that I think of it, I think I heard the same thing.

I think I heard that the state of CA had voted to quit subsidizing the upkeep of the thermometer and Baker couldn't afford the costs, so, they decided to put it up for auction.

[WestStar]

20. In Phoenix AZ. the record of 122 degrees was reached on June 26, 1990

Almost a quarter century ago.

We all died!

[Egalitarian Thug]

22. And they ground all flights. n/t

[WestStar]

23. They did that day out of an abundance of caution

The airlines lift calculator charts didn't cover temps that high so flights were held up for a few hours. My son-in-law is a commercial pilot and his airline has gone to I-Pads and now can compensate for these conditions.

We were just discussing this Sunday night when Phoenix had reached 110 degrees during the day. Depending on his load and type of plane he could have safely taken off at 130 degrees.

Of course we were in the backyard with the grandkids in the pool with the misters going having a bar-b-que at the time, so there's that.

L = 1/2 p V2ACL
Where:
L = Lift which is typically the weight of the aircraft
p = air density (altitude and temperature effect this variable)
V = velocity of the aircraft (this is the airspeed)
A = wing area (including the section of the wing that is inside the fuselage)
CL = is specific to each aircraft. This coefficient is calculated in a wind tunnel and is typically provided as a graph relative to the angle of attack.

[Egalitarian Thug]

24. I was there then as well. At the pool bar at La Posada, I think it's gone now :-(

I loved that place in the summer, haven't found anything as nice since.

[Celldweller]

21. Lived in PHX for 10 years

110+ every single year, 112, 114 not too rare, I myself experienced 116

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

27. It's 55-60 and rainy in Minnesota. Been this way for weeks.

[Le Taz Hot]

28. Saturday's forecast for Fresno:

108. Early June. It's going to be a loooonng summer.

[AverageJoe90]

46. Certainly is unusual for Fresno.

Fresno's average high for June is about 92 or so, if the Weather Channel's stats are correct......

[AverageJoe90]

29. Indeed, this is not news. At all.

What's it going to be like in the rest of the country? Expect records for high temperatures to be broken.

I don't think so, TBH. Here in D/FW, our forecast temperatures are going to be right around the lower 90s then, which is about average for June.

[CreekDog]

35. record breaking heat is news

maybe you missed the memo.

[AverageJoe90]

38. I wasn't referring to the Central Valley when I said that, though.

In Fresno, 100+ degree temps might very well be news, I won't argue with that. However, though, I was referring to the deserts, namely, Death Valley and the areas around Phoenix, Yuma, Las Vegas, etc.(yeah, I wasn't being super-clear but it shouldn't have been hard to figure out) In those places, temperatures of that extremity are really par for the course.

[CreekDog]

39. You were just referring to whatever weather is happening as not being related to climate change

you were just doing what you always do.

[AverageJoe90]

42. Doing what? I was merely stating facts, that's all.

It's June, after all, and this is the Southwest. I have conceded that this may be a tad unusual for Fresno, as originally implied, but, as I also said, OTOH, this is nothing out of the ordinary for Vegas, Phoenix, or Yuma, and especially not for Death Valley.

[XemaSab]

43. You're ass-ignorant about the southwest in general

and the Central Valley in particular.

[AverageJoe90]

45. Not that I originally referred to the Central Valley, anyhow(as I've pointed out several times).

BTW, some of what I've said has been pointed out by other people, too:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2952761
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2951972
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2951326

110 degree temps are a tad unusual for Fresno, I won't argue with that, but as has been pointed out, this isn't all that unusual for the Desert Southwest, especially not Phoenix & Yuma.

[XemaSab]

47. It's going to be 112 here in the Valley on Saturday

[AverageJoe90]

55. Yowch.

All I can say is, stay cool, and try not to go outside for too long, unless it's absolutely necessary to do so.

[kestrel91316]

56. Meanwhile, down here in the west wing of Hell, it's supposed to be

81F on Saturday, which is unusually cool but FINE WITH ME!!!!! I went through an early June 116F heat wave here a few years ago and I don't care to ever see even one spring day like that again as long as I live, let alone a whole string of them.

ETA: It was SO cold this AM (due to our June Gloom aka fog), I had to wear a sweater for my bike ride in to work this AM, and even that wasn't quite enough. But I'm not complaining. Nope.

[CokeMachine]

69. It's always hot in the valley in the late spring/early summer -- so what?

Maybe it's caused by all of the pollution the coastal cities (bay area) produce that back up in the foothills and central valley. Hell, I went camping at Lake Shasta 20 years ago, in June and it was 110+ for five days. We might hit 100 Saturday (North Bay) but then again it never got much above 70 Monday, Tuesday or today. Good for the grapes afterall.

[AverageJoe90]

74. Good luck keeping cool out there.

Here in D/FW, where I live, we've actually been about normal overall, this year.....Good thing, too, as just a couple of years back, we were WAY above average for much of the month and it only got worse as June rolled into July.....

[Adsos Letter]

86. My uncle lives in Palo Cedro.

I've endured some real broilers up there.

[KatyaR]

40. Today's the first day I've turned my AC on this year here in OKC.

84 degrees today; normally the AC goes on in March. I really could do without it for a few more days, but the dog and I are needing the cool. The temps should normally be in the 90s at least. Of course, we're having other kinds of weather of the lethal kind lately, but still....

[AverageJoe90]

44. Yeah. It's been pretty normal here in D/FW, TBH, apart from a few more than normal coolish days.....

Sure as hell beats 2011, though, when by this point, almost every other day was already above 100 degrees.....

[WillyT]

50. 104 Friday, 105 Saturday, Here In Sacramento...

Damn...

[AverageJoe90]

61. Stay cool, my man.

We're gonna be a bit luckier here in D/FW as we won't be getting out of the nineties for a while.
Just try to stay safe out there. Hopefully this summer won't be too miserable for you.

[WillyT]

63. My Sister Has A Nice Pool At Her House... Think I Might Just Come A'Callin...

[Adsos Letter]

77. Wow...I'm in Fairfield, not far from you...

...and I thought last Saturday was hot.

[WillyT]

80. You're Lucky... It's Only Gonna Be 96 And 94 Where You Are...

[Adsos Letter]

82. Aw, heck, that's cooler than last weekend...

...it topped 100* the day after I poured a new walkway, steps, planter boxes combo in front of the house.

Had to cover the whole thing with every bath towel my wife owns, and babysat it with the hose.

[kestrel91316]

52. During the second week of June just a few years ago

we had nearly a week of 115-116F here in the San Fernando Valley (Los Angeles).

I figure any time we don't repeat that, or hit our all-time high of 119F, it's a GOOD summer day.

[PasadenaTrudy]

64. I hear ya! n/t

[Adsos Letter]

75. I hear ya!

Several years ago I was a young man working on a framing crew during one of our heat waves. Was sweating bullets, framing walls on this huge subfloor (no shade to be found) when the lead carpenter came up and silently shoved a thermometer in my face: 116*

We went home for the day.

[Adsos Letter]

76. Needles, California...

One of the hottest places I've ever been during the summer. And it can get windy along with that heat, too.

[premium]

78. Yep, been through there a few times during the dead of summer,

feels like a blast furnace.

[Adsos Letter]

84. One summer when I was there one of the locals at the supermarket

told me that local residents were required to carry 5 gallons of water in their cars. I don't know if it's true, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was. Getting stranded in the heat they get there could easily turn deadly pretty quickly.

Heck, it can get hot there during winter.

[premium]

87. In So. NV.,

Last edited Thu Jun 6, 2013, 01:10 AM - Edit history (1)

the legislature passed a law requiring that all new housing has to be equipped with A/C.

It wouldn't surprise me if that was a requirement, I know the I-10 corridor is a pretty lonely drive with few and far between places to purchase water.

Also, the I-40 corridor between Needles and ................, is pretty lonely also.

[defacto7]

88. Just to put the earth into perspective....

It's a highly contentious issue but satellite measurements say differently. Earth sensors are too sporadic to indicate the hottest place on earth.

http://earthsky.org/earth/where-are-the-hottest-places-on-earth

Results from the new study indicate that the Lut Desert in Iran is likely one of the hottest places on Earth. In 2005, the land surface temperature in the Lut Desert reached a sweltering 70.7 oC (159.3 oF), the highest temperature observed during the entire time period that was analyzed. Temperatures in the Lut Desert were also the highest observed anywhere on Earth during 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009 with temperatures during these years ranging from 68.0 oC (154.4 oF) to 69.0 oC (156.2 oF).

Interestingly, the Lut Desert was not the hottest place on Earth every year. In 2003, the Aqua satellite measured a record high temperature of 69.3 oC (156.7 oF) in the badlands of Queensland, Australia. During 2008, the record for the hottest place on Earth went to the Turpan Basin in China where temperatures reached 66.8 oC (152.2 oF). The Turpan Basin is covered by dark red sandstone that heats up to extreme temperatures in the afternoon sun.

[Initech]

89. Hey I've lived in Southern California my whole life. This is nothing new.