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REWahoo

REWahoo

Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
Joined
Jun 30, 2002
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Texas: No Country for Old Men
I told you it was hot down here...

Texas just finished the hottest June through August on record for any state in the U.S., weather officials said Thursday. National Weather Service meteorologist Victor Murphy told The Associated Press that Texas' 86.8 degree Fahrenheit average beat out Oklahoma's 85.2 degrees in 1934.
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Texas sets record for hottest summer in US - Weather
 
And think about how much hotter it would have been if higher altitude places like Alpine and Fort Davis didn't wreck the curve...
 
My son lives in Katy where it's always hot and humid. He spent a week in Dallas during their record breaking 100 degree days. I spoke to him the other night, he was on the balcony at night when it's 92 and "pleasant".

Texas is in the middle of a horrific drought and we (near NYC) just had the wettest August since they started keeping records. It ain't fair.
 
It's 72 and raining like cats and dogs here in Virginia. Wish I could send it down to you.
 
Lisa99 said:
I've heard that Dallas has finally gotten a cool spell so hoping you guys are getting some relief as well...but still no rain :(
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Relief is a relative term. We just had a couple days of below average temperatures (but that brought the dry air and wind that fueled all the fires here). We were able to open windows at night for the first time since about April. But we're back to seasonal now and a warming trend is developing.
 
Meanwhile, the fire east of Austin near the small town of Bastrop continues to burn almost totally out of control. Only 30% contained, it has destroyed more than 1,300 homes and consumes more by the hour. It has burned over 30,000 acres including all but an estimated 100 of the 6,000 acre Bastrop State Park. With no rain in sight, I've seen no estimates as to when the fire might finally be controlled.

The Texas Forest Service states in the past seven days it has responded to 176 fires involving over 126,000 acres. In addition to the 1,386 homes confirmed destroyed in the Bastrop fire, and estimated 240 other homes have also been lost in fires across the state.

Texas Forest Service
 
Lisa99 said:
That is one scary stat! Nevada and Arizona are largely desert and yet you still beat us??

I've heard that Dallas has finally gotten a cool spell so hoping you guys are getting some relief as well...but still no rain :(
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Doesn't it get cool or even cold at night in the desert:confused: At least that is what the movies seem to tell you...


So, 113 degree high with a 50 degree (or colder) low has a lower average than a 105 high with a 75 low (or hotter)...


Here is a link to August where I live... some days the LOW was 79....

Monthly Weather Forecast for Spring, TX (77379) - weather.com

Notice the rainfall... a total of .19 inches (and not that much at my house)... compared to an average of 3.83 for the month... May and June are supposed to have over 5 inches each... but we got none or very little..


WOW.... decided to take a look at Flagstaff and they have cool weather bay comparison...

Monthly Weather Forecast for Flagstaff, AZ - weather.com

And got a lot more rain....


This is more like it.... Las Vegas.... now we are talking desert...

Monthly Weather Forecast for Las Vegas, NV - weather.com
 
Texas Proud said:
Doesn't it get cool or even cold at night in the desert:confused: At least that is what the movies seem to tell you...

So, 113 degree high with a 50 degree (or colder) low has a lower average than a 105 high with a 75 low (or hotter)...
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Yeah, and with the much lower lows, you can actually use the windows to cool the house at night instead of the A/C running 24/7...
 
I don't see how you bear it. Heat, drought, and now wildfires. I'd be terrified of the wildfires.
 
REWahoo said:
Meanwhile, the fire east of Austin near the small town of Bastrop continues to burn almost totally out of control. Only 30% contained, it has destroyed more than 1,300 homes and consumes more by the hour. It has burned over 30,000 acres including all but an estimated 100 of the 6,000 acre Bastrop State Park. With no rain in sight, I've seen no estimates as to when the fire might finally be controlled.

The Texas Forest Service states in the past seven days it has responded to 176 fires involving over 126,000 acres. In addition to the 1,386 homes confirmed destroyed in the Bastrop fire, and estimated 240 other homes have also been lost in fires across the state.

Texas Forest Service
Click to expand...


I lived in Bastrop for several years, having moved there from Austin in 1986. Actually, guess I lived there around 10 yrs. The house I owned there is one of the ones that burned down. A few friend's homes have also burned. It's really really bad over there. My wife's family lives about 12 miles away, in Smithville...also in Bastrop County. They had to evacuate, but their homes so far haven't burned. I feel really bad for those folks. I really like living there, and it isn't out of the realm of possiblity that I might go back there to live someday.
 
My sister is in Dallas and my parents are in San Antonio, they can attest to how brutal it's been, especially San Antonio...
 
Even though there's a small chance we'll see wildfires close to our neighborhood, DH and I have made a list of things we should take in case we have to evacuate.

We've lived here for over 17 years and this is the first time we've ever considered the possibility of an evacuation.
 
REWahoo said:
Marty, not sure if you've seen this map of the fire area. It is huge.
Click to expand...

Wow. That is shocking REW. I sure hope you get rain and cooler temps soon. It's upseting to think of how many people are suffering because of this. This Virginia gal is hoping for the best for Texas.
 
REWahoo said:
Meanwhile, the fire east of Austin near the small town of Bastrop continues to burn almost totally out of control. Only 30% contained, it has destroyed more than 1,300 homes and consumes more by the hour. It has burned over 30,000 acres including all but an estimated 100 of the 6,000 acre Bastrop State Park. With no rain in sight, I've seen no estimates as to when the fire might finally be controlled.

The Texas Forest Service states in the past seven days it has responded to 176 fires involving over 126,000 acres. In addition to the 1,386 homes confirmed destroyed in the Bastrop fire, and estimated 240 other homes have also been lost in fires across the state.

Texas Forest Service
Click to expand...

It is sad to lose any home and any tree, but I really feel the pain of the losses in the Bastrop State Park. :(
This is on the route to A & M (whoop!) and it really used to be the highlight of our many trips there. The portion of the trip from San Antonio to Bastrop is pretty ordinary, but just as soon as you head up hwy 21 those beautiful tall pines come into view. A wonderful refreshing change of scenery.
 
JPatrick said:
just as soon as you head up hwy 21 those beautiful tall pines come into view. A wonderful refreshing change of scenery.
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Yep, the Lost Pines area is (was?) a really beautiful oasis in the transition zone between mostly live oak & mesquite to the west and scrub oak to the east. According to the map of the fire the entire area along 21, from Bastrop to where it intersects 290, was burned.

And it's still going...
 
Bastrop

We relocated to Austin from Minnesota in 1984. We loved Bastrop State Park for the pines, which reminded us of the Minnesota north woods. If I recall, didn;t they have another devastating fire there 20 years ago or so?
 
Idnar7 said:
If I recall, didn;t they have another devastating fire there 20 years ago or so?
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I'm not sure. I'm hoping much of the damage was to the undergrowth and didn't destroy all the big pines. If they are gone, it will take many, many years for the area to recover.

Speaking of taking years to recover, I just saw a partial list of addresses of homes destroyed. The file was 26 pages long and announced on every page that the information was accurate but incomplete...
 
ziggy29 said:
And think about how much hotter it would have been if higher altitude places like Alpine and Fort Davis didn't wreck the curve...
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We like to visit Big Bend country, which includes Alpine and Fort Davis, in the winter, but you won't catch us there in the summer.:)
 
JPatrick said:
...... The portion of the trip from San Antonio to Bastrop is pretty ordinary, but just as soon as you head up hwy 21 those beautiful tall pines come into view. A wonderful refreshing change of scenery.
Click to expand...

Yes indeed. A few years ago we drove from SA to CS, and coming across all the tall pines on both sides of 21, driving through the shade for miles, was totally unexpected! It was really nice.
Sad to think that they are probably gone.
 
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