I'm moving to Arizona

A hot day once in awhile is okay; I can deal with it. This week, however, has been a bit ridiculous. In fact, I firmly believe I died a little on Thursday. Those of you who live here in Hampton Roads know that it's not just the heat that gets you, but the oppressive humidity. I left work at 11:30 Wednesday night, and when I walked outside after spending 7 hours in an air-conditioned building, it was hard to breathe. You know it's hot when you can see it. So far the lovely week has gone like this:

Monday: Relatively cool at 102. I think the humidity was 1042%
Tuesday: A little warmer: 103
Wednesday: Still climbing to 105; humidity 67487569%
Thursday: 107, and I'm not even sure you could still call it humidity, since really it was like walking throught pure water. The sky started to cry at one point.
Friday: Relief! In a way, at least. It's a brisk 101 today, but as I type this, severe thunderstorms carrying 70+ mph winds are pummeling the area. It's dark as night at 3:30 in the afternoon. I don't what's going to be worse, having to repair the roof after tonight, or having to mow the damn lawn again already.


Speaking of weather, it's been a pretty crazy first half of 2007. Not much has been going on here in Va Beach, or further south, although forecasters are predicting an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season. The rest of the world, however, has gone nuts. As if tornados in Brooklyn and flooded subways weren't enough, the World Meteorological Organization said global land surface temperatures in January and April were likely the warmest since records began in 1880, at about 3 degrees Fahrenheit higher than average for those months. Three degrees doesn't sound significant, but it took 5 consecutive days over 100 degrees (after 2 months in the nineties) to raise the temperature of 10000 gallons of water in my backyard three degrees.

Southern Asia is experiencing the worst flooding on record, and the Arabian sea had it's first-ever documented cyclone. Meanwhile, England had the wettest May-July since they began keeping track in 1766, while Germany experienced the driest summer on record. In June, South Africa received it's first significant snowfall in more than 25 years, while it snowed in Buenos Aires in July for the first time since 1918. January and April were southern Europe's hottest months in recorded history. Too many different countries are experiencing their worst, most, hottest, wettest weather events in recorded history at the same time.

I saw The Day After Tomorrow. I know what's going on here. I'm going to buy some batteries. ;)