Something to think about while its hot

[Spartan]

Its HOT. Y'all probably know that. This heat wave is really affecting the entire nation, from California to Maine. The South is relatively unphased by it though. Its a little more hot than most summers, but its not a big deal because we all have air conditioning.

The rest of the nation, and the North in particular cant handle it. They are shutting down in a sense. They have to go to cooling centers and pools and what not. I heard a report from Boston that the MBTA has to go slower so that they won't put too much stress on the rails. People won't ride the subways because its so hot in the stations. They have power outages due to too much stress on the system, and even a few people are dying. They even have tips like this for ways to beat the heat. But the South just keeps on going.

Its a bad situation to be sure. Why am I bringing this up? Well, lets flip the situation around. Its wintertime. The South gets a big snow/ice storm. We shut down. We can't drive places, mass transit doesnt work, we have power outages, we have tips on how to stay warm. Some people die. But the North just keeps on going.

I just wanted to point this out. The North may be unphased by the winter storms, but the South is unphased by the summer heat. These are opposite situations with simialr outcomes. Just something for y'all to think about.

[suburban george3]

Its a bad situation to be sure. Why am I bringing this up? Well, lets flip the situation around. Its wintertime. The South gets a big snow/ice storm. We shut down. We can't drive places, mass transit doesnt work, we have power outages, we have tips on how to stay warm. Some people die. But the North just keeps on going.

I just wanted to point this out. The North may be unphased by the winter storms, but the South is unphased by the summer heat. These are opposite situations with simialr outcomes. Just something for y'all to think about.

This posting does an injustice to what actually goes on during the hot spells. The south has to deal with the same issues that the North does during these hot spells. Yeah, it's only a "little" bit (figuratively speaking) hotter than usual, but it's still hot and still deadly. We still have people without AC that need watching out for and we still have people DIE due to the heat. I don't think we are "unphased" by summer heat. If we were, there would be a lot more people dying.

As far as the wintertime scenario, it make take a little bit more snow to shut things down up North but they still have power outages and people dying just like we do. Regardless of how often a weather event may happen in your area is will always catch people off guard and claim life and property.

[Spartan]

The people you you describe (the poor and/or elderly) are those that would be affected in either situation anyway. The average southerner is not majorly effected.

[ironchapman]

My friend from New York (upstate near Albany) once had her school closed down for the reason that it was too hot. It was in the 80's!

[NCB]

My friend from New York (upstate near Albany) once had her school closed down for the reason that it was too hot. It was in the 80's!

Wow, if that was the case in SE Louisiana, school would last about 2 months through the year.

[wrldcoupe4]

All I know is that tomorrow the Heat Index is gonna be like 120+ in Richmond tomorrow. I really pity the window guys that are replacing the windows on a building across the street from me at work downtown.... they're stuck on that window washer contraption alllll day.

[NCB]

All I know is that tomorrow the Heat Index is gonna be like 120+ in Richmond tomorrow. I really pity the window guys that are replacing the windows on a building across the street from me at work downtown.... they're stuck on that window washer contraption alllll day.

There have been guys working on the windows at the very top of One Shell Square in downtown New Orleans, which is about 700 feet up. The actual temperature is supposed to be in the triple digits tommorow, so I feel very bad for those guys as well. Really, it's tough for anyone working outdoors, but when you're 700 feet up, you have nothing to give you any shade or a break from the sun.

[suburban george3]

The people you you describe (the poor and/or elderly) are those that would be affected in either situation anyway. The average southerner is not majorly effected.

This sounds a lot like complacency. True, most people here can tolerate the heat better, it still doesn't mean that people (even healthy 25 to 60 yr olds) can't have heat strokes, exhaustion, or die from the heat. They young are universally affected and let's not forget our four legged friends. Even though we may be more "used" to it doesn't mean we should brush it off.

My friend from New York (upstate near Albany) once had her school closed down for the reason that it was too hot. It was in the 80's!

I went to school in Winston-Salem, NC in non-AC buildings. Anytime the thermometer hit 90 degrees we were let out 1-2 hours early! We prayed for 90 degree days! Of course all the schools in the city now have AC, this was over 16 years ago!!

[Spartan]

This sounds a lot like complacency. True, most people here can tolerate the heat better, it still doesn't mean that people (even healthy 25 to 60 yr olds) can't have heat strokes, exhaustion, or die from the heat. They young are universally affected and let's not forget our four legged friends. Even though we may be more "used" to it doesn't mean we should brush it off.

I went to school in Winston-Salem, NC in non-AC buildings. Anytime the thermometer hit 90 degrees we were let out 1-2 hours early! We prayed for 90 degree days! Of course all the schools in the city now have AC, this was over 16 years ago!!

Lighten up.

[Pillsbury]

This sounds a lot like complacency. True, most people here can tolerate the heat better, it still doesn't mean that people (even healthy 25 to 60 yr olds) can't have heat strokes, exhaustion, or die from the heat. They young are universally affected and let's not forget our four legged friends. Even though we may be more "used" to it doesn't mean we should brush it off.

I went to school in Winston-Salem, NC in non-AC buildings. Anytime the thermometer hit 90 degrees we were let out 1-2 hours early! We prayed for 90 degree days! Of course all the schools in the city now have AC, this was over 16 years ago!!

That's true. A high school football player in Atlanta died the other day of heat exhaustion while practicing.

Along with Spartan, though, I don't really pay attention to the weather much in the Summer and I didn't realize we were in a heat wave until yesterday. It's just hot. It's always hot in the South, so we are more experienced in dealing with it. If it snows in Augusta, everything closes, people drive their cars into each other or off the road, and everyone has snow parties where you get really drunk and argue over whether this will be like the great blizzard of 1972 when we got six inches of snow.

[lammius]

I don't think it's because southerners are "used to it." It gets hot in the northeast every summer, granted the heat comes and goes throughout the season. The average high temp in July in New York City (84 F) isn't much different than the average in my hometown of Norfolk VA (86 F).

I think the reason you can SEE such a greater effect on people in the northeast is because a lot of us live in very old buildings that do not have central air conditioning. Some of us have window units, and some can't justify spending a few hundred on one of those for 2 or 3 weeks of extreme heat. Most of the people at cooling centers are the poor and elderly.

I'm fortunate enough to have a/c where I live. The only effect this weather has on me is that I run on the elliptical machine at the gym rather than in the park because I'm asthmatic and the humidity isn't kind to me when I exercise like that.

As for MBTA travelling slower, many transit systems have to. The overhead electric wires expand in the heat and start to droop. There isn't as much tension on the wires when it's hot. And they contract when it's cold. The wires in MA are especially old, though. They're slowly being replaced with wires that are less responsive to weather variation (according to a guy I know at AMTRAK).

[dimebag1980]

My friend from New York (upstate near Albany) once had her school closed down for the reason that it was too hot. It was in the 80's!

Schools here close down when it snows. Schools up there close down for the heat. Very interesting.

[rusthebuss]

Schools here close down when it snows. Schools up there close down for the heat. Very interesting.

Shoot the schools here have shut down for the heat and cold. I don't think that its much difference except they are better supplied to handle snow storms. We still get snow and cold weather in the south, that is unless you live in Miami.

[lammius]

When I was a student at Churchland Elem School and Churchland Middle School in Portsmouth, VA during the 1990s we were sent home due to heat quite frequently. I couldn't understand why almost 2/3 of the city's 39 schools did not have air conditioning while the city's jail was kept comfortably cool.

[Spartan]

^ you cant very well send the prisoners home for they day and expect them to come back tomorrow now can you?

Seriously though, I understand your point.

[wrldcoupe4]

Richmond's City jail has no air conditioning..... I can't even begin to imagine how much that must suck... not to mention it's like 50% over capacity.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

This posting does an injustice to what actually goes on during the hot spells. The south has to deal with the same issues that the North does during these hot spells. Yeah, it's only a "little" bit (figuratively speaking) hotter than usual, but it's still hot and still deadly. We still have people without AC that need watching out for and we still have people DIE due to the heat. I don't think we are "unphased" by summer heat. If we were, there would be a lot more people dying.

One of the things we don't have in the South (or at least not in Charlotte) during the extreme heat are brownouts - the heat doesn't strain our power grid like it does in the North.

I would say the biggest issue with the heat is the unhealthy air.

I haven't heard about anyone dying from the heat in the South, but in the past I have heard about hundreds dying in the North.

[SimCity]

One of the things we don't have in the South (or at least not in Charlotte) during the extreme heat are brownouts - the heat doesn't strain our power grid like it does in the North.

I would say the biggest issue with the heat is the unhealthy air.

I haven't heard about anyone dying from the heat in the South, but in the past I have heard about hundreds dying in the North.

The power grid of the southern states tends to have newer infrastructure as well as extra capacity built into the system to deal with just such a situation as well as long term population growth. Our electric uilities are actually quite efficient here.

[TBurban]

Aww shucks! I opened this thread and expected an ice cold beverage! Thats whats on my mind when its hot

When I was in New York, in the worst of storms back the late 80's eary 90's, they wouldnt close the school for more than 2 days. I guess when youre up there, youd rather prepare for whats more likely to happen. Which there, is the winter storms. I guess this heatwave has done some good, in the fact that it's getting them ready to prep for future heat waves in the coming summers.

I can deal with the snow, mostly because down here, it can close schools and get me out of work This heat is unbearable for me. Ive lived in Texas, and now have settled in Virginia. It's beautiful here, being in the Mid Atlantic for the mild climate. The hot summers, and the cold winters. The snowstorms and the heatwaves. Ive been through it all, and if I had to give a title of worst scenario, it would definitely be the heat.

[rusthebuss]

Richmond's City jail has no air conditioning..... I can't even begin to imagine how much that must suck... not to mention it's like 50% over capacity.

Norfolk's jail is 7 stories and only suppose to handle 800 some prisoners. It has almost 2k right now. This is with an addition to it. I think there jails are air conditioned. Vabeach jail is like a freakn resort for city jails.

[suburban george3]

Lighten up.

All I'm trying to get across is that we should always respect the weather and never be complacent about it. There was an interesting radio piece on this the other day on how people who were raised in Texas and Mexico sweat 3 times more than people raised in the NE and hence are better able to "handle" the heat. And like other forumers have pointed out, AC is more prevelant here and we aren't all living in small apartments in old hard to ventilate buildings. I just want to be sure everyone respects the weather, cause even though we may handle it better it can still effect us all.

Sorry if I came down to hard!