My Town Monday: Record Heat

We're having a Heat Wave, but not a tropical one. It's caused by an offshore flow, the opposite of our usual ocean breeze. Temps in the area soared into the 90's and in some areas into three digits, far higher than the normal 73 degrees for this time of year. On Sunday Fullerton had a record high of 100 degrees and it was 101 in Santa Ana. This is very unusual weather for April, and I didn't envy the folks sitting in the stands at the Long Beach Grand Prix. The only good thing about it is the clear blue skies. It's hot but beautiful.

When the winds come off the desert, they bring intense heat and dryness, with humidity in the 15-25% or lower range. Yesterday a brush fire broke out in a gully next to the 5 Freeway in Mission Viejo, causing a Sigalert and damaging two homes, apparently not seriously. It took us well over an hour to travel the 38 miles from San Clemente to Anaheim, but my husband did get some cool pictures of the water-dropping helicopter while we were sitting in traffic.

Thankfully, the fire appeared to be out by the time we got to where it had started. We've had less than 9 inches of rain this season, so I'm sure there will be more fires.

I hope the weather is more pleasant in your home town.

Linda

My Town Monday is the brilliant brain child of writer/blogger Travis Erwin. Thanks, Travis! Go to his blog to read his latest post and find links to the other participants.

(Photos by B. A. Wilkinson)

My Town Monday: Heat Wave

This last week Summer arrived with a vengeance. The good part was the fabulous full moon (pictured here); the bad news was the heat wave that followed. I'm not a big fan of hot weather, actually I hate it, so please pardon this rant. I'll do a better MTM post next week, I promise.

Summer in Southern California can be pleasant and it can be unbearable. These last few days fall into the unbearable category. Some cities have set new records as temperatures soared into triple digit territory, and Los Angeles and other cities have set up cooling centers for senior citizens or anyone else seeking relief from the heat. Though we had rain this winter, there's been very little in the last few months and the hills are dry as the proverbial bone. I'm expecting a bad fire season in the state, and as I write this, fires are still raging in Northern California. On Saturday, when the house in Anaheim hit 90 degrees in the kitchen, we took off for San Clemente where the temp was 15-20 degrees cooler outside and about ten inside.

I know some of you are wondering why the spoiled California brat is complaining so much, but you have to understand this: neither of our houses has air conditioning. Many older homes in Orange County simply don't. Until recently, it wasn't really needed very often, but in the last couple of decades, summers do seem to have become hotter. Or at least we're getting more frequent heat waves. I'm not sure which. All I know is air conditioning would have come in handy this weekend. It's supposed to cool off next week, but probably not for long.

Hope it's cooler where you are.

Linda

My Town Monday comes to us via Travis Erwin, http://traviserwin.blogspot.com/. Thanks, Travis! Click on his site to read his latest post and find links to the other participants.

Update: Tues. June 24, 2008

Check out Barrie Summi's Surf Diva post for an idea on how to cool off.

L.