Why It's So Hot, When It Might End and Why We Should Count Our Blessings [View All]

Why It's So Hot, When It Might End and Why We Should Count Our Blessings

By Jeff Balke Thu., Aug. 18 2011 at 3:01 PM

Polite elevator conversation usually includes something like, "How about that weather, huh?" Lately, that conversation might be more along the lines of, "Holy shit, I went outside and thought I was going to die!" Normally, summers in Houston turn the average resident into either a hermit, scurrying from one air conditioning source to another as quickly as possible, or a grumpy bastard who does nothing but complain about the heat to anyone who will listen, as if no one else has been outside since April, or some combination of the two. Unfortunately, this year, those responses are not just normal, they are justified.

Houston is currently suffering through what will turn out to be the hottest summer on record. We already broke July records and the average August temperature is three degrees higher than the hottest month in Houston history. It was 103 degrees on Wednesday -- part of a 17-days-and-counting streak of over 100-degree days breaking the previous record of 14 -- and there is even a chance we could see temperatures near 105 next week (the record highest temperature ever recorded in Houston, if you're curious, is 109). Normally, our hottest week of the summer is the last week in July with average temperatures in the upper 90s, so, yeah, this heat is sucking our will to live, but why has this year been so bad and when will it end?

Our unreasonably warm temperatures are the result of a dome of high pressure sitting over Texas that is so persistent, it has been given the nickname "bulldog" by some members of the meteorological community. This large mass of high pressure is also responsible for our record-setting drought. It generally prevents storm clouds from forming within the area and holds in heat like a pressure cooker, making us the chili (no beans, thank you very much).

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