Mother Nature turning temps back to ‘sizzle’
What’s your favorite way to beat the heat, readers?
Mother Nature is about to turn the heat up again this week.
According to the National Weather Service, there is an excessive heat warning in effect for Yuma.
Temperatures are expected to reach the 115-118 range and possibly higher, with the highest temperatures expected Thursday and Friday, although the warning lasts through Saturday.
But what was especially fascinating was the daily high temperature records for Yuma, which the National Weather Service shared on Facebook.
Check out these statistics:
• July 28 – 124 degrees
• July 29 – 118 degrees
• July 30 – 117 degrees
• July 31 – 119 degrees
• Aug. 1 – 117 degrees
Now, we’ve heard the phrase “Once it gets past 115, what does it matter? It’s just hot.”
But at 124 degrees, we suspect people might feel a bit differently.
That record was set in 1995, and it was the hottest day ever recorded in Yuma.
For perspective, Death Valley’s average summer high is 120 degrees, and its record hottest high recorded is
134 degrees, set in 1913. That temperature, by the way, is the official highest temperature ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere, AAA magazine reports.
Imagine living with 120 degree temperatures as your average summer high!
Yuma did have a very hot weekend earlier this month, with temperatures reaching 118, and it was tough. It’s hard to be outside when it’s that warm, even if the day is spent in the pool or the river.
In some parts of the country, people look forward to a good rainstorm to break the heat streak. And we might long for rain too in Yuma, but the chances of actually getting some here are pretty slim.
Our average rainfall is just 3 inches or so a year, and according to USclimatedata.com, July gets just .24 inch of rain on average a year.
In fact, on July 26, the National Weather Service shared that Yuma has gone 106 days without rain – the 97th longest stretch.
Historically, the longest stretch without measurable rain here was 380 days, from Dec. 5, 2001 to Dec. 19, 2002.
Imagine that, readers – 380 days without rain. Let’s hope we don’t break that record any time soon!
Given the heat expected this week, we’re curious. What’s your favorite way to beat the heat, readers?
Let us know. Send in a Letter to the Editor at letters@ yumasun.com.
Unsigned editorials represent the viewpoint of this newspaper rather than an individual. Columns and letters to the editor represent the viewpoints of the persons writing them and do not necessarily represent the views of the Yuma Sun.