Monday, August 1, 2011

Beat the Heat (Online)

By @DaveSniadak

Here in Minnesota, it's been hot...really hot. In fact, we just wrapped up the 5th hottest July since the state began official record-keeping in 1873 (though some records date back to 1820). According to the NOAA, high temperatures at the Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport averaged 87.7 degrees for July; 10 days in the month were above 90 degrees; 25 days of 85+ in July alone. If you like it hot, we certainly dished out some sizzling helpings of Minnesota Nice.

However, not everyone appreciates the heat and humidity. Who is the most at risk? To paraphrase my favorite local weatherman: "The very young, very old and very furry".

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that more than 1,500 die from heat related causes in the United States every year. As Eli Jacks says in this post: "Heat can be a silent killer. It's a dangerous weather condition for which people should prepare."

2 great digital resources I have found that help me plan for the heat:

  • Fox 9 Weather App for Smart Phones - One of our local TV stations issued this free app for smart phones that offers up real-time radar, forecasts and weather warnings. Customize it to your city and know when weather is about to strike, anywhere you are.
  • Wunderground.com - The Weather Underground website pulls info from nearly 2,000 weather stations across the country to deliver the latest weather info to your computer. Reliable and not cluttered with a ton of advertisements, this site gives you the data you need.

Of course, a few offline items that certainly help...water, sprinklers, pools, A/C, chilled beverages...and just common sense. As Minnesotans, we try not to complain about the heat, but when it's this hot, it's easy to forget that we live where we live. After all, 95 degrees with 90% humidity isn't too bad when you think about the alternative.