July 08, 2009
Exasperated by the GD temperatures in Austin again today, I looked for some perspective on the web. I got all that and more with this well-constructed blog post charting the last decade of temperatures in Austin. They may be reading too much into only a decade of data (not long in a meteorological sense) but it does provide an immediate look at whether you can support an assertion that "this year has to be the worst in a while." (Of course anything could happen the rest of the summer but looking at the graph I think you can support the idea that it is hotter than usual).
By the way, it reminded me of the stretch in the first week of September 2000 which saw the highest temperature ever recorded in Austin (112). This was also less than a month after I moved to town and did create the sense of "what the hell have I gotten myself into?"
Hmm, I thought it was earlier than 2000. That was my *third* summer here, so I guess I was ready for it. I walked and bussed everywhere back then, and had a bad habit of getting impatient and walking to the next bus stop. I did that that day, and almost died.
I just got back to WV this morning from house hunting in Temple. It was hot and I have been away for 3 years now, but I was ok with it all despite having to run around sunny backyards and all.
I still remember the 2nd year I was in Austin when I was at Polvo's with a group of friends. We were stuck next to each other sweating and just generally gross. I looked around and saw that everyone else was glistening with Austin dew and thought to myself, "Self, everyone is in the same boat. You can't be out here and not have a lil' sheen to your skin." The heat never really bothered me after that. Or maybe I just learned that margaritas are good for ignoring the less savory aspects of al fresco dining in August.
I pulled the NCDC weather for Austin from 1948-present (see infochimps.org link for details) and got my Tufte on.
This temperature cycle is hotter than but comparable to the 1950-1965 era. I've got no idea if it's global warming or the peak of a cycle. The fundamental conclusion -- that this year so far, 2000 and 2008 were damn hot -- stands up well.
The first plot is a year-on-year time series similar to the one in the link. It shows degrees over 100F, for days where the temperature exceeded 100F. Each year's baseline is one grid cell higher than the previous, with bars above 106F allowed to overlap (this results in a darker cell on the few occasions they do):
Check that Indian summer in 2005!
This next one shows a histogram of temperature by four-year group: the vertical scale shows temperature in 2.5 degF blocks, and the inner scale shows #days with that temperature. Gridlines show 100,95,90 (red) and 45,40,35 (blue). The last four years and 1996-2001 were unusually hot, but the intervening four years were mild against the 30-year block. Keep in mind the last (2006-2009) block is incomplete.
Did you know that Austin temperatures are far more likely to be in the 70s -or- 90s than they are to be 83-90 degrees?
Here's that last chart but year-by-year; click to see it in size ginormous:
This one goes out to Flip, for a couple of wintertime conversations...
It has been unseasonably cool here in the DC metro region, with highs only in the lower eighties, going down into the low 60's at night, with low humidity. Absolutely awesome weather.
SO SUCK IT! SUCK IT SUCK IT SUCK IT! SUCK YOUR F&*(ING HEAT and SHUT UP. Because you don't have outside jobs and you DON'T HAVE WINTER!
HA!
I'm on record: I gladly trade 35F and slushy for a 100F and scorchy any time you ask. You have not heard me complain about this weather, only report the facts, since my pissing and moaning budget is reserved for the dozen or so days it dunks below 50F here.
Austin FTW.
(And fellow Austinites: there's no better reason for a phone call to your friend up north than one of those random 75deg mid-January days, amirite? "Oh, hey, I just put on shorts and grilled out today, what are you up to? Oh, digging your car out from 7 inches of snow? Wow, that must suck. OK gotta run, I'm meeting some friends for ice cream.")
Having lived too close to the artic circle, and having indoor and outdoor job experience, I can say with a reasonable amount of first hand experience that heat>cold... Although I wish Austin had mountains =/
I turned down jobs up north to return to central Texas, so I guess salsa>mountains as well.
I was just up on Mt. Hood/in Portland tho and the PNW is tugging at me, but ya gotta have some place to vacation =)
Hmmm.... I guess I am a rarity. I much, much prefer cold weather to hot weather. It could be because I really like snow and playing in it. It could be because I become afflicted with heat exhaustion when exercising above 80 F.
After writing those two statements, it is becoming increasingly unclear why I'm down here to begin with. I can't be the only cold weather fan on AE, can I?
I used to like cold weather better than warm. Then I experienced almost a first down of snow in one winter (328.2 inches). Now I much prefer heat. Of course, this whole "heat exhaustion when exercising" thing has an obvious solution to me, and it doesn't involve getting rid of the heat half of the equation.
I do give you credit flip, I know you weren't complaining, and as a cold hater myself I agree that I would much prefer the weather down there. But it is fun sometimes to see that the grass is greener on the other side because its planted in fresh manure.
Regarding the hot vs cold, if room temperature is 68 deg, does that mean that 100 deg = 36 deg as far as discomfort distance from norm? or somesuch? Can that kind of comparison even be made?
nanocindy: I have enjoyed the nice spring and fall weather in Texas but I am really really looking forward to going back north. It's too sweaty ALL THE TIME here for me and I like wearing pants and jackets more than shorts and (shudder) sandals. (In fact I've made it through the last few summers here never wearing shorts but finally broke down this year.)
Anyway, ask me again in a few years and see we'll see if I've changed my mind.
I'm with natedogg and nanocindy on this, although I've only lived in the north (Philly area) for 4 of the last 15 years. I always hear people in the north complain about the snow (my family is from MN/IA) but for all the trips I've made up north for holidays recently (to OH/PA/MN/IA) I haven't seen much snow. I like to believe that I can handle extreme cold a lot better than extreme heat. You can always add more layers, but there's only so much you can take off.
I have to go on record preferring the cold. Or at least having four seasons. Changing up what you see is really important to me.
And also, there has to be an energy use argument here. It's a lot more efficient to heat a house than it is to cool a house, and in the US, the hotter climates tend to be the drier climates (though the southeast is, obviously an exception).
I agree with the "you can always add more layers, but there's only so much you can take off" mentality. But the hardest for me, was walking to work in the summer heat in tiny shorts, tiny shirt, and flip flops, and then freezing in air-conditioned RLM. I think I used to keep sweatpants and sweatshirt in my lab to change into.
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I remember Summer 2000. That's when I moved to Austin too. That was hot!
posted by TheClaw at 05:25PM CST on July 08