well, it was 107 on my truck thermometer today.      Supposed to the same tomorrow.  Woodworking is impossible under these conditions - you risk heat stroke working in the garage.  Ok, I thought. I've had enough.  I'm going to get the biggest, baddest portable AC unit available to at least try to make it manageable.  I head over to my local Fry's (Ironic, isn't it considering the heat) and they have the Soleus 14,000 BTU unit on sale.  I figured a unit this big would have my garage doubling as a large walk in freezer by morning, right?  Not at this pace.  It's so hot in the garage, the compressor isn't staying cool long enough to blow enough cold air to make one lick of difference.  It keeps cycling off and then it simply blows hot air, kinda like me.  Maybe it will begin to work later tonight as it cools off around here to a bone chilling 83 by morning.  As a comparison,  my family and I took a few days last week to visit some of my wife's family in Duluth.  A very beautiful place in the summer.  High was 65, low was 55.  Perfect.  Then we step of the plane at DFW at 8:30 and the hammer descends to deliver a death blow - 98 deg.  It's a shame that what is supposed to be the best time of year to enjoy the outdoors is the worst, at least around here.  People are literally dying every day from effects of the heat.  8 months of the year Dallas is a fine place to live.  For the other 4 months, it's time to get the heck outta Dodge.   

Howard,

I understand what you are saying about the Temp in Texas.  My dad lives in Houston and I go down to see every so often.  I remember about 10 years ago, it was a record high for 118 degree's for 4 days straight.  It's unreal hot down there.  Getting into a car that has been parked under the sun is no fun either.  Because of the heat down there, it's a different life style.  I read somewhere that either Texas itself or the city of Houston is the most air conditioned city or state in the world.  I'm glad I don't live there.  I live in Ohio.  I have to say that it is quite nice when you travel to Texas in the spring months.  Great weather.

While not that hot, I lived in Saint louis and the humidity and 90's would kill.  One thing that will help is make sure your doors are insulated.  It's worth it.   I used a portable before in another house and left the garage door open and it would keep it in the mid 80's when the outside was over 100.  The bigger thing for me was keeping the humidity down.  I could take a hotter temp if it was dryer.  Good luck!   My latest house i'm relegated to the basement thats underground so it stays pretty constant, but now that I'm back in the north east (PA), it seems much more tolerable that Saint Louis was.  They only had two temps colder than crap or hotter than he!!.  Or the wind is blowing 150 mph (kph for you metric folks).  Never did get use to makin like a rabbit and goin underground when a twisty was near by.   

The last weather map I saw, Houston was several degrees cooler than Austin... It is usually more humid though.

We broke the record for breaking records about a month ago, I think.

Typically, about 8 months of the year this is God's country. The other 4 months, Lucifer takes over.


Tom

The last time I was in Sharon PA, it snowed for several days.

I'll take the 68-degree water of Barton Springs Pool and 105-degree air over 3-feet of snow any day.


Tom

I worked for a year in Houston as a teenager installing rain gutters, fun up on the roof during those summers.

Now I live in the Bay Area where people complain when the temp drops below 60 or above 80 and they don't have to complain very often at all.

I've gotten pretty spoiled when it comes to weather.

Tom, are you from Sharon PA?  I grew up in Youngstown.  Basically right down the street.

Brice, Do you live on Mount Washington, what a great view?  I lived in Pittsburgh for 2 years while I went to college.  I live in crafton which is not to far from downtown.

Youngstown is probably my favorite Bruce Springsteen song. (I like his music, not a huge fan, but that song is amazing to me.)

I hear you.  When I was in college, I worked summers in South Texas as a roofer.  It had a certain odd status, people figured that you just don't mess with someone crazy enough to work on a roof in a Tx summer.

I made it out to the bay area myself, loved it.  There is an amazing migration path from TX to the bay area.  Read Larry McMurtry's All My Friends Are Going to be Strangers for a laugh or two.

Now I'm in New Mexico, at least its a dry heat .

I can't remember, that was a long time ago, pushing 20 years now. It seems to me that it was right in the heart of the city.




Most of the roofers I see here start early in the morning and don't stop until either it's dark or they're finished. It's a brutal job.


Tom

Here's a link worth a read How to Keep Cool Without Air Conditioning..  Mostly common sense, but a few clever ideas worth a try.

No, I can't afford to live there. My avatar pic is from one of the townhouses I worked on in Mt. Washington. I've worked on maybe 5 of the 8 units in that complex, I believe they range from 1.5-3.5 million. That's pretty steep for Pittsburgh.

71 in Columbus, Ohio for the high tomorrow.

The part of the Bay Area I live in is Piedmont (next to Oakland) known as the East Bay. We are just across the bay from San Francisco. The temperatures here are generally around 10-15 degrees warmer than San Francisco which is fine with me.

Mark Twain once said the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. When the fog is covering the city in the summer and it's 60 degrees but feels barely 50 with the wind coming off that cold North Pacific, the sun is usually out in the East Bay and it's in the 70s with a lovely cool breeze.

The micro climates here are unreal. I've driven in the to Bay Area from the East and watched the thermostat on the outside of the car go from over 100 down to 65 degrees in 30 minutes of driving. I guess the coastal hills keep the cooling sea breeze from the inland areas.