....heat record for L.A. County" [headline on Los Angeles TV station news site].

I grew up in Woodland Hills, so: "Yay, us??" ;)

Woodland Hills is in the south San Fernando Valley, and I now live in the north San Fernando Valley, and where I now live it was 121 degrees today too, according to our local weather report on the internet.

Today was hard, and the projections for next week--while not as extreme as today--are still in the tough-to-deal-with, very high 90s.

Stay cool, guys.

I wish you all the very best electrical systems, with no rolling blackouts.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/2020 11:14PM by Tevai.

My office used to be in woodland hills. Glad I'm no longer there.

Dave the Atheist Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My office used to be in woodland hills. Glad I'm
> no longer there.

Yeah, today would have been tough.

I once lived in Woodland Hills when I was in Jr. High. I can't imagine it being that hot there.

My parents sold that house because it was on a steep hill that was a nightmare to keep cleared to fire marshal standards. It's a beautiful area.

Then we moved to Northridge which also was record high I see. It's almost like global warming is a thing!

It was a record high yesterday in Pocatello (~102). I feel bad complaining compared to LA. California is getting more than their share of problems.

And all this time I thought global warming was just a hoax conjured up by corrupt scientists and Bilderbergians. . .

I changed my work IM pic to Greta Thunberg. I dare them to give me shit.

How dare you!

dagny Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I once lived in Woodland Hills when I was in Jr.
> High. I can't imagine it being that hot there.

My sister and I were born six years apart, we both lived at the same address, and we went to different junior high schools--me to Sutter, and later: her (if I am remembering correctly) to Parkman.


> My parents sold that house because it was on a
> steep hill that was a nightmare to keep cleared to
> fire marshal standards. It's a beautiful area.

We were on the side of a hill, too. When my sister was born (in early January) it was a snow year (it used to snow about every ten years), and we (our whole extended local family, plus all of the neighbors "on the hill") got to go tobogganing down our hill--which was great fun. If you know where Woodland Hills Elementary School is, our house was on the far side of the hill to the west. And, absolutely--Woodland Hills is a beautiful area, and I am very grateful my parents chose that place to build their new home. I am deeply grateful for the amazing education I received there--both in school, and also in the community.


> Then we moved to Northridge which also was record
> high I see. It's almost like global warming is a
> thing!

I think even the most thick-headed among us are likely beginning to see the reality.


> It was a record high yesterday in Pocatello
> (~102). I feel bad complaining compared to LA.
> California is getting more than their share of
> problems.

102 is hot. I hope it is a dry heat. Humidity makes EVERYTHING feel worse!

Interesting, Tevai. I think I was at Sutter Jr. High for 7th grade. My stomping ground after that was Porter Ranch in Northridge. I have a lot of good memories of S. California.

I hope they don't get any more record-breaking days.

dagny Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Interesting, Tevai. I think I was at Sutter Jr.
> High for 7th grade. My stomping ground after that
> was Porter Ranch in Northridge. I have a lot of
> good memories of S. California.

Hi, fellow 49er!! :)


> I hope they don't get any more record-breaking
> days.

Me, too.

Another former San Fernando Valley person chiming in here. The hottest I remember was very late Sept. 1964 when it got to about 112 and we had a half day of school. There was no air conditioning in the schools.

It's not off topic. It's global warming. Because Jesus is coming to fix it.

LaJunta CO 108
Lamar CO also 108
smashing heat records
Denver area was about 100 past couple of days
. . . "only 90" Monday

Denver area will go from 90 Monday to 30 Tuesday morning - -
an astonishing 60 degree drop!!

In Colorado, we'll get much rain/snow Tuesday, which will help with some of our out-of-control forest fires.
I wish California could get some big rainstorms.
Rain really needed for the fires.

Denver snow expected Tuesday: 1 to 6 inches
CO Mountain areas 8 to 12 inches snow coming
Estes Park (west of Ft Collins) could go below 15 degrees Tuesday or Wednesday
Biggest snow total expected Tuesday:
. . . drum roll . . .
Summit of Longs Peak (14,259) expecting 14 inches snow
but could be anywhere from 10 to 20 inches

121 °F is 49 °C? Wow! That is not possible. Perhaps you are including humidity. What's the real temperature?

102 °F is 39 °C. Pretty high as well.

~~~~iceman9090

Why is that not possible?

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/06/weather/california-record-temperature/index.html

Brother Of Jerry Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why is that not possible?
>
> https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/06/weather/california-
> record-temperature/index.html

Thanks for the link, Brother Of Jerry.

:)

My high school physics teacher said on the first day of lab "I don't want to hear anybody saying 'but that's impossible' if the experiment didn't work out the way you expected. Anything that happens is possible. You have to figure out what happened."

"Anything that happens is possible" was a useful lesson. :)

Brother Of Jerry Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My high school physics teacher said on the first
> day of lab "I don't want to hear anybody saying
> 'but that's impossible' if the experiment didn't
> work out the way you expected. Anything that
> happens is possible. You have to figure out what
> happened."
>
> "Anything that happens is possible" was a useful
> lesson. :)

:)

iceman9090 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 121 °F is 49 °C? Wow! That is not possible.
> Perhaps you are including humidity. What's the
> real temperature?
>
> 102 °F is 39 °C. Pretty high as well.
>
> ~~~~iceman9090

It certainly IS possible, 'cause it happened here today.

Humidity is not a factor. (We live here in a very dry, desert/desert-like, environment; most all our water comes from "far away"--and if you re-see the film "Chinatown," you will learn some of the dramatized history of how that all came about. Bottom line: the Native tribes a county or two or three away from Los Angeles were royally snockered, because we (in Los Angeles County) got their water, and they never got it back.)

One of many similar, infamous, episodes in American history.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/2020 12:19AM by Tevai.

+Tevai:
So, do people live in this "south San Fernando Valley"?

What keeps you alive at 102 °F = 39 °C? Is it the sweating?

~~~~iceman9090

iceman9090 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> +Tevai:
> So, do people live in this "south San Fernando
> Valley"?

Absolutely. In fact, a great many people you know by face and by name live in the south San Fernando Valley--it is one of the principal places many people in the entertainment industry choose as their home.

This is also true (to some degree or another) of the rest of the Valley as well. For example, I (right now) live in the "north" Valley, down the street from where Roy Rogers and Dale Evans used to live (I went to high school with two of their daughters, one of whom served on Student Body Cabinet when I did).

In addition to entertainment industry-associated people, there are many CEO's of different kinds of companies, and many professionals of different kinds (doctors, attorneys, accountants, scientists, engineers, programmers, etc.), as well as many people from most of the other economic sectors.

The south Valley is kind of interesting because there is an economic mix (working class through wealthy) I haven't run into before elsewhere, and since the kids (for the most part) go to school together, it can often be an intellectually-rich environment regardless of the economic status of individual parents.

> What keeps you alive at 102 °F = 39 °C? Is it
> the sweating?

Lots of WATER (we buy bottled distilled water by the dozen gallons at a time)--NOT soft drinks; NOT coffee or tea; DEFINITELY NOT alcohol of any kind (alcohol is dehydrating)....WATER.

Putting your bare feet into a plastic basin of water (starting out with any water temperature you choose) is REALLY good at sucking excess heat out of your entire body. When I am at the computer (like today), I had my feet in water, at the computer, for most of today.

Taking a Turkish towel and/or washcloth, and running cold water through it (and then wringing it out), is very good for keeping your literal brain substantially cooler by many degrees, if you wrap (or drape) the wet/wrung-out towel over your head, or around your throat. (The important thing is to keep the blood flow to the brain as cool as is possible under the circumstances.)

In these kinds of temperatures, I am often "wearing" a wet towel on my head, with a long-way folded wet washcloth around my neck (like a necklace), and I wipe down my unclothed arms, legs, and abdomen frequently with a wet/wrung-out towel or washcloth. (I should probably mention that, in these kinds of temperatures, I am usually dressed in a bra and panties--nothing more. If my bra or panties get wet from water drips, all the better: the wet spots dry out quickly in the heat, and cool you down as the wet spots are drying.)

This works. It may look ridiculous, but it cools down your actual brain, and it cools down your blood and your blood pressure throughout your body. Add in your bare feet in a basin of water (enough water to cover the tops of your feet), and it is an extremely practical, and healthy, way to work through these kinds of days.

Make sense?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/2020 01:54AM by Tevai.

Sure does Tevai, except for the bit about buying dozens of gallons of bottled water. Why is that necessary - is the tap water compromised in some way?

oldpobot Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sure does Tevai, except for the bit about buying
> dozens of gallons of bottled water. Why is that
> necessary - is the tap water compromised in some
> way?

Compared to most American urban areas, Los Angeles (means: those areas of southern California served by the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power) is always somewhere near the top of the list for "cleanest"....but "cleanest" is a relative term.

We live in an age of microplastics and metal/chemical contaminates--all of which have cumulative effects inside human (and non-human, too) bodies.

When I was in high school, one of our Chemistry lessons was about distilled water. Luckily for me, one of our (separate) lab lessons was "how to distill water," which included *WHY* someone would WANT to distill water. The water I, myself, distilled that day in chem lab has been a part of my consciousness ever since.

That lab lesson--plus Mrs. Cline's American Lit lesson about Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay, "Self Reliance"--were the two most valuable lessons I learned in high school. Both were incredibly impactful to me....and were, obviously, unforgettable.

Just as I had walked out of Mrs. Cline's class a different person than I had walked into class that day, the same thing happened when I, personally, distilled water in Chemistry lab.

I GOT it: if you want pure water (with no micro-contaminants) you choose distilled water.

I grant that tap water can be (comparatively) of very high quality (and IS, within LA Dept. of Water & Power boundaries), but that doesn't mean that there aren't micro-plastics and heavy metal (etc.) contaminants which are part of the water which flows out of anyone's home faucet.

I cheerfully and thankfully use LA Dept. W&P water every single day of my life for cleaning, showering, etc., but I choose to DRINK distilled water only, to the extent this is reasonably possible.

This is why we buy gallons (this is how it is packaged) of distilled water to drink (and to cook with, if the water will be ingested)--it is because of a lesson I learned one day in my Chemistry I class which has stuck with me ever since.

+Tevai:
"Putting your bare feet into a plastic basin of water "

==Yes, I do that sometimes. Taking a shower helps since it gets rid of the sweat and I feel refreshed for 30 min.
I am in Quebec and once the temperature exceeds 24.0 °C = 75.2 °F
it is very uncomfortable for me. The humidity hovers around 80%, so sweat does not evaporate much and it feels like 35.0 °C = 95.0 °F
This year, there were many days that reached 29.0 °C = 84.2 °F. It has been worst than last year. I had to have the AC on all the time.

2 times, it reached 32.0 °C = 89.6 °F.
The highest I have seen was some years ago when it reached 35.0 °C = 95.0 °F


~~~~iceman9090

My lasting memory of 2 years in Montreal a lifetime ago, unbearable summer humidity.

Usually the ocean there keeps the temps pretty moderate, but sometimes a big high pressure area sets up in the Four Corners region, and causes easterly winds in So Cal. I believe that is what is referred to as the Santa Anna winds. That's air coming off the Mohave Desert, which is already hot, and moving to a lowered elevation heats it even more.

People can't survive outdoors in that much heat for long, so they stay indoors as much as possible. Low hundreds (40C) is uncomfortable, but generally not lethal if you have shade and enough fluids to drink. Above 42C is where heat starts getting dangerous.

Death Valley, CA registered 130F a few weeks ago, possibly a world record high temp if it can be certified as accurate.

+Brother Of Jerry:
"Death Valley, CA registered 130F a few weeks ago, possibly a world record high temp if it can be certified as accurate."

==130.0 °F = 54.4 °C

~~~~iceman9090

It was 107 today in San Diego. Their highest previous temperature was 101. And that was only recorded twice. In Sacramento it's 85 degrees at midnight. That usually only happens in August or July. It's hot out west.

donbagley Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It was 107 today in San Diego. Their highest
> previous temperature was 101. And that was only
> recorded twice. In Sacramento it's 85 degrees at
> midnight. That usually only happens in August or
> July. It's hot out west.

Sure is!!

:)

+donbagley:
"It was 107 today in San Diego. Their highest previous temperature was 101. And that was only recorded twice. In Sacramento it's 85 degrees at midnight. That usually only happens in August or July. It's hot out west."

==107.0 °F = 41.7 °C
101.0 °F = 38.3 °C
85.0 °F = 29.4 °C

~~~~iceman9090

I think the temp limit is higher in Southern Cal because of the low altitude, but in Phoenix, jets are not allowed to take off when it gets near 120F. Hot air is less dense, and both wings and engines perform poorly in very hot air.

Here in the Springs the temperatures have been in the upper 90s. And I'm over 6000 feet elevation. Way too hot.

I don't think I've ever heard of the temperature going much above 100 degrees in non-desert areas. To me, temperatures in excess of 120 degrees are desert temperatures!

I wouldn't like to be out in 49C weather. Most I've ever experienced was 46C in Melbourne the day of the catastrophic bush fires that killed about 200 people in 2009, and that felt like a furnace.

I wonder how we are going to manage in future as things get worse?

Crank up the A/C!!!!

Wow...been a hot summer here in S. Alberta but nothing like that. Friday it got up to 97F and then yesterday the cold front hit. 44 and rain today and down to 34F tonight.

I sympathize, although the hottest we've ever had in Paris was 42.6°C (107.6°F) last year. Although I'm lucky enough to have AC at the office, it's still pretty rare here (because we didn't need it before - can you see a trend here?). I remember walking out to go home and it was like hitting a brick wall of heat. I can't even imagine 49°C - but I sympathize and wish you all "Bon courage"! Tevai's system seems a very good idea.

+Soft Machine:
"Paris was 42.6 °C (107.6 °F) last year. "

==That would be 108.7 °F.

~~~~iceman9090

You're right, although the first converter site I used continues to give the wrong answer.
108.68°F it is.

That first site must be run by mormons! They never get their conversion figures right...

Local news story w/ photo of a 121 thermometer reading, taken Saturday.

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/weather-news/weather-heat-wave-records-woodland-hills-wildfires-power-outages-labor-day/2424621/

Woodland Hills is the generally acknowledged "hot spot" of the SF Valley.

because of high demand on the power grid. Some of these blackouts are scheduled to last for 2 or 3 days.

I am in Napa County; we were finally able to turn the air off last night.

BrightAqua Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> because of high demand on the power grid. Some of
> these blackouts are scheduled to last for 2 or 3
> days.
>
> I am in Napa County; we were finally able to turn
> the air off last night.

I am in total empathy with you about the rolling blackouts.

I am sorry.

I was born, and spent the first 8-and-1/2 years of my life in, Tujunga, at the base of the mountains to the east of the San Fernando Valley on the way to Pasadena. Records were broken there as well.

And while Phoenix (where I reside now) broke records for September 6, the city's 113 degree reading cannot match the 121 degrees you poor people were suffering in California (and ours didn't come with rolling blackouts, either). Thankfully, this week isn't supposed to get quite as hot either here or there, though I wish some rain would soon come your way to help put out all of those fires!

blindguy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was born, and spent the first 8-and-1/2 years of
> my life in, Tujunga, at the base of the mountains
> to the east of the San Fernando Valley on the way
> to Pasadena. Records were broken there as well.

I have maternal step-relatives in Sunland, so I've been through Tujunga many times in my life. If I remember correctly, Tujunga gets winter snow at least somewhat more often than is true in the west Valley, right? Or maybe USED to get at least occasional winter snow?

> And while Phoenix (where I reside now) broke
> records for September 6, the city's 113 degree
> reading cannot match the 121 degrees you poor
> people were suffering in California (and ours
> didn't come with rolling blackouts, either).
> Thankfully, this week isn't supposed to get quite
> as hot either here or there,

Yes, it was scary hot--the kind of hot where you think: I am very close to death right now unless I do everything correctly, right now! And then you go douse your head and neck in water as cool as you can get it.

> ....though I wish some
> rain would soon come your way to help put out all
> of those fires!

Rain would be wonderful right now! Keep that thought in mind!

Thank you, blindguy. Your words are very muchly appreciated.

Tevai Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have maternal step-relatives in Sunland, so I've
> been through Tujunga many times in my life. If I
> remember correctly, Tujunga gets winter snow at
> least somewhat more often than is true in the west
> Valley, right? Or maybe USED to get at least
> occasional winter snow?

When I was growing up there, we really didn't get much snow, if any, during the winter. I believe that Tujunga Canyon (to the northeast of us on the old Angeles Forest highway) did get some snow occasionally. I do remember going with my dad up to the area southeast of Palmdale to go four-wheeling in the snow in the winter of 1971.

At times, we did get a lot of rain. I've been told by some of my relatives that sometime during the 1960s (either just before or just after I was born), there was a massive early spring flood that unearthed several coffins in a cemetery north of the Sunland/Tujunga area and sent them rolling down the streets of the two towns (for those who haven't been there, both towns are built on the side of a hill).

blindguy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When I was growing up there, we really didn't get
> much snow, if any, during the winter. I believe
> that Tujunga Canyon (to the northeast of us on the
> old Angeles Forest highway) did get some snow
> occasionally. I do remember going with my dad up
> to the area southeast of Palmdale to go
> four-wheeling in the snow in the winter of 1971.

I think our last area snow was in the mid-1980s. Earlier, when I was in high school [Canoga Park High School], we had a relatively big [for us!] snow one year that allowed us to build a number of snowmen on the front lawn of the school, along Topanga Canyon Blvd.

> At times, we did get a lot of rain. I've been told
> by some of my relatives that sometime during the
> 1960s (either just before or just after I was
> born), there was a massive early spring flood that
> unearthed several coffins in a cemetery north of
> the Sunland/Tujunga area and sent them rolling
> down the streets of the two towns (for those who
> haven't been there, both towns are built on the
> side of a hill).

I haven't thought about this for a very long time, but I remember this story!--it was in all of the news broadcasts and newspapers when it happened. It was exactly the kind of story that captures public attention (which means higher ratings and newspaper sales)....a bit of the macabre with everyone's morning coffee. ;)

Eek, Tevai. I wilt at 80.

Please take care. Stay cool. (as you always are!)

Nightingale Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Eek, Tevai. I wilt at 80.
>
> Please take care. Stay cool. (as you always are!)

Thank you, Nightingale!!

:D

I live in Winnetka - right next door!
When it cools off, let's do coffee!

So that's where Winnetka is. I only know it from Big Noise At Winnetka by Bob Crosby and his Bobcats (I think), which my dad, (still) a trad jazz fan, often played to us when we were kids.

Respect, PapaKen - and it's lovely to see you here again :-D

Tom in Paris

PapaKen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I live in Winnetka - right next door!
> When it cools off, let's do coffee!

Once we're on the other side, this would be fun.

:)

Are you guys going to meet at Tom's place?

We lived in Northridge for 5 years in the mid-70s--we bought our first house there. I don't remember it being so warm. Before that we lived in Studio City almost 3 years after graduating from college. It was in Northridge that I realized I wouldn't be able to stay in the church much longer.

In January we were in LA and did a drive around the valley, including Porter Ranch. Wow so sad.

After we moved farther north we still had to drive to LA from time to time and at the time always stopped at the Woodland Hills In 'n Out for a fix. It took a long time for the burgers to move north.

Ironically, the temp has been a LOT lower than expected because the fire smoke blankets everything. Ojai was 117 last Sunday, yesterday was about 83.

Us (San Fernando Valley) too.

Low 80s now....I am about to go out to do some much needed yard maintenance.

Six days ago that would have been suicidal.

Yard maintenance is ALWAYS suicidal ! You could swallow a bug or something.

I've also heard that yard work is dangerous for those with enlarged thumbs.

Don't stay out too long, okay? I don't want you breathing that junk.

General questions to people here:

Hey - does distilled water remove all of the medication byproducts that our kidneys don't filter and that most water depts can't remove? I don't know if that water goes into the water table or is sent back into the general water supply. Same question about phthalates. I suppose it depends on location.

Speaking of location, does Flint have clean water yet? Asking for a generation of children with lead poisoning.

Last question: Is the Chesapeake Bay dead zone going to recover?

Thank you to all how don't type "let me Google that for you."

Distilled water is the only pure water there is. It doesn't do anything for your kidneys that regular tap water doesn't do.
Washington does not have a lead pipe problem. Flint is still fucked.

Dude that used to live here installed a RO system. I think that's why my teeth are like, "I can haz fluoride?"

Re kidneys: We take a lot of medications that are not flushed by our kidneys or livers, so they end up in the sewer system. That treated water doesn't always (ever?) get those drugs out, and it ends up in the water table, rivers, wherever our sewerage ends up.

I'm wondering about that. Are we making progress on getting that crap out of the water?

ugh

ugh

ugh

Right?

RO systems are wonderful. I used to maintain the largest RO system in Utah. Had to use a forklift to install filters.