MTFCA Forum

Temperature here is 101 F at 1:15 PM, per the NWS. Forecast is 102 F. Looks like we may beat that. However, the heat index is only 98F. The reason for the heat, paradoxicaly, is an approaching cold front, downslope winds, and very dry air in place, with the relative humidity below 20%.

One must always remember William Tecumseh Sherman's adage that if he owned Hell and he owned Texas, then he would surely live in Hell and rent out Texas. Of course that was in pre-A/C days.

At noon a few days ago, it was 101 F here and 59 F in Dalhart. If air conditioning were to become unavailable, half the people in Texas would go back home. PS: W. T. Sherman was an arsonist!

Loftfield wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 08, 2025 6:56 am

One must always remember William Tecumseh Sherman's adage that if he owned Hell and he owned Texas, then he would surely live in Hell and rent out Texas. Of course that was in pre-A/C days.

Of course the irony is that when calculating "global warming" temperatures measured in the cities are considered accurate as AC apparently has no effect on the external heat. Thermodynamics would teach you that the only way to cool something is to heat something else.....I guess thermodynamics is out the window when calculating heat rise lol

Cities and airports are typically the warmest places in a given area. Look up "Urban heat Island". It's not unusual for a major metropolitan area to be several degrees warmer than the surrounding rural areas, especially in calm, sunny weather. Besides air conditioning, there are many very prolific artificial heat sources in urban areas, and urban areas are very effective at collecting and retaining solar heat due to pavement and rooftops and other features that are good collectors of solar heat and that tend to retain it after dark. The National Weather Service maintains excellent websites where anyone can access vast amounts of real time weather information for any location in the lower 48 and beyond, along with a lot of tutorial and historical information.