By Gina Long
Gina Yells at Something
August is getting ready to slip into September, and I have reached my limit for blast furnace heat for weeks punctuated by less-hot but feel-hotter cloudy days sullied by stifling humidity.
I used to enjoy summer as a time to be outdoors, work on a tan and enjoy sunset cookouts. The past five or so summers have been brutally hot and humid. The afternoons no longer begin cooling down at 6 p.m. and the comfortable neighborhood walking temps around 8 have disappeared.
It is getting hotter in general year-round. Our former three months of summer heat have expanded into the fall. Daytime and nighttime temperatures are trending higher. Humidity is higher, leaving that sticky feeling of “air you can wear.” Nighttime lows are routinely 10 to 15 degrees warmer than a decade ago, rarely dropping below the mid-70s.
Temperature records show that longer and hotter summers are accompanied by moist air shifts to the north and west. Saturated air dumps rain faster and harder when it hits a cold air mass coming out of Colorado and Nebraska, which explains why we see so much more torrential rainfall and relatively fewer slow rain showers.
This year, the scorching heat kicked in the second week of June and didn’t break until a blissful four-day period at the end of July. The heat came roaring back, though, with no relief in sight.
I miss those days when the first weekend of the state fair was hot, with light rain cooling everything by the pleasant final weekend, signaling the beginning of a six-week autumn and jacket weather in mid-October. I miss foggy, chilly Halloweens and snow by Thanksgiving. The holiday season loses its excitement. Shirt sleeve temperatures and dry streets and sidewalks drain the color out of Christmas.
I miss outdoor time. My health keeps me indoors when the air and “real feel” temperatures exceed 90 degrees. I miss summer baseball; the crack of a bat loses some of its excitement on the radio. I miss taking my dog to the park in early evening, and she misses it, too. I miss walking on the fairgrounds paths, through city parks, and wandering downtown. Walking on the YMCA’s track in the cool is a luxury, but it is no substitute for wandering along a path in Orchard Park and watching a blue jay build a nest.
Summers now involve quick dashes in and out of air-conditioned buildings, indoor-only exercise and reworking my budget to pay skyrocketing electric bills. They discourage quiet contemplation while sipping a warm beverage.
After months of endless, sticky heat, that first crisp fall breeze feels nourishing. Is there anything better than sitting outside with a cup of tea, watching the clouds, and listening to the leaves rustle as autumn glides in? Like nature, we take time to reset and prepare ourselves for the coming winter.
Let it snow!
Gina Long is the co-founder The Hutchinson Tribune, a reference librarian, a Smallville Festival organizer, and a history nerd. She can be reached at ginalong.ne@gmail.com.