LOL @ "All smart, young people can't wait to leave Pittsburgh!" (Oakmont: wedding, dental)

[Denton56]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I only saw an old furnace down in the cellar and assumed that heated the water somehow. There certainly can't be an independent hot water heater down there, and if it is it must only hold like 10 gallons, if that.

Old houses can have hot water heaters as big as any new house. Why wouldn't they? Particularly multi family houses. The furnace has nothing to do with hot water! Tell your landlord that you don't have hot water! It's illegal they way you are living. It is sub standard housing. She may not even be aware that the hot water for your unit is not working properly,

[Denton56]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I DO have heat---it's just drafty. I get luke-warm water---not hot water. My theory is that I have such limited hot water because she pays the water bill for the property---not me---and she tries to make sure I take shorter showers. LOL! I still wouldn't trade this place for anywhere, though. Being walking distance to so much for just $550/month is incredible. I was paying just under $1,200/month in Reston's Uplands neighborhood, where I could easily walk to not much of interest, really.

You could walk to the town center in Reston, which had tons of restaurants, bars, clothing stores, gift shops, galleries, home good stores, ice cream stores, skating rink, and movie theater. You could also walk to grocery stores, gyms, pools, bike path, tennis courts, lakes and parks. Reston was designed to be walkable with paths all over!

Your hot water theory doesn't hold water. Even a loooong shower wouldn't cost your landlady more than pennies a day. I bet she has no idea that you have no hot water. Speak up!

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Denton56

Pittsburgh does not have mild summers

The nice thing about posting at a place called "City Data" is that it has a lot of data about cities available.

Here is their annual temperature chart for Pittsburgh:



To the untrained eye, it would appear that temperatures during the summer in Pittsburgh average a bit lower than the U.S. average. Some might even call that "mild".

[psulions2007]

Originally Posted by Denton56

You need to move to Colorado or Maine or Vermont. Pittsburgh does not have mild summers and it's rare to see a blue sky in the winter.

I lived in SC... I know what W PA weather is like. It's perfect for me. Maine and Vermont rarely have storms.

Pittsburgh's summers are mild compared to places further south and west, yes.

Occasional blue sky means "not very often".

[Denton56]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

The nice thing about posting at a place called "City Data" is that it has a lot of data about cities available.

Here is their annual temperature chart for Pittsburgh:



To the untrained eye, it would appear that temperatures during the summer in Pittsburgh average a bit lower than the U.S. average. Some might even call that "mild".

That's the AVERAGE daily temperature. That means it's much hotter during the day. It might average ''a bit lower'' but that doesn't mean it's not HOT in the summer. Mild is VT and Maine. Not Pittsburgh!

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by Denton56

That's the AVERAGE daily temperature. That means it's much hotter during the day. It might average ''a bit lower'' but that doesn't mean it's not HOT in the summer. Mild is VT and Maine. Not Pittsburgh!

Pittsburgh hasn't seen 95 degrees since August 4, 2002. Even for as hot as it was last summer, the highest temperature was 93, set on six different days. The summers of 2000, 2003 and 2004 all failed to reach 90 degrees, and the summer of 2009 was very close to being a fourth in just one decade. Pittsburgh went clear from September 9, 2002 to June 13, 2005 -- 1,007 consecutive days -- without reaching 90 degrees. Compared to most of the rest of the U.S., that's mild.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Denton56

That's the AVERAGE daily temperature. That means it's much hotter during the day.

There are three lines: average, daily high, and daily low.

It might average ''a bit lower'' but that doesn't mean it's not HOT in the summer. Mild is VT and Maine. Not Pittsburgh!

First, HOT (all caps!) is a place like Phoenix:



Second, here is Burlington, VT:



That's the same basic deal as Pittsburgh, maybe 2-3 degrees cooler.

But I guess you go from HOT (all caps!) to mild in those 2-3 degrees.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

Pittsburgh hasn't seen 95 degrees since August 4, 2002. Even for as hot as it was last summer, the highest temperature was 93, set on six different days. The summers of 2000, 2003 and 2004 all failed to reach 90 degrees, and the summer of 2009 was very close to being a fourth in just one decade. Pittsburgh went clear from September 9, 2002 to June 13, 2005 -- 1,007 consecutive days -- without reaching 90 degrees. Compared to most of the rest of the U.S., that's mild.

Let's keep it that way!

[Katarina Witt]

Kind of like Duluth, MN but w/o the brutal winters! I saw a post once over there that it had been 6 years or so since they hit 90.

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Kind of like Duluth, MN but w/o the brutal winters! I saw a post once over there that it had been 6 years or so since they hit 90.

Somewhat warmer than Duluth, MN.

Number of 90-degree days in Pittsburgh by year (1996-2010)

1996: 2
1997: 6
1998: 4
1999: 16
2000: 0
2001: 6
2002: 24
2003: 0
2004: 0
2005: 14
2006: 6
2007: 15
2008: 3
2009: 2
2010: 16

The average per year is seven days, so seven 10 of the last 15 summers have been below normal in that regard, and six of the last 15 have been well below normal. Only 1999, 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2010 were above normal.

The heat seems to come in cycles, though.

Number of 90-degree days in Pittsburgh by year (1987-1995)

1987: 13
1988: 38
1989: 4
1990: 2
1991: 21
1992: 0
1993: 21
1994: 11
1995: 24

The period from 1987 through 1995 was particularly warm, with above-normal occurrences of 90-degree temperatures in six of nine years, and well-above-normal occurrences in four of nine. The summers of 1988 and 1995 were particularly hot, with temperatures reaching 100 degrees in both, and 1988 in particular setting a record for the most 90-degree days in one summer. Only 1989, 1990 and 1992 had below-normal occurrences of 90-degree temperatures during that time, and 1992 was another year in which the temperature failed to reach 90 degrees.

For the record, this data comes from the Weather Underground website, which appears to undercount the number of 90-degree days that Pittsburgh has had. For example, they have 1988 listed with 33 days of 90-degree temperatures, but the National Weather Service has noted on its local data/records page that 1988 had 38 such days, which is an all-time record. I also distinctly remember a heat wave in late August 1991 that's totally unacknowledged by Weather Underground's records. The National Weather Service also has the summer of 1992 listed as the first sub-90 summer in Pittsburgh since 1976, yet Weather Underground has 1982 and 1984 listed as sub-90 summers as well. Basically, take Weather Underground's numbers above with a grain of salt, and assume that they've undercounted slightly, with the exception of 1988 and 2010, which I got straight from the horse's mouth (the National Weather Service).