The Great Heat Wave (Chicago, Tennessee: schools, camp, living in)

[ERS-One]

Originally Posted by Fishing Crazy

I lived 20 minutes outside of Chicago during the heat wave. I also saw the show on the TWC and I found it very interesting.....

.....I think hindsight is 20/20 so it is easy to blame the mayor and others.

I watched that program as well last night. There was this intense, dramatic music playing in the background throughout the whole show. Every time Daley's face came up on the screen, or it was mentioned that he fled to his summer home in Michigan, the music got a little more intense - a little more sinister. Loved it

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by hank0604

I'd just like to know what I can expect once summer hits. I decided to move here to get away from heat. This past summer we set a record in Austin, TX for most consecutive days over 100 degrees. It was like 25 or 30. Anyway, I just don't want to deal with that here as well.

You can expect 1-3 days a year when heat indexes near 100 degrees, thats about it. Many years you wont even see one. Expect about 2 weeks worth of temps that hit 90 degrees from May until October, other than that it hovers anywhere from 70-85 degrees on average.

[Chicagoland60426]

We didn't even have no 100+ days in Chicago area last summer. Heck, it barely went into the 90s.

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by hank0604

I'd just like to know what I can expect once summer hits. I decided to move here to get away from heat. This past summer we set a record in Austin, TX for most consecutive days over 100 degrees. It was like 25 or 30. Anyway, I just don't want to deal with that here as well.

You won't see that here, or at least it's highly unlikely. I believe I've heard or read that an "average" Chicago summer has about 15 days where the temperature reaches 90 or above, and that's for the entire season... they're not "consecutive" days.

Temps above 100 are actually pretty rare here. We only get them every several years or so, and they typically don't last more than a day or two.

Chicago's heat and humidity is nothing compared to places like Texas.

And here's another tip: In summer in Chicago, it's often (but not always) cooler near the lake than in the rest of the city.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by andrew61

Chicago's heat and humidity is nothing compared to places like Texas.

It sure can be, but thankfully its only for a day or two, then it clears out and we're back to Heavenly weather.

[coldwine]

I'm in Sao Paulo.

It has not stopped raining since I got here. Day after day of rain.

[JoshB]

This thread is interesting. I was born in August of 1988 and I was told that it was 106 degrees the day I was born, Yowza! My brother on the other hand was born in February of 1990 and he experienced the extremes the other way. Weird, eh?

Very interesting thread, nonetheless.

[Fishing Crazy]

Weather is relative to how long you have lived somewhere. Our bodies adjust so people who have lived awhile in the South don't think much of a 90 degree day whereas someone from the North would usually find 90 horribly hot. When I visit Chicago from Florida in the summer, I feel like I have entered zero humidity and the most pleasurable temp in the world even if it is 85. Likewise, when I moved from Chicago to Florida in Dec. of 2003, I left 80 below zero with the wind chill. When I got to West Palm Beach, it was only 50 degrees. All the Floridians had gloves and winter coats on and I was running around in shorts. It was a 130 heatwave to me! Now that I have been in Florida, 55 degrees brings out my winter coat and gloves!

[jlawrence01]

There was a book written about the 1995 Chicago Heat Wave that studied each death and analyzed the causes of the deaths.

In most cases, the people who died lacked a social network of people looking after them. Neighborhoods with a strong community like Little Village (Hispanic) had no deaths. Neighboring North Lawndale suffered many more.

In many cases, the people were afraid of the neighborhood and kept their windows closed during the period.

Many suffered from serious health problems and were overwhelmed by the heat.

Dying Alone in the Heat Wave, an interview with Eric Klinenberg

I just want to make it clear that it was not young healthy people who were dying in the heat.

[eureka1]

Thank you so much for your information and insights. Certainly a sobering lesson for all of us about the importance of community.