It's Hot!!!
by Wayne Gentry, Meteorologist

Is it hot, or is it just me? No doubt plenty of people across the Southeast are asking the same question. I’ve lived in the South most of my life, I LOVE summer, but this year it seems the asphalt on my walk to the beach burns right through my flip-flops. The answer is…IT’S NOT JUST ME, OR YOU…IT’S HOT!

The first seven months of 2006 have been the warmest, on average, since the U.S. began keeping records in 1895, and September & October are forecast to follow suit. And I’m not just talking about our neck of the woods…the only place in the U.S. cooler than average? Hawaii!!!

So, what’s happening? “Every summer we see periods of above-normal temperatures, and heat waves are not uncommon,“ says Jay Lawrimore of the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, NC. “What is unusual, is to have a six month period stretching from January to July (possibly longer) with above average temperatures.”

There is a wide range of thought on this issue, and these days you can’t talk heat without hearing “global warming.” Well, it IS warm…but Lawrimore says that global warming is a contributing factor, not the definitive cause of blazing hot asphalt and crowded beaches.

Along with the heat, much of the Southeast is experiencing drought…and dry soil contributes to high air temperatures. This is just one of the many variables being considered as scientists try to make sense of my hot flip-flops. There’s a long way to go before we understand it all, so in the meantime, I’m going to the beach to do some research.

Keep watching the Tourist Network, I’ll keep an eye (through sunglasses) on the sky.

Thanks for the info weatherman!!!

It isn't so bad, thanks to the humidity there's always a light coat of moisture on our skin to cool us off.

Humidity makes it SOUPY!!!

We have actually had lower humidity in the last week -- even though it's hotter than the devil -- it hasn't been too bad --

I agree, even though it is very hot it hasn't been as humid. It really hasn't been that bad. We'll see how it is after all this rain though.

but it's HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT!!!!