Not as hot today and Wednesday, but the heat will return Friday through the weekend. Keep cool! If you don’t like the valley heat head for the cool coast.

After Spokane, WA we moved to Evansville, Indiana where I felt my first earthquake. I was only a 3.4 but you could feel it. We also had snow storms, ice storms, and severe thunderstorms along with a storm that produced multiple microbursts from funnel clouds that  never touched down to become tornadoes. Next in Spartanburg, South Carolina we experienced more thunderstorms ice storms, and snow storms, heat waves, more mild earthquakes. We had one of the largest outbreaks of tornadoes ever recorded to move from South Carolina to North Carolina. It was then on to Memphis, Tennessee where a tornado that started in West Memphis, Arkansas and then moved through western Tennessee into Memphis destroying neighborhoods  southwest and then northeast of me going over my house as a funnel cloud. My neighborhood sustained minor shingle damage and that’s all. As it turned out this storm was the beginning of a series of severe weather incidents which included heavy rain, flooding, and the third deepest snowfall to ever hit Memphis. Look for the last part of this series tomorrow.

Your Tuesday and Wednesday will cool just a bit to the 80s then it’s back into the oven for 90s over the weekend into early next week. You might still want to head for the beach or the pool. Even with mostly sunny skies you can still see a nice sunset.

Sunset over Amazon Pool parking lot 7/20/09

A high pressure ridge will help push inland temperatures back into the 90s. A weak disturbance about mid-week will cool us slightly, but the heat will be poured on again for the weekend. Remember to drink plenty of water, apply sunscreen when outdoors, keep your pets an plants well watered also.

From Elmira, New York it was on to Eau Claire, Wisconsin where we had tornadoes, blizzards, severe thunderstorms, extreme summer heat, and even the lowest temperature ever recorded there 39 degrees below zero. The high temperature that day only made it to 25 degrees below zero. Next stop was Austin, Texas where there were more tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, and even wildfires. Spokane, Washington was next. We arrived just in time for Mt. St. Helens to dump from a quarter to a half inch of volcanic ash on us. More on my migration across the U.S. tomorrow. Remember, it would be great if you would share your severe or unusual weather stories with all of us.

The night air feels so cool riding on a breeze. Enjoy your Sunday because it will be the coolest day we will see for quite a while. If the computer models are right our temperatures will soar into the 90s and even approach if not surpass 100 degrees by next weekend.

In my opinion anything over 85 degrees is wasted energy. If you would like to cool off the weekend will be just what you are looking for. Today the valleys saw 90s and it was hot enough to really enjoy a dip in the pool. This group of youngsters enjoyed playing water polo at the Amazon Pool.

Cool at the Amazon Pool

In the last installment I lived in Geneva, New York. Next it was on to Binghamton and then Elmira, New York. Elmira is where I got my start in television. We moved there in April and on June 22, 1972 Hurricane Agnes then just a tropical depression, made a left turn after moving over New York City and ended up right over Elmira. To make things worse a cold front got stuck as a stationary front along the border between Canada and New York state dumping heavy rain on the area for the entire week before the dying tropical cyclone hit the area. They called it a 500-year flood. That means the worst possible flooding over a 500-year period. We spent 5 days in an evacuation center (a school) set up by the Red Cross. I’ll continue my journey around the country next Monday.

Today the temperatures will be in the lower 90s in the Willamette Valley, the upper 90s in the Umpqua Basin, and the coast will continue to be the coolest in the low to mid 60s. Cooler more normal temperatures will return over the weekend. The hottest weather I have experienced was back in Texas where it got into the 100s+ for weeks at a time. Tell me your hot weather experiences.

Be prepared for a really hot day everywhere but at the coast for your Thursday. A blocking high pressure ridge will allow the temperatures to soar. Look for a cooling trend, of sorts, over the weekend. Remember, drink plenty of fluids and keep cool. The same goes for your outdoor pets.