Great, helpful run-down. I have restacked. And I love both versions of your great moon and Venus photo. Good on you for taking time to look up at the night sky—and for having your camera at the ready!
Ah yes, Venus and the Very New Moon are so lovely! After a 90+-degree day in Central Texas, I took my evening walk later last night, looked up and saw the sky winking at us. it stopped me in my tracks.
Me too. Last night "cooled off" pretty nicely here, but some freaky winds made it a pollen storm soon after this lovely conjunction in the sky popped into view
Thanks Susan! I did not see the "wink" aspect until another substacker pointed that out. When the moon is a sliver I usually see a surgical needle instead!
With the strong possibility of a ‘Super’ El Niño, something mentioned in May Flowers post.
"As warmer weather approaches, public health worker organization "Fired But Fighting" offered an alternative to "looksmaxxing" -- public health-maxxing, which prioritizes sunscreen, hydration, and more."
The maxxing I can get behind, we just had our first 90 day May 3rd but been cool since.
Funny how these cool kid terms bubble up so quickly. "Maxxing." A good way to put a damper on the term will be for people like me to use it, and for public health officials to start talking about public health maxxing, ha! But I would sincerely support that as a concept.
Strange. Houston has been cooler than normal. Still, a question: Does experiencing heat exhaustion and recovering affect future heat tolerance? For how long? Days? Weeks? Years?
Hi Je - After heat exhaustion, the body needs about 1–2 weeks before it's ready to handle heat again. Exertion in the heat too soon and we're at higher risk for another episode. Most "healthy" people return to normal within a month. That said, if the episode was really severe (close to heat stroke territory), some people deal with lingering heat sensitivity for months or even years. Once fully recovered, careful re-exposure to heat over a couple of weeks can help acclimatization - more efficient sweating, lower core temp, etc. But with heat stroke there can be permanent cardiovascular and neurological damage.
When I moved to Texas in the early 90s and experienced extended periods of heat like I never had before, I wondered how humans even survived here before AC. A friend who’d grown up here before AC became the norm said their family kept bedsheets in the icebox (yep, icebox) and took them out at night to cover themselves so they could fall asleep. Pretty clever, hey.
Yikes. I often wonder how the sunbelt is going to support civilization in 50 years when the planet is making some areas uninhabitable. Makes me really sad. I grew up with very rare AC (PA, VA, NJ), but in NJ we had a pool... so we would take a cooling swim, rinse off with the garden hose, run up to brush teeth and hit the bed before core temps made sleep onset miserable!
Wow, what a great article. I've always thought I was pretty well versed in how to deal with heat. But I learned things today. It's a keeper. When I moved to NH 50+ years ago, we could survive just fine w/o AC in our homes. Now, no way.
Hi Deborah :) I'm glad this post included some new territory, as the "heat wave" articles all start to sound the same. The acclimatization part is what makes this unique right now in May. And yes, the increasing reach of AC units into parts of the world that previously did not need them reflects both climate change and necessary adaptation. I hope you still have plenty of lovely cool nights this spring/summer!
A/C made the sun belt what it is today. The population would never have grown as it has absent AC. I grew up without AC in the South and it was (mostly) bearable, but it didn't get as hot or stay as hot for as long as it does now. Climate change is real whether folks believe in it or not.
I have always tried to stay up to date on topics like this, but I had absolutely no idea that a gradual build up to heat was so critical. Thank you for always going the extra mile to keep even well-informed people more well-informed.
Hi David! Absolutely! I often think about this biology and physiology when traveling to parts of the world with different climates and seasons than the one I'm in. For example, going from Philly 60's to Costa Rica 90's over spring break did not feel great. We were less active than we might have been on the really hot days/parts of the trip... so I guess consider that as part of the big picture, too! Thanks for stopping in.
It was a brutal jump yesterday and I was not prepared. I was watching the school groups around independence mall and none of them were ready for this heat!
Great, helpful run-down. I have restacked. And I love both versions of your great moon and Venus photo. Good on you for taking time to look up at the night sky—and for having your camera at the ready!
Ah yes, Venus and the Very New Moon are so lovely! After a 90+-degree day in Central Texas, I took my evening walk later last night, looked up and saw the sky winking at us. it stopped me in my tracks.
Me too. Last night "cooled off" pretty nicely here, but some freaky winds made it a pollen storm soon after this lovely conjunction in the sky popped into view
Thanks Susan! I did not see the "wink" aspect until another substacker pointed that out. When the moon is a sliver I usually see a surgical needle instead!
Haha, a hazard of your employment!
With the strong possibility of a ‘Super’ El Niño, something mentioned in May Flowers post.
"As warmer weather approaches, public health worker organization "Fired But Fighting" offered an alternative to "looksmaxxing" -- public health-maxxing, which prioritizes sunscreen, hydration, and more."
The maxxing I can get behind, we just had our first 90 day May 3rd but been cool since.
Funny how these cool kid terms bubble up so quickly. "Maxxing." A good way to put a damper on the term will be for people like me to use it, and for public health officials to start talking about public health maxxing, ha! But I would sincerely support that as a concept.
Strange. Houston has been cooler than normal. Still, a question: Does experiencing heat exhaustion and recovering affect future heat tolerance? For how long? Days? Weeks? Years?
Hi Je - After heat exhaustion, the body needs about 1–2 weeks before it's ready to handle heat again. Exertion in the heat too soon and we're at higher risk for another episode. Most "healthy" people return to normal within a month. That said, if the episode was really severe (close to heat stroke territory), some people deal with lingering heat sensitivity for months or even years. Once fully recovered, careful re-exposure to heat over a couple of weeks can help acclimatization - more efficient sweating, lower core temp, etc. But with heat stroke there can be permanent cardiovascular and neurological damage.
When I moved to Texas in the early 90s and experienced extended periods of heat like I never had before, I wondered how humans even survived here before AC. A friend who’d grown up here before AC became the norm said their family kept bedsheets in the icebox (yep, icebox) and took them out at night to cover themselves so they could fall asleep. Pretty clever, hey.
Yikes. I often wonder how the sunbelt is going to support civilization in 50 years when the planet is making some areas uninhabitable. Makes me really sad. I grew up with very rare AC (PA, VA, NJ), but in NJ we had a pool... so we would take a cooling swim, rinse off with the garden hose, run up to brush teeth and hit the bed before core temps made sleep onset miserable!
Wow, what a great article. I've always thought I was pretty well versed in how to deal with heat. But I learned things today. It's a keeper. When I moved to NH 50+ years ago, we could survive just fine w/o AC in our homes. Now, no way.
Hi Deborah :) I'm glad this post included some new territory, as the "heat wave" articles all start to sound the same. The acclimatization part is what makes this unique right now in May. And yes, the increasing reach of AC units into parts of the world that previously did not need them reflects both climate change and necessary adaptation. I hope you still have plenty of lovely cool nights this spring/summer!
A/C made the sun belt what it is today. The population would never have grown as it has absent AC. I grew up without AC in the South and it was (mostly) bearable, but it didn't get as hot or stay as hot for as long as it does now. Climate change is real whether folks believe in it or not.
I have always tried to stay up to date on topics like this, but I had absolutely no idea that a gradual build up to heat was so critical. Thank you for always going the extra mile to keep even well-informed people more well-informed.
Hi David! Absolutely! I often think about this biology and physiology when traveling to parts of the world with different climates and seasons than the one I'm in. For example, going from Philly 60's to Costa Rica 90's over spring break did not feel great. We were less active than we might have been on the really hot days/parts of the trip... so I guess consider that as part of the big picture, too! Thanks for stopping in.
Doc Ryan, thank you again for an excellent post! I learned from it.
I'm glad, stay cool Miselle!
It was a brutal jump yesterday and I was not prepared. I was watching the school groups around independence mall and none of them were ready for this heat!
Yikes! I can picture that scene, poor kids! Not much shade on the mall, either. As a teacher I would have decamped to the leafy Washington Square!
I felt so sad for them!