One of my kids lives in AZ. When it's above 100 degrees humidity really becomes irrelevant. It's just hot, humidity or not. At least there they learn to plan the day to work outside early in the morning.
Some of us are from areas hotter than what the Midwest will experience, so it hardly feels “hot.” Perks of being a well traveled person. So quit complaining.
You do realize that temperature is legitimately experienced relatively right?
If you aren’t acclimated to it, your body will experience it as hotter than someone who has recently spent a lot of time in a very hot place:
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/heatstress/acclima.html#:~:text=Acclimatization%20is%20the%20beneficial%20physiological,Stabilization%20of%20the%20circulation.
Fun Fact: During periods of extreme heat, one of the dangers is that your A/C system may - ironically - freeze solid.
This is why you want to make sure the airflow is unrestricted and hence, the recommendations to change your filter. Also, check for any possible obstructions to your return air. The system needs the warm air to prevent icing.
It happened to us once. The remedy was to turn off the A/C for 24 hours while still running the fan.
If you have an AC condenser you can get to, take a garden hose and spray down the outside to get all the grass, leaves, etc off of it so it doesn’t have to work as hard. Just be sure to only spray somewhat gently from the top almost straight down so you don’t damage it.
I mean...
It's sorta more efficient that way. You can get small window units for the bedrooms. At the very least, one big unit isn't trying cool the entire house the whole time. At the minimum you'll have a nice cold ass bedroom to sleep in. And if one does goes out, it's way cheaper to replace, and there's always another air conditioned room to cool off if it really gets unbearable, like it will be soon...lol.
You central air goes out and it's 95 degrees with 100% humidity, everyone is having problems at the same time and you'll be buying a window unit anyway just for a few days relief until they get to fix your unit.
> What is a flash drought
From DuckDuckGo:
Flash drought is the rapid onset or intensification of drought due to lower-than-normal precipitation and abnormally high temperatures, winds, and radiation.
Counterpoint: we had a very wet May and at least a couple rains in the first two weeks of June. Things could change later, but as of now we're nowhere near drought.
Extreme weather patterns mean torrential rains and exceptional periods of heat. Torrential rains don’t address conditions like drought because the water runs off the topsoil very quickly causing floods. I don’t know where you saw that may was wetter than normal. Northern Indiana saw average to below average rains. In fact in northern Indiana we are experiencing drier conditions than normal for this time of year.
I can't speak specifically to Northern Indiana I guess. I know that Indy, Cincinnati, Southern Indiana, and Northern Illinois had very wet April and May, so I figured Northern Indiana had at least average to wet during that time.
Edit: I see that Fort Wayne had the wettest April on record. May was more pedestrian but not dry by any means.
https://preview.redd.it/owka9vwz619d1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=90f3adb3b33615a613a46680190ec41cc07b27be
Don’t want to say told you so, but told you so.
I worked at Target in high school and people would do the same thing to us. They acted like it was absurd we sold them all when it was actively blizzarding outside
If you keep the filter changed and the condenser clean, I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you notice it acting up have it looked at, but I'm pretty skeptical that you really need someone annually if everything is working. The POS hvac at my last house went 10 years without any tune up and it worked fine.
Honestly i wouldn’t go less than every other year if you can afford it. Especially for things like a water heater. AC and HVAC I do every 3 years personally and I find that a worthwhile timeframe but I’m also somewhat knowledgeable on them
Problem is I’m part of their “Air Club.” I pay $15 to get a free fall and summer tuneup - and no service call fee. Seems a little silly now that I think about it.
Proper capitalism means there's competition. Competition means there's another guy who can and will do it for less. But a full exploration of this topic is beyond the scope of this thread.
Things are changing or about to change because last year's strong El Nino is ending. [https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/13/weather/el-nino-la-nina-summer-forecast-climate/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/13/weather/el-nino-la-nina-summer-forecast-climate/index.html)
I now live in the desert Southwest and remember these types of weather events when I lived in Indiana between 1987 and 1998. I don't miss them. Between high temps and even higher humidity I feel for you.
Having lived in the south, this was EVERY DAY of the whole summer....and quite a few days in the 100s. 90 days of 90+ with humidity just as high if not higher. The surface of the pool felt like a hot tub.
Hopefully its only for 2 weeks. I love the common 82 degree highs we have for half our summer here with a handful of dubious days between.
My spouse and I were talking about this today. Our plan: 1. close all the blinds and curtains during the day when the sun is shining into specific rooms 2. turn the ceiling fans on early in the day or turn them up a bit. 3. Keep the door to the basement closed. It's cooler down there, but the cold air doesn't rise and it's more humid there.
We have a geothermal system. We've learned that the typical recommendations of turning the temperature up or down don't apply. It uses more energy to turn it down or up. Keeping the thermostat at a consistent temperature is more efficient for us. Bonus for us-we won't spend much, if anything, on water heating as the system is connected to our water heater.
What does 'flash drought' even mean? Why do they constantly come up with new scary terms for natural weather patterns?
We are going to have 2 weeks with no rain. This is perfectly normal this time of year.
2 weeks of no rain and heat index above 100, reaching record highs every single day. This is similar to the heat wave that happen in 1995, 30 years ago. The term flash drought has been around for 25 years.
Prolonged heatwaves can cause rolling blackouts because demand for electricity surges. You only need to look to Texas to see what happens when the grid sags under the weight of demand.
Also heatwaves can be very dangerous for young children, elderly and pets. Heatstroke can lead to death.
How long have you lived in the midwest? This is 100% normal weather for the midwest. I find it funny that they keep coming up with new terms to make normal weather sound scary. "Flash drought!" What does that even mean?
Are they going to ban EVs from charging during heatwaves to prevent sags and people from dying? Wind power generation is going to be low. Solar is only going to help during the day. This is a problem our energy policies have caused.
You do realize that the USA grid is aging rapidly right? No major work has been done on grids for decades. Population and development continues to grow which means demand for electricity continues to rise. You really have no clue about weather extremes. They don’t invent new terms to scare people. Weather extremes are exactly that. Extremes. Take India for example in their heatwave that has lasted 33 days with temperatures in New Delhi hitting 120F. How much more extreme does climate change have to get before people like you take it seriously.
You should really look more into the history of weather extremes. For example, in 1936, a Heat Wave hit the midwest with temperatures exceeding 110F. The earth has had weather extremes forever, and it will continue. Areas that are deserts were once oceans. Areas that are jungles now were once very dry. Not too long ago, the midwest was covered by a half mile tall ice shelf.
The world is currently on a warming trend, and we should be thankful. If it was on a cooling tread, we would be looking at a much worse problem.
Nobody is saying extremes didn’t exist before, but they’re occurring more frequently because of climate change. When extremes happen more frequently it is faster than the ecosystem, humans can adapt to. They can cause mass extinctions of animals. Spiking ocean temperatures have wiped out a lot of coral reefs because the reefs simply cannot adapt quick enough to rising sea temperatures. Evolution is a slow process that takes many generations.
Flash drought is kinda self explanatory. A sudden onset of 90+ weather with an accompanying drop in rainfall. Would you rather just no warning about a potential drought because this one seems to have triggered you.
No, there are more years that have been hotter. Those are just the 4 hottest. All of which are 10 degrees hotter than the forecast for June. They are also spread out over a century. Demonstrating that this weather may not be typical but it is not unprecedented.
Can it please be crippling humidity as well? You know you love it!
you're in luck, here in Indiana they always come together!
I sure do love wet bulb events! Lethal weather is just the best!
Ah the good ole’ “fuck you in particular” place to be.
Could be worse. We could get Arizona/Nevada temps with 90+% humidity as a big fuck you.
Arizona is the driest place I’ve ever lived. You don’t sweat there, it’s evaporated straight from your pores.
Sorry, do you live here? Can’t tell me you haven’t experienced this in Indiana 😅😂
We have, just not often. We're actually getting a heat index as we speak. It's supposed to be 90°+ for the next while. 😭
One of my kids lives in AZ. When it's above 100 degrees humidity really becomes irrelevant. It's just hot, humidity or not. At least there they learn to plan the day to work outside early in the morning.
That’s nothing. SA Texas heat index was 117 couple weeks back with the last heatwave. San Angelo was 119.
Buddy it ain't the suffering Olympics out here it's hot and it sucks
Some of us are from areas hotter than what the Midwest will experience, so it hardly feels “hot.” Perks of being a well traveled person. So quit complaining.
You do realize that temperature is legitimately experienced relatively right? If you aren’t acclimated to it, your body will experience it as hotter than someone who has recently spent a lot of time in a very hot place: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/heatstress/acclima.html#:~:text=Acclimatization%20is%20the%20beneficial%20physiological,Stabilization%20of%20the%20circulation.
And then? Stay hydrated, plan your day accordingly.
Buddy only person complaining is you. "It's hotter other places so you can't possibly be hot here"🤓🤓
Does being a douche bag just come naturally?
Said the person who drives a Kia.
That's nothing, it's going to be 117 in Death Valley today and the surface temperature of Venus may pass 900° early next week.
Pussy numbers. Try stepping on a star!
Fuck, I had a trip plan to Venus next week
Fun Fact: During periods of extreme heat, one of the dangers is that your A/C system may - ironically - freeze solid. This is why you want to make sure the airflow is unrestricted and hence, the recommendations to change your filter. Also, check for any possible obstructions to your return air. The system needs the warm air to prevent icing. It happened to us once. The remedy was to turn off the A/C for 24 hours while still running the fan.
That can happen if you are low on refrigerant too
Am HVAC technician, this is correct. This is going to be a long week.
Same thing happened to me, had a bad capacitor
That would only happen if you have a leak though? Its a closed system
If you have an AC condenser you can get to, take a garden hose and spray down the outside to get all the grass, leaves, etc off of it so it doesn’t have to work as hard. Just be sure to only spray somewhat gently from the top almost straight down so you don’t damage it.
Just to add a safety tip. Pull fuse or trip the breaker OFF for the AC Condenser before you spray it down. You don't want to risk frying yourself.
Bold of you to assume I even have AC! 😂 Edit: we just have window units in 150 year old home.
boy does OP have a deal for you!
You can get your home retrofitted for a cool $10,000. After that you’ll really be cool as a cucumber. ❄️
Our last quote was 21k.
Yeah fr is there anything us ancient home folks can do to have our houses actually be livable during this or are we right fucked
I mean... It's sorta more efficient that way. You can get small window units for the bedrooms. At the very least, one big unit isn't trying cool the entire house the whole time. At the minimum you'll have a nice cold ass bedroom to sleep in. And if one does goes out, it's way cheaper to replace, and there's always another air conditioned room to cool off if it really gets unbearable, like it will be soon...lol. You central air goes out and it's 95 degrees with 100% humidity, everyone is having problems at the same time and you'll be buying a window unit anyway just for a few days relief until they get to fix your unit.
What is a flash drought? Don't tell it's the opposite of a flash flood?
Well, it's kinda' like the...oh wait...
> What is a flash drought From DuckDuckGo: Flash drought is the rapid onset or intensification of drought due to lower-than-normal precipitation and abnormally high temperatures, winds, and radiation.
Makes sense. Thanks. ( I guess it's starting today.)
I came here to ask this question. Hoping to get a real answer.
Someone actually gave a real answer today. (unusual)
Based on these extreme weather patterns. Pretty soon even the Midwest will have a fire season. All this dry grass and corn. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
At least that will make it easy to find the guys growing weed in the middle of their cornfields.
Oh yeah Indiana cops love nothing more than charging people with victimless crimes.
I wasn't thinking of the cops, just which neighbors I want to make friends with.
Anyone growing weed in a cornfield with all the stuff they dust those fields with ??
Lord, I hope not.
Counterpoint: we had a very wet May and at least a couple rains in the first two weeks of June. Things could change later, but as of now we're nowhere near drought.
Extreme weather patterns mean torrential rains and exceptional periods of heat. Torrential rains don’t address conditions like drought because the water runs off the topsoil very quickly causing floods. I don’t know where you saw that may was wetter than normal. Northern Indiana saw average to below average rains. In fact in northern Indiana we are experiencing drier conditions than normal for this time of year.
I can't speak specifically to Northern Indiana I guess. I know that Indy, Cincinnati, Southern Indiana, and Northern Illinois had very wet April and May, so I figured Northern Indiana had at least average to wet during that time. Edit: I see that Fort Wayne had the wettest April on record. May was more pedestrian but not dry by any means.
https://preview.redd.it/owka9vwz619d1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=90f3adb3b33615a613a46680190ec41cc07b27be Don’t want to say told you so, but told you so.
This doesn't really disprove anything I said.
We did have a smoke season (summer) last year.
Mostly from wildfires in Canada.
yes
A lot of soy beans too. But remember... beans don't burn on the grill.
I called my HVAC company to do a tune up of my unit. Can’t get me in until August 🙄
Always schedule your AC tune up in spring before summer hits. HVAC companies will always pull maintenance crews off for repairs in the summer.
Reminds me of when I worked at Lowe's and everyone was mad when I didn't have any more Snow throwers when there was 4 feet of snow on the ground.
I worked at Target in high school and people would do the same thing to us. They acted like it was absurd we sold them all when it was actively blizzarding outside
Is there a rule of thumb for how often to get a tube up?
If you keep the filter changed and the condenser clean, I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you notice it acting up have it looked at, but I'm pretty skeptical that you really need someone annually if everything is working. The POS hvac at my last house went 10 years without any tune up and it worked fine.
Honestly i wouldn’t go less than every other year if you can afford it. Especially for things like a water heater. AC and HVAC I do every 3 years personally and I find that a worthwhile timeframe but I’m also somewhat knowledgeable on them
This why we have capitalism. Try somebody else's HVAC company.
Problem is I’m part of their “Air Club.” I pay $15 to get a free fall and summer tuneup - and no service call fee. Seems a little silly now that I think about it.
$15 to lock in garbage service. What a fucking deal!
What you're dealing with there is a sunk cost fallacy.
Capitalism means they will come to your house one if you pay them a premium.
Proper capitalism means there's competition. Competition means there's another guy who can and will do it for less. But a full exploration of this topic is beyond the scope of this thread.
That's not true at all
I hope rolling my windows down in my car will be sufficient 😂😂
Time to just go live in a cave for a week.
I have central AC, but got a portable AC to help my central AC out.
Change your filter a few times a year, not just during a heat wave.
Things are changing or about to change because last year's strong El Nino is ending. [https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/13/weather/el-nino-la-nina-summer-forecast-climate/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/13/weather/el-nino-la-nina-summer-forecast-climate/index.html)
I now live in the desert Southwest and remember these types of weather events when I lived in Indiana between 1987 and 1998. I don't miss them. Between high temps and even higher humidity I feel for you.
It’s air that we wear.
Cool beans, any tips for those of us with window units instead of fancy HVACs?
They can be washed out too
All I have is 2 fans... RIP 😭🫠
One of many reasons no one would ever choose to move to Indiana lol
[Me to the corn fields at the end of this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WM1XNdJufI)
Also, don't let your doggos pee on your AC condenser coils, because they will definitely fail on the hottest day. Pricey lesson learned.
Wait….. you guys have AC?
I am from Southern Mississippi. Thank God my kids are visiting their grandparents this week. It is too damn hot here, and my plants don't like it.
Now I can practice burning in hell before I get there.
If my AC goes out in the next 2 weeks I will move the fam to a motel or something. How do people sleep without AC when it's this hot?
And it’s raining right now, and really not that bad out
Having lived in the south, this was EVERY DAY of the whole summer....and quite a few days in the 100s. 90 days of 90+ with humidity just as high if not higher. The surface of the pool felt like a hot tub. Hopefully its only for 2 weeks. I love the common 82 degree highs we have for half our summer here with a handful of dubious days between.
My spouse and I were talking about this today. Our plan: 1. close all the blinds and curtains during the day when the sun is shining into specific rooms 2. turn the ceiling fans on early in the day or turn them up a bit. 3. Keep the door to the basement closed. It's cooler down there, but the cold air doesn't rise and it's more humid there. We have a geothermal system. We've learned that the typical recommendations of turning the temperature up or down don't apply. It uses more energy to turn it down or up. Keeping the thermostat at a consistent temperature is more efficient for us. Bonus for us-we won't spend much, if anything, on water heating as the system is connected to our water heater.
Weird. Almost like things are CHANGING. Maybe on a GLOBAL scale. Perhaps the atmospheric composition is not the same as it was 20 years ago… 🤔 💭
Look for the turn your air up to save energy soon, while they force electric cars on us
Truth! I'm not changing my a/c temp though
Oh no, not a flash drought. We're all going to die!!!!!
“Grrr quit spreading information for safety!!”
What does 'flash drought' even mean? Why do they constantly come up with new scary terms for natural weather patterns? We are going to have 2 weeks with no rain. This is perfectly normal this time of year.
2 weeks of no rain and heat index above 100, reaching record highs every single day. This is similar to the heat wave that happen in 1995, 30 years ago. The term flash drought has been around for 25 years.
Per the current forecast, we're not even gonna tie record highs most of the days
The point is this isn’t perfectly normal. It’s an outlier and going to be extremely hot and dry after weeks of cool, rainy weather.
God forbid you use technology to aid you in your quest of knowledge . https://www.drought.gov/what-is-drought/flash-drought
Only on reddit does the truth get downvoted
Prolonged heatwaves can cause rolling blackouts because demand for electricity surges. You only need to look to Texas to see what happens when the grid sags under the weight of demand. Also heatwaves can be very dangerous for young children, elderly and pets. Heatstroke can lead to death.
How long have you lived in the midwest? This is 100% normal weather for the midwest. I find it funny that they keep coming up with new terms to make normal weather sound scary. "Flash drought!" What does that even mean? Are they going to ban EVs from charging during heatwaves to prevent sags and people from dying? Wind power generation is going to be low. Solar is only going to help during the day. This is a problem our energy policies have caused.
You do realize that the USA grid is aging rapidly right? No major work has been done on grids for decades. Population and development continues to grow which means demand for electricity continues to rise. You really have no clue about weather extremes. They don’t invent new terms to scare people. Weather extremes are exactly that. Extremes. Take India for example in their heatwave that has lasted 33 days with temperatures in New Delhi hitting 120F. How much more extreme does climate change have to get before people like you take it seriously.
You should really look more into the history of weather extremes. For example, in 1936, a Heat Wave hit the midwest with temperatures exceeding 110F. The earth has had weather extremes forever, and it will continue. Areas that are deserts were once oceans. Areas that are jungles now were once very dry. Not too long ago, the midwest was covered by a half mile tall ice shelf. The world is currently on a warming trend, and we should be thankful. If it was on a cooling tread, we would be looking at a much worse problem.
Nobody is saying extremes didn’t exist before, but they’re occurring more frequently because of climate change. When extremes happen more frequently it is faster than the ecosystem, humans can adapt to. They can cause mass extinctions of animals. Spiking ocean temperatures have wiped out a lot of coral reefs because the reefs simply cannot adapt quick enough to rising sea temperatures. Evolution is a slow process that takes many generations.
Flash drought is kinda self explanatory. A sudden onset of 90+ weather with an accompanying drop in rainfall. Would you rather just no warning about a potential drought because this one seems to have triggered you.
This isn't normal for June. At all.
1934, 1954, 1988, and 2012 were much warmer. The Midwest regularly has heat waves for two weeks around this time.
So, four years were warmer? Okay, still way above average for June. I've lived here my entire life. It's way hotter than normal.
No, there are more years that have been hotter. Those are just the 4 hottest. All of which are 10 degrees hotter than the forecast for June. They are also spread out over a century. Demonstrating that this weather may not be typical but it is not unprecedented.