Hot temps, don't know how southerners do it

[jimmyj]

Well, the wimpy Canadian in me is sweating bullets today and it's only 75 degrees (23.5 c). I don't know how folks in the south of the US or other parts of the world can work when it gets so hot.

Any tips from experienced southern folks? Drink a lot of water, take breaks, visit the shade regularly, etc.

Heck, I can help you with 40 below and not blink an eye but get it up over 80 degrees and I'm a mess!!!

 

[jayste]

Jimmy, I wouldn't say "wimpy" Canadian when you can handle 40 below! When it gets hot around here I will usually drink lots of water, put a wet bandana around my neck and wear a straw hat but I have to admit I usually don't do that until it gets in the 90's. I guess it's all in what you're used to. Of course when it gets in the 100's I will only work in the morning and late evening if possible.

Jay

 

[wushaw]

It's tough but it only last a few months. AC, cold beer, women in bikinis...summer in the south is hard but we manage

 

[Uncle Doug]

Well I was out mowing today well before 7am. Now I now why our ancesters were out doing chores before 6am. By 10 am this time of year we are looking for some shade to hide out under. The guy that invented AC must of been from the south. In the mid to upper 90's this week in the afternoons. Humidity is lower this week as no rain in a while but still high enough to make me sweat in less than 5 minutes.

I think I will still stick with our winters with the lows in the 40's and once or twice a year into the 30's.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

You get used to it if you live down here, or should I say you learn to deal with it, drinking a lot of water or gatorade helps keep you hydrated, I work for the power company and we work 10 hr days in fire resistant long sleeve shirts and rubber gloves, most of the time by 10 AM the tops of your boots will be soaked and white from the salt you sweat out, I always feel sorry for the roofers and the boys laying asphalt, they got hot tar and hot asphalt on top of the hot weather. Like somebody else said in my opinion if you can work in 40 below weather your pretty tough, I could'nt cut it until I could get used to it or may never get used to it as I have never had to deal with extreme cold of that nature.

 

[Bird]

I'm old enough that I grew up without air-conditioning. There was no air-conditioning in our schools, our home, our vehicles, or the service station and auto parts store my dad owned. I was 19 years old when I first lived and worked in air-conditioned buildings.

I never liked the heat, but it really didn't bother me for many years. I used to hear about how hard the heat was on old folks and didn't really understand why it was harder on them than on the younger ones, but now I'm amongst those old folks who find the heat oppressive.

So, much like Uncle Doug said, I do whatever I'm going to do and I'm through by 10 a.m.

 

[jayste]

I'm old enough that I grew up without air-conditioning. There was no air-conditioning in our schools, our home, our vehicles, or the service station and auto parts store my dad owned. I was 19 years old when I first lived and worked in air-conditioned buildings.

I never liked the heat, but it really didn't bother me for many years. I used to hear about how hard the heat was on old folks and didn't really understand why it was harder on them than on the younger ones, but now I'm amongst those old folks who find the heat oppressive.

So, much like Uncle Doug said, I do whatever I'm going to do and I'm through by 10 a.m.

Hey Bird, I'm one to gravitate to the "good old days" and understand what you're saying about the air conditioner. I grew up with water (swamp) coolers in the house and eventually we did get a big window unit when I got older. Of course this was just good enough for one room in those days. I guess you can relate to what old Red Steagall says that, "if you really want to go back to the good old days, turn off your air conditioner!"

 

[toddbailey]

the best way i have found to handle the heat is to get out and start working early before it gets to hot (in the summer here in sc it will be in the 80's at 6 am) drink lots of water take breaks often and stay out of the ac there is nothing worse than getting hot then cooling off then have to go back in the heat

 

[Mike Costello]

Well, we're in for some hot, humid weather the next few days. I was working in the shop doing clean up and was sweating so bad my shirt turned totally wet in short order. Drank a lot of water!
No complaints though. The worst I've ever worked in was 122 degrees in Palm Springs, Ca. doing vehicle recovery. The asphalt began to soften, so we had to call a halt and Cal Trans closed the highway to all traffic.

 

[Bird]

I grew up with water (swamp) coolers in the house

We only had one and it was in a window in the living room.

But when I was 19 and started working a night shift and trying to sleep in the daytime, I got a little portable swamp cooler that held a gallon of water and I'd set it on a stool right by the bed so it was blowing right in my face.

 

[Heavyduty]

We only had one and it was in a window in the living room.

But when I was 19 and started working a night shift and trying to sleep in the daytime, I got a little portable swamp cooler that held a gallon of water and I'd set it on a stool right by the bed so it was blowing right in my face.

They only cooled 10-15 degrees? If it was 100, than iit only cooled to 90.

 

[Bird]

They only cooled 10-15 degrees? If it was 100, than iit only cooled to 90.

It was one of those situations in which it was better than nothing, but not much better.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Personally, I like the heat. Having worked a good portion of my work history outside, the cold kills my joints. That's why I moved to where I am now though it still gets a bit chilly for me in the winter.

The "locals thought I was nuts last summer setting fenceposts. But then, if people think you are just a bit strange then perhaps you are better off, lol! I just keep a jug of water close by and keep tapping it.

 

[Willl]

It's a different kind of heat.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm a couple hours East of Bird, and my heat is different then his heat. Here, it rarely gets up to 100 degrees, but there is a fair amount of humidty. 80% is about avearage. Today it was 94 degrees with 96 to 97 degrees expected this week. It's what I call a nice day.

I'm outside all day long depending on what I'm doing. Right now I'm building brick colums for a privacy fence. Laying brick out in the sun is kind of relaxing. I don't know of anything else that makes the day go so quickly!!!

I think that one of the reasons I enjoy the weather is that I'm outside year round. I hate winter and anything below 50 degees just about shuts me down. If it's lower then that, I might just stay in the house and not go outside. I don't do well in the cold!!!!!! Since I'm outside all day from the mild temps of spring when it's only 70 to 80 outside, the change is slow enough that maybe I just ajust to it. I do know that when I have to go into an attic during summer, there is a limit to how long I can take it. Temps can be in the 120's, which is quite a shock from the mid to high 90's.

When Steph and I were in the Black Hills of South Dakota, we were out hiking a trail and talking about how nice it was there in summer. So cool and pleasant out. Then when we got back to town, we saw the that the temperature was 102 degrees out. Without the humidity, that felt nice to us.

Eddie

 

[Cat_Driver]

75 degrees!!!, We don't ever take off out jackets when it's that cold.

You want some heat come visit me at 125-130 during the summer.
So hot around here if you set down a wrench you can't pick it up again without getting burned by the tool.

You drink gallons of water and never go to the latrine all day long.

Now THAT'S hot.

 

[EastTexFrank]

I came to Texas 25 years ago and to be honest, I've never got used to the summer heat. Now I find that I don't like it too much when it drops below 40 in the winter either. I know, I know, I just like to complain.

I work outside nearly every day, with beaks to cool off, and you just have to accept the fact that you are going to be soaked after about 10 minutes and that you are going to stay like that all day. I do like bush hogging and working with the L4740 tractor though. I can sit inside that a/c cab as long as my wife will let me. Man, whoever invented air conditioning ought to be given the Nobel prize. (I did hear that it was invented by a doctor in Florida who was working with malaria patients. Don't know if it's true or not.)

 

[ScottOkla]

I grew up near OKC without AC until I went to college in 1985. It wasn't too bad except for trying to sleep at night. We had one huge fan in the living room window that drew cool nighttime air from a few open windows into the house and out through the fan. I always positioned my bed crossways in front of my window and sometimes would sneak around and close the other rooms' windows a bit to get more flow through mine. It was between 80 and 90 degrees most nights in the house so the air flow was very much needed. Still I was OK with it. I remember getting out of church in the summer and enjoying climbing into the the heat of the pickup afterwards. I could not take the AC at church very well after not having AC for every other hour of the week.

Living in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex for 10 years was awful. The length of the summer combined with the temps around 100 for 40 or 50 days and the night temps not getting below 75 for months at a time really wore on me. I think living in the middle of any large city is noticeably worse than even just 40 miles outside of the concrete jungle. Two of the summers there stand out to me. One summer we had no measureable rain at my house for exactly 100 days and about half of those days the high temp was 100 or more. The other summer we had no rain at all in July or August and about 30 days in there over 100. If the lows would just have got down in the 60s it would not have been so bad.

 

[Redneck in training]

I am in India about 150 km from Hyderabad. Today isn't the hotest day but is 47C/116F. Have never sweat so much in my life.

 

[Skyco]

The humidity is the problem here in SC, it is just miserable out in the summer. I really dislike being all sweaty, the heat isn't the problem. Just yesterday I was touching up the paint on the deck of my car trailer and kept getting messed up by sweat dripping off my face where I was gonna paint.
One of my favored possessions in the summer is my Ryobi portable fan that uses the battery all my cordless tools use