Too damn hot and stormy

Yes, it's hot as hell out there.
How hot is it? Hot as hell and hell itself may be cooler
Storms, heat, and Summertime. (Videos and images by Doug Thompson)

Summertime is in full cooked and roasted mode. The days of temperatures in the high 80s and 90s, punctuated by rolling thunderstorms, too often including hail, and seemingly endless humidity, leave many of us dragging and seeking places of refuge.

Census data shows less than 50% of Floyd County homes are air-conditioned. For the 18 years that we have lived in our home in this Blue Ridge Mountain community, we have depended on shade from a large oak tree that shades our master bedroom and the ceiling fan that circulated air.

When this house was built in 1977, the humidity was not a problem. Neither was the heat. That was thin and this is now with climate change, a thinner ozone layer, and other ecological problems that dampen out days with oppressive heat and sweat.

I’ve gone through my archives of photos and videos, I find many that deal with the weather, the heat, and the thunderstorms.

How hot is it?

Too damn hot.

Yeah, it’s hot.
We guess this is one way to beat the heat. They were a sideshow at FloydFest.
Trying to deal with the heat at FloydFest.
Stop the rain?
A summer dip in the pool is one way to fight the heat, but watch out for sunburn.

John Fogerty summed it all up in “Who’ll Stop The Rain?”

© 2004-2022 Blue Ridge Muse

© 2021 Blue Ridge Muse