The comments on the 106° moving day, brought to mind the "hell" we barely survived in the summer of 1980. I couldn't figure how to describe it, so just to see what came up, I Googled "weather archives Wichita 1980" . The following article came up—and just about says it all! We had to take some extraordinary measures at the restaurant, as our lives were literally in jeopardy. Tomorrow I'll discuss what those measures were. Hugs!
THE SIZZLING SUMMER OF 1980:
Sweltering heat took a long, unwelcome vacation in Kansas during the summer of 1980. The blistering heat arrived with a vengeance on June 24th when the mercury soared lika a fighter jet to 103 degrees. Afternoon high temperatures broke the 100-degree barrier each day for the rest of the month, culminating in a monthly high of 110 degrees on the 30th. The nighttime provided very little in the way of relief as lows in the mid to upper 70s were prevalent during that one-week span. Little did anyone realize that the atmosphere was just getting "warmed up". During July, the heat wave hit full throttle when high temperatures cleared the 100-degree hurdle a staggering 24 out of 31 days, including an eighteen day stretch from the 3rd to the 20th. The 4th was, quite literally, hotter than a firecracker, when another 110-degree reading was achieved. With heat that intense, some Kansans probably did their holiday barbecuing right on the pavement. The record heat reached a pinnacle on the 12th, when Wichitans baked in 112-degree temperatures. With nighttime temperatures in the lower 80s, air conditioners received the workouts of their life. It appeared that the heat wave was losing its grip, when a cold front crossing the region on July 21st caused temperatures to "nosedive" back into the mid 90s with overnight lows dropping to near 60 degrees. Not so, as temperatures shot right back up into the 105-110 degree range from the 21st to the 28th. The heat wave that wouldn't die was entering its third month. The record heat didn't break stride as August took the baton and raced to a high of 110 degrees on the 1st. In fact, 11 of the first 13 days of August would see triple-digit highs. It was on the 14th that "the sizzling Summer of 1980" began to ease its grip on Kansas, as temperatures settled back into more seasonal levels. However, it was too late, as 20 record high temperatures were set between June 24th and August 13th, all of which stand to this day. During the months of June and July, Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport only received 1.81 inches of rainfall, 0.47 inches of that was in July.
3 comments:
I think I would die with temperatures like that! I must remember never to complain again when it gets hot in Ohio.
I don't think I would have gone outside. I would have been in the air conditioning the whole summer or gone to visit someone up north.
We didn't have an air conditioner in the house we grew up in in Montana. My family was not as well off as most and I can just see the poorer families in Witchita that didn't have air just suffering horribly during that time period. That is neat that you can look all of that up and revisit it all.
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