PHILADELPHIA — The first big
heat wave of the summer is here, bearing down on all parts of the U.S.,
following temperatures that blistered the West Coast in June. Typically
heat waves occur twice every summer. Meteorology director Jeff Masters
of Weather Underground says expect the current bout of oppressive heat
to last a bit longer than the usual three days. Look for relief by
Saturday.
1. HEAT WAVE HIGHLIGHTS
Temperatures in the
Northeast are five to ten degrees above normal, with New York City
experiencing the highest above-normal temperatures of any place in the
country. The hottest summer in U.S. history — an average 73.83 degrees
for the season — occurred during the Dust Bowl in 1936. The 2011 and
2012 summers tied for second hottest but were only one-tenth of a degree
cooler than the record.
2. ODD BEHAVIOR
While the Northeast
is burning up, Texas and Oklahoma recorded their all-time lowest
temperatures for July 15. And in parts of Alaska, the readings were
warmer Monday than parts of Texas. Alaska's eastern interior was in the
low 80s, while Abeline, Texas, recorded a cool 68 degrees.
3. BAD HAIR WEEK
Besides
making everyone uncomfortable, humidity is hard on a hairdo. Curly hair
tends to frizz and flat hair tends to get, well, flatter. Alyssa
Johnson of Pulse Beauty Academy near Philadelphia says the solution is
to use special hair products to "seal" hair against the dense, moist
air.
4. BASEBALL'S HOT AIR STATS
It is not a myth but a
matter of physics that baseballs fly farther in hot, humid air. Physics
professor Alan Nathan of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
explains. "The higher the temperature, the less air resistance, so the
ball flies farther." Each increase in temperature by 10 degrees can
increase the flight of a ball by 2 1/2 to 3 feet. A ball hit during the
heat wave could fly 15 feet farther than a ball hit in 40-degree weather
in, say, April in Chicago.
5. HOT PHONES NOT SO SMART
Most
smartphones are designed to withstand extreme temperatures — many of
them shut themselves down when they sense too much heat. But the
batteries that power phones are still fairly vulnerable. Engineering
professor Yury Gogotsi at Drexel University says high temperatures can
cause batteries to die faster than normal and can lower a battery's life
expectancy.
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