WTF: 106 Degrees Tomorrow?!?!?!

[slowtriguy]

Despite the heat, it was nice to be back on the bike after an illness and then travel. It was a good morning for an extended Arlington loop via McClean and Hains Point. There sure weren’t many folks out on the W&OD at least through Falls Church, especially for a Saturday.

[Arlingtonrider]

Ann,

Thanks for that nice invitation, but I’m really busy right now watching the TdF on NBC sports. Have a great day! (Will have to save my chores for after the broadcast.)

Kathy

p.s. Do you still need directions to Cap City? Or are you all set?

[KLizotte]

@slowtriguy 24521 wrote:

Despite the heat, it was nice to be back on the bike after an illness and then travel. It was a good morning for an extended Arlington loop via McClean and Hains Point. There sure weren’t many folks out on the W&OD at least through Falls Church, especially for a Saturday.

Welcome back. You’re just in time for the “cooling” period next week of low 90s/upper 80s. Funny how 92 degrees suddenly looks cool and refreshing.

Hope you are all healthy.

[MCL1981]

If you were thinking about jumping or crashing into the river to cool off, don’t bother. The water is 94 degrees.

[PotomacCyclist]

@mstone 24500 wrote:

In this kind of weather I’m usually soaking wet already–the big problem is that the humidity prevents evaporation.

It’s about 24% humidity this afternoon, though hot.

(I know there are differences between relative humidity, dew points, etc. But even though I’ve read explanations about it, I’ve never been motivated to figure it out. There are a few items in life that I really don’t care about. This is one of them. I’m not sure why. Usually I like learning about things.)

[pfunkallstar]

@MCL1981 24536 wrote:

If you were thinking about jumping or crashing into the river to cool off, don’t bother. The water is 94 degrees.

Yeah definitely had a bathtub like feel to it today. Where’s my ducky!

[PotomacCyclist]

I have to admit that my run yesterday basically stunk. I ran later in the day but it was still pretty hot. I cut it short after 1 hr 45 min. I wasn’t doing too badly but I could tell that I was nearing my limit. If it had been a race, there would have been aid stations with cold water, cold sponges, cold towels and misting tents. But I didn’t have any of that on my solo run, although I did pass by a few automatic sprinklers that served as instant misting tents.

Oh well. I wasn’t expecting too much for the day, just trying to maintain some endurance and technique. Might be some scattered thunderstorms this afternoon.

[Greenbelt]

I took over a gallon of water along for a 2 hour ride yesterday morning, which is what I’ve been using on hot afternoons for my 70 minute commute. Was almost enough, but I could have used more! I went through it all in the first 90 minutes! Two large water bottles on my bike and two 12oz bottles in my jersey pockets. Next day like that’s that hot, I’ll bring the camelback too maybe. I’m 2 or 3 pounds underweight this morning, so I don’t think I’ve complete caught up with the hydration.

[mstone]

@PotomacCyclist 24539 wrote:

It’s about 24% humidity this afternoon, though hot.

Humidity was down a bit, which was nice.

[creadinger]

According to the official data from the Capital Weather Gang we got to 105 yesterday, however the weather observer reported that the temp was at 106 for 1 minute, but to count it has to stay there for 3 minutes.

We went out for a 60 miler down in La Plata today. We got up at 4am to be done by 11ish. It was still nasty hot out there though. The humidity was a lot higher this morning than in recent days. Of course when the overnight low is in the 80’s you’re not going to be able to beat the heat no matter what. We desperately need this front to blow through.

[paytonc]

@PotomacCyclist 24539 wrote:

(I know there are differences between relative humidity, dew points, etc. But even though I’ve read explanations about it, I’ve never been motivated to figure it out. There are a few items in life that I really don’t care about. This is one of them. I’m not sure why. Usually I like learning about things.)

Relative humidity is just about useless — as air heats, it can hold much more moisture. Dew point is much more useful since it’s a fixed reference point, and can’t exceed the current temperature. That way, quite like you have a “70F = nice, 90F = hot” equivalency chart in your brain, you can also remember this:
< 60 = it's dry and sweat evaporates
60-70 = mildly sticky to very sticky
70-75 = feels tropical
75+ = swimming through the air

In many ways, dew point and wind speed are more important to whether I go biking than temperature. You can dress for just about any temperature, but there is nothing you can do to accommodate an 80-degree dew point or a 30 MPH headwind.

[PotomacCyclist]

Well, I just look at the temperature and the heat index. I don’t really care about the details. If they say it feels like XX degrees, that’s good enough for me. If it’s hot, it’s hot. Besides, there’s nothing I can do to change the weather. I try not to worry too much about things I can’t change. I’ll make certain preparations for it and then I go on with my plans. In extreme conditions, I pay attention to how I’m feeling and adjust my effort/pace or the workout duration or intensity as necessary. If I need to bail out early, then I will do so. But I don’t need to know exact dew points to tell me when I should ease off the throttle or bag it for the day.

[MCL1981]

This week looks to be a vast improvement. Temps in the 80’s and dew points in the low 60’s. But also mostly cloudy and some rain here and there. It’s summer so thunderstorms can popup nearly anytime. Please check the radar and weather before heading out.

Speaking of… This just in…

SPSLWX from 7/8/2012 11:35 PM to 7/9/2012 12:00 AM EDT for DC Area: STRONG THUNDERSTORM TO AFFECT THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

[pfunkallstar]

@MCL1981 24584 wrote:

This week looks to be a vast improvement. Temps in the 80’s and dew points in the low 60’s. But also mostly cloudy and some rain here and there. It’s summer so thunderstorms can popup nearly anytime. Please check the radar and weather before heading out.

Speaking of… This just in…

SPSLWX from 7/8/2012 11:35 PM to 7/9/2012 12:00 AM EDT for DC Area: STRONG THUNDERSTORM TO AFFECT THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Riding in this morning was damp but FANTASTIC! Sad that 85 feels like a walk-in cooler now.

[paytonc]

See, the thing is that heat index doesn’t mean anything to me: a 102 heat index could mean 99F+30% humidity (DP 62) or 90F+65% humidity (DP 76). I’ve done some strenuous hiking out west in the former conditions and been just fine, albeit with way more water than I first thought necessary. I’ve also walked the two blocks to Metro in the latter conditions and ended up sticky with sweat. Heat index is well nigh useless.

Heck, even temperature doesn’t even matter that much to me. The key isn’t whether I sweat — I seem to sweat whenever active outdoors above 80F or so — the key is whether that sweat evaporates into the breeze or just drips down my brow. And the quickest way to determine that is the dew point, with the caveat that 100F+ isn’t healthy.

What I’m saying is that I look at dew point first to determine comfort, then temperature. It’s not like I’m looking at more “details” than you — still just two data points — just different (and, for me, more useful) ones.

(Commuting daily in Chicago will turn you into a weather hawk. I also learned that, with basic winter gear, wind robs body heat a lot faster than still cold air will.)

There is something you can do about the weather: you can decide what to wear when biking, or (horrors) draw the line and say “no, not today.”

[Author]

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