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High pressure system sends temperatures up
Published June 22, 2009
Hours spent in the midday sun, whether it’s children playing in the yard or workers busting out concrete and installing rebar, have become especially demanding in the past week as temperatures have skyrocketed to season highs.
An upper-level high pressure system that stalled over the Greater Houston area last week has warmed the air and kept cloud cover from developing, resulting in temperatures up to 7 degrees higher than in early June.
Temperatures recorded at the Brazoria County Airport in the last seven days have averaged between 90 and 92 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures recorded in early June, before the high pressure system moved in, averaged between 86 and 87 degrees.
At George Bush Intercontinental Airport, temperatures last week averaged between 96 and 98 degrees, National Weather Service forecaster Matt Moreland said. Temperatures at that airport before the high pressure system moved in averaged about 91 degrees.
“We’ve basically had the hottest weather of the season in the past six or seven days,” Moreland said.
It is hotter than it usually is this time of year, Moreland said.
And high temperatures are downright annoying for people who earn their paycheck working outside. That means frequent water breaks and trips to air-conditioned environments.
B.R. Williams and the rest of the Freeport street crews really have felt the high temperatures.
“It’s been mighty hot,” he said. “We’ve been trying to drink lots of liquids and get as cool as we can before we get out in it.”
Aldine Wright, who has helped maintain Clute’s parks and pools for 26 years, has been feeling the heat, too.
“Whenever we can, we try to cool off in shaded areas, but that’s basically all that we can do,” she said. “But we’re pretty much, I guess you could say, immune to it.”
Humidity is not playing a role in the increased temperatures, Moreland said. The weather service has seen heat indexes topping out at about 103 degrees while the high pressure system is overhead.
“That’s not all that unusual, really,” he said. “I think the humidity levels are pretty normal compared to what we usually see.”
Relief could be coming soon.
The high pressure system is expected to stay above the greater Houston area at least for another week, Moreland said. He said forecasters have indications there might be a change in the high pressure system’s pattern after Thursday, which could give the area at least a slight chance of rain.
The area saw rainshowers June 2 and 3. It saw a trace, or a less-than-measureable amount, on June 8, according to the weather service.
But until then, there are some easy ways to ward off heat before it becomes too much, Moreland said.
Brazoria County now is about 5 inches below its average rainfall and officials plan to ask commissioners to enact a burn ban for the coming weeks, county Emergency Management Coordinator Kenneth “Doc” Adams said.
People who spend a lot of time outdoors should take frequent breaks in air-conditioned environments, Moreland said.
While heat exhaustion is not too much of a concern at these temperatures, hours outside in the sun without a drink can compound the effects, Moreland said.
People should wear loose-fitting, light-colored clothing and drink plenty of fluids, he said.
People also can wet their wrists and other pulse points with cold water using a piece of ice wrapped in a cloth. Constantly cooling off the wrists also will cool off the body.
Nathaniel Lukefahr is a reporter for The Facts. Contact him at (979) 237-0151.
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