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A summer for the record books

By Christine Anne Piesyk | August 27, 2007 |

It’s been a long, hot summer, and it’s not quite over yet. The relentless heat has toppled records dating back 137 years in Nashville, and there hasn’t been a lot of difference in the “feels like” heat between Nashville and downtown Clarksville.

Sunday marked the 32nd consecutive day of highs over 90, breaking a 53-year-old record, and setting another record — 24 consecutive days of 95+ temps. Middle Tennessee broke five daily high temp records in August.

Fifteen days in August saw temperatures top the 100 degree mark, more than twice as many as ever before recorded, and records have been maintained since 1870.

The daily high temperature in the greater Nashville area was 99.7 degrees.

It’s also bee a dry summer, with only 3.92 inches of rain recorded at Nashville since June 1.

These statistics do not reflect heat indexes, which can add six or more degrees to the heat levels in urban centers and extensively paved areas.

In Clarksville, we are in for a few more days of 90+ heat, but the end may be in sight: forecasters are calling for a “cool down” into the upper 80s by week’s end. No rain, though. At least not yet.

About Christine Anne Piesyk

With 40 years behind me (Huh? What? How did that happen?) as a journalist, feature writer, investigative reporter, editor, and film/theater/arts critic, I brought my liberal New England activism to Tennessee several years ago. having completed a midlife undergraduate degree in community organizing and women's studies, and an MA in Interdisciplinary Arts. I am currently an MFA student at Goddard College. I served on Future Search Commissions for two colleges and an issue-specific commission for the City of Northampton, MA, and did minor undergraduate work in studies in urban planning and community development. I am a community volunteer and a member of FreeThinkers for Peace and Civil Liberties. I am a certified storm spotter. In my spare time (define spare time please?) I am a voracious reader, obsessive movie buff, classical music junkie; I also and design and make sci-fi/fantasy and renaissance costumes. I have an unquenchable interest in just about everything. I see life as an ongoing opportunity for learning and adventure, with the best things still to come. All posts by Christine Anne Piesyk as presented on Clarksville Online are copyright ©2006, 2007 to the author.

Email: womanspeak@yahoo.com

Sections: Arts and Leisure, News
Topics: Heat, Heat Index, Weather records

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