Just Another Day In Paradise...

 

STAFF REPORT

McALLEN, Texas | It's the last day of June, and that's the good news. The bad news is that tomorrow is the 1st of July and this heat we've been living the past three weeks will only get hotter. Buy yourself a T-shirt and stay in it through the end of August. There is a little relief in sight if you actually believe that a 30% chance of rain predicted for next week will bring rain.

Welcome to the oven, baby.

This from the National Weather Service serving the Rio Grande Valley: [ The dome shows no signs of loosening its grip this week, though the forecast for early next week does include the possibility of rain.

Record hot temperatures were observed across the Valley June 9 to 27 (daytime and nighttime temperatures combined), NWS weatherman Barry Goldsmith reported, adding that the relentless heat wave means June 2023 probably will go down as one of the five hottest Junes on record.

Heat indexes, which combine actual temperature with relatively humidity to give a "feels-like" temperature, reached 111 degrees and higher in many parts of the Valley June 12 to 28, while McAllen’s heat index peaked at 116 or higher for 12 days in June, including 11 straight days from June 13 to 23, he said. ]

Who knows about the numbers on sale of bottled water, but we've seen loads of people roll out of HEB with a cartful of Ozarka and other brands. Same at Costco and Sam's. Lemons and limes are going off the shelves in the fruit & veggies section as if that's all there is to mix with cold water to battle the raging heat.

And it's not just the RGV. Texas as a whole is baking, the "Heat Dome" extending into neighboring Oklahoma and Louisiana. Time will tell the rest of the sordid tale.

It's summer, of course, and, well, that's always a scorch around here.

No surprise there.

Still, the story must be told...

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[Editor's Note:...Staff Journalist Becky Salter reported for this story. It was written on deadline by Sun City Editor Don Duncan...]