Beech Tree News Network

When you work at a business where you see members of the public on a daily basis, you glean a lot of information about the weather.  I’m often entertained by weather indicators that have been passed down through the generations like, lots of nuts in the fall mean there’s a wicked winter headed our way or when it rains on the first day of the month, we will get fifteen days of rain during that month. 

Much of the conversation at our business includes stuff like how much or how little rain we’ve received over any given time; how hot or how cold it is; and especially, what kind of weather we used to have compared to what kind of weather we now have and what kind of weather we’re likely have in the future.  These observations and predictions are dependent upon the “infallible” memories of whomever you happen to be talking to.

                My husband, Garey, and I recently had one of these kinds of conversations.  It fell under the “what kind of weather we used to have” category.  The discussion began when I started complaining about the oppressive heat we’ve had since almost the first week of June of this year. 

                “I don’t know what’s going on,” I said, “but it didn’t used to get this hot this early in Kentucky, and it certainly didn’t stay this hot this long.  I remember when I first went to Alabama with you, and I thought, how do people survive in this kind of heat? And now we’re living in it!”

                “You’re just getting older, and the heat bothers you more,” Garey said.  “Don’t you remember 1976, when we went to New Mexico to see your sister, and when we got back to Nashville and had to drive home in the Datsun B210 without an air conditioner?  It was 107 degrees!  The wax owl candle on our coffee table was melted into a blob!”  (Garey always uses that “wax owl candle” story when he discusses record heat with anybody.  It was a gift from I can’t remember who, an unsightly green colored thing, and I was glad to be rid of it.  Little did I know, it would live on in our lives as a scientific heat index indicator.)

                “I’ve lived in Kentucky my whole life, and I don’t remember having heat like this!” I huffed.  “I’m going to look up the statistics online, and I bet I’ll be right!”

                So I did. First, I looked up weather history for the Ohio Valley, near Louisville, where I grew up. This is what I found at Intellicast.com. For the month of July: Average low 70 degrees; Average high 87 degrees; Record low 49 degrees (1947); Record high 107 (1980).  For the month of June: Average low 65 degrees; Average high 83 degrees; Record low 42 degrees (1966); Record high 102 degrees (1952).

                That information certainly didn’t help my argument, especially the July record of 107 degrees in 1980 and the June record of 102 degrees in 1952.  I decided to look at the history for the Bowling Green/Morgantown area, where I’ve lived for the past forty-two years.  For the month of July: Average low 68 degrees; Average high 89 degrees; Record low 46 degrees (1947); Record high 107 degrees (1980).

                I stared at the information in disbelief.  I knew what this meant.  It was the worst possible outcome.  Garey was right.  I’m getting older, and the heat bothers me more.  Worse than that, the annoying wax owl candle was actually an accurate heat index indicator.  Wonder where I can get one.