4 ms·

I'm sitting on the floor by my window in my top floor apartment in Seattle, which is not air-conditioned. I've lived in Seattle for over 5 years, and I've notic

by hacknat 12y ago

I'm sitting on the floor by my window in my top floor apartment in Seattle, which is not air-conditioned. I've lived in Seattle for over 5 years, and I've noticed the summers getting hotter. Air conditioning used to be a rare thing in this city, but more and more people I talk to are caving this July. I've always been sensitive to the heat, sleep being hard to come by in the "pall", as Miller calls it. It's nice to commiserate with the past, because my wife can sleep through anything.

grogenaut 12y ago
you are empirically incorrect. Pull up the values. in 2010 it got up to 98, 2011, 2012 it didn't break 90, last year it hit 92 for 2 days. This year it still hasn't broken 90, though the insurance building in SLU said 92 at the peak today but that sign is in direct sun by their solar panels which are also hooked to the sign. Also that sign was reading higher solar output (5.8 vs 3.2) earlier this year when it was cooler which shows the effect of heat on solar panels.
- aaronbrethorst 12y ago
  We're about to have five consecutive days of >= 90º weather[1]. Also hacknat was lucky to miss the Worst Week Ever in Summer 2009 when the temperature peaked at 103º[2] Meanwhile, I'm unlucky enough to be heading down to Portland for the weekend, where temperatures are expected to peak at 95º and 98º. Yuck. (Also, I broke down and bought an air conditioner last year, as I had a south-facing apartment and a brachycephalic dog[3], who couldn't deal with the heat. I have the AC running and my apartment is currently a glorious 68º :D) [1] http://www.weather.com/weather/5-day/Seattle+WA+98122:4:US http://www.weather.com/weather/5-day/Seattle+WA+98122:4:US [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Pacific_Northwest_heat_wave http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Pacific_Northwest_heat_wav... [3] Moxie: https://www.flickr.com/photos/aaronbrethorst/8590965099/in/set-72157630593075360 https://www.flickr.com/photos/aaronbrethorst/8590965099/in/s...
  - tzs 12y ago
    I didn't realize Seattle was so slow to cool at night. I believe Seattle and Kitsap County had about the same highs today, but by midnight we were down to around 59º here on the Kitsap side, whereas the weather sites are telling me Seattle was still around 72º.
    - seanmcdirmid 12y ago
      Seattle usually cools quickly at night. I'm a bit stumped by this also.
- adventured 12y ago
  Wouldn't the average temperatures be a lot more important than brief highs on one or two days? Many of the record highs for Seattle were set 40 or 50 years ago. There is only one new monthly record high in the last 20 years. http://www.seattle.gov/html/weather_averages.htm http://www.seattle.gov/html/weather_averages.htm Would love to see a 50 year breakout on the average highs and lows by year and month for eg Summer in Seattle. I can't seem to locate data of that sort pre-organized.
- bumbledraven 12y ago
  Could humidity be a factor here?
lelandbatey 12y ago
As someone who grew up in the Seattle area, i remember not having air conditioning and how miserable it was (briefly) each summer. I've since moved somewhere much hotter (Richland), but since everywhere is air conditioned, I actually prefer it!
- WalterBright 12y ago
  I've lived in Seattle for 35 years. An awful lot depends on how the house was built. I used to live in a house that was poorly designed, and it would heat up like a greenhouse. The house was so uncomfortable when I finally moved and had one built, I spent a lot of time with the design so that it passively cools itself. It'll stay at least 10 degrees cooler than outside with no power applied. It really isn't that hard, but it's clear to me looking at typical houses around here that nobody even thinks about it when building.

by hacknat 12y ago

grogenaut 12y ago

you are empirically incorrect. Pull up the values. in 2010 it got up to 98, 2011, 2012 it didn't break 90, last year it hit 92 for 2 days. This year it still hasn't broken 90, though the insurance building in SLU said 92 at the peak today but that sign is in direct sun by their solar panels which are also hooked to the sign. Also that sign was reading higher solar output (5.8 vs 3.2) earlier this year when it was cooler which shows the effect of heat on solar panels.

aaronbrethorst 12y ago
We're about to have five consecutive days of >= 90º weather[1]. Also hacknat was lucky to miss the Worst Week Ever in Summer 2009 when the temperature peaked at 103º[2] Meanwhile, I'm unlucky enough to be heading down to Portland for the weekend, where temperatures are expected to peak at 95º and 98º. Yuck. (Also, I broke down and bought an air conditioner last year, as I had a south-facing apartment and a brachycephalic dog[3], who couldn't deal with the heat. I have the AC running and my apartment is currently a glorious 68º :D) [1] http://www.weather.com/weather/5-day/Seattle+WA+98122:4:US http://www.weather.com/weather/5-day/Seattle+WA+98122:4:US [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Pacific_Northwest_heat_wave http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Pacific_Northwest_heat_wav... [3] Moxie: https://www.flickr.com/photos/aaronbrethorst/8590965099/in/set-72157630593075360 https://www.flickr.com/photos/aaronbrethorst/8590965099/in/s...
- tzs 12y ago
  I didn't realize Seattle was so slow to cool at night. I believe Seattle and Kitsap County had about the same highs today, but by midnight we were down to around 59º here on the Kitsap side, whereas the weather sites are telling me Seattle was still around 72º.
  - seanmcdirmid 12y ago
    Seattle usually cools quickly at night. I'm a bit stumped by this also.
adventured 12y ago
Wouldn't the average temperatures be a lot more important than brief highs on one or two days? Many of the record highs for Seattle were set 40 or 50 years ago. There is only one new monthly record high in the last 20 years. http://www.seattle.gov/html/weather_averages.htm http://www.seattle.gov/html/weather_averages.htm Would love to see a 50 year breakout on the average highs and lows by year and month for eg Summer in Seattle. I can't seem to locate data of that sort pre-organized.
bumbledraven 12y ago
Could humidity be a factor here?

lelandbatey 12y ago

As someone who grew up in the Seattle area, i remember not having air conditioning and how miserable it was (briefly) each summer. I've since moved somewhere much hotter (Richland), but since everywhere is air conditioned, I actually prefer it!

WalterBright 12y ago
I've lived in Seattle for 35 years. An awful lot depends on how the house was built. I used to live in a house that was poorly designed, and it would heat up like a greenhouse. The house was so uncomfortable when I finally moved and had one built, I spent a lot of time with the design so that it passively cools itself. It'll stay at least 10 degrees cooler than outside with no power applied. It really isn't that hard, but it's clear to me looking at typical houses around here that nobody even thinks about it when building.