Today only topped out at 98 degrees at 4 PM with a heat index of 120.

Yesterday was the hottest day this year with tempts in the triple digits and a heat index of 135 degrees. Tomorrow will again be 100 degrees (or over) actual temperature on the thermometer. With the continuing high humidity, the heat index is predicted to again soar for the 9th day in a row.

It's been too hot for me to spend more than 5 minutes outside at a time. The local wildlife look extremely stressed (Lumpy has even totally disappeared), and my flowers have almost all stopped blooming. The flowers were just starting to recover some after the last extended heat wave in July/early August. That one set some records, but this one is even worse.

Tonight's low is expected to only drop to 85 degrees; maybe not even that low. The "normal" high for this date is 86. At 10 PM, the current heat index is still 102 degrees...


Meanwhile, believe it or not, we had two different guys out today who climbed around in our hot attic in order to give us estimates about cleaning up after the most recent raccoon encounter and redo the attic insulation. This heat wave has revealed that we can't wait to redo the insulation. Another company is sending a guy out tomorrow (midafternoon) to do the same. With the temperature outdoors, I can't even begin to imagine how hot the attic must be. But none of the insulation companies have expressed any concern about having one of their employees spend time in a hot attic during a brutal heat wave.