Coping with HOT weather

[Pete Bog]

   Those of you that live in the southern climates, how do you prepare for a heat wave and there is a power outage? Or you are stranded on the road home. What do you carry in the vehicle to get you through a night if it comes to that.
   Up here, Cold temps and blizzards can leave us stranded in our vehicles or homes. Electricity goes out we have backup heating and cooking sources. We can always throw on another blanket and huddle together in one small room. But what do you do on the other end of the weather spectrum? When  nighttime temps stay above 90, daytime temps start pushing 110 and the electricity goes out.
   We know cold weather and the possibility of a power outage is possible, so we stock up. In the Southern states, you know hot weather is coming at some point and a power outage is possible. What do you do to stay safe in those conditions? 

[crashdive123]

A few things are the norm for me to stock up on that will help with the heat.  Fans, both battery operated and corded.  Gas for the generators is always on hand.  If it is really bad, the vehicle AC is a short term option as is driving someplace (store, restaurant, etc) for some relief.  Getting in the water (neighbors pool, beach, river, lake).

I spent six hours splitting wood yesterday with the heat index well over 100 (saves on gym membership).  Plugging in a fan when I was done and soaking wet was nice.  It was still hot out, but the evaporative cooling was welcome.

[Mad-max]

We know some older folks that have never had a/c here.  We leave right about now.  But looking at 6, 8, 10 bucks a gal for gas by the end of the summer. On top of recent dental work and my medical procedures AND Kelly's going to look at a stupidly overpriced 4Runner today,  I just don't know.  We can do it but it's putting  a dent in our nest egg. 

We're going to have to curb our lifestyle a little for sure.

As for power outages, if you live in FL and don't prep for hurricane season you're an idiot.  Or just living paycheck to paycheck.  We have a big Honda gennie that we've never used.  But then you're getting back to the gas prices.

I'm just glad we live here and not out west with water shortages for personal use and providing power is dwindling rapidly.  I don't see a good summer for those folks.

[boomer]

In the desert there are a few things that are usual practice  Never travel without water, always have a hat, knife, belt, shoes and a something to create shade and things like that when outside the cities.  Living in the sticks it's just normal. There's always room for a 5 gallon water jug in the pick up. One benefit of the low humidity is putting on a wet shirt on a 100F day feels great.

At my elevation nights usually cool off a bit and sleeping outside is comfortable and of course shade is helpful and pleasant during the day. Living without AC or cooling other than a box fan, opening up the cabin before dawn and closing it when the sun starts climbing keeps things comfortable enough for a lot of the day.

Folks have sufficient water for personal use IF they recognize where we live. Its the other uses that drain our diminishing supplies.  Things like grass lawns, frequent car washing, open air backyard pools, monocrop irrigation practices and all the damn golf courses just don't makes sense in the arid SW.  Since folks refuse to deal with the desert on its terms the desert will end up dealing with them. And the desert is an uncompromising environment.

My area has been on fire for a month and likely will keep burning until it rains. Entire species of trees have been eradicated from large areas of our forests  and a few moths of Spring temperatures now lasts a few weeks. So it goes.

On the plus side we don't hear all the climate change denier nonsense anymore.

[Moe M.]

 Not being argumentative, but it was Global Warming that part of our society called BS on, for one thing the GW alarmists were citing earths temps back a thousand years, yet nobody kept records of such, and there were enough cases of Scientist and GW organizations cooking the books and altering models to match the lies in order to keep the money flowing in.
 I don't know anyone with two brain cells to rub together who denies that the earths climate is undergoing changes, what most thinking people believe is that the changes are natural just as they have been down through the earth history and not from the influence of the progression of mankind from the Cave to the BMW or coal fired energy plants or a bunch of farting cows.
 That the environment (Air, Water, and food production methods) is better today than it was a hundred years ago is not due to the Climate Change Crowd, it was the environmentalist and education advances among the people working with industry that advanced the cause of environmental change. 
 An again today, the leaders of the "Climate Change" movement could care less about the environment or climate change, their goals are Power, wealth, and world wide Control over the masses, AKA The Great Reset, New world Order, and One World Government.
 Has there ever been an accounting of where all this money paid into Carbon Footprint, or the Taxes and fees paid to the UN in the name of Global Warming/Climate Change, if there has I've never seen or heard of it,  I believe it's used to advance organized world Chaos and further the their agenda.

But Hey, I'm just a poor white boy with not much formal education.         

[Mannlicher]

I grew up in a time before air-conditioning.   I was a senior in high school before I lived in a house with A/C.  While I don't really like the heat of summer,  I can live with it.  My old '88 4Runner does not have A/C, and I drive it daily. 
It was hot in Florida back in the late forties and early fifties when I was a kid.  It's hot now.  Only idiots or agenda driven wokesters actually believe in AGW. 
Wear a hat and long sleeve shirts,  have water at hand, and stay out of the direct sun when you can.  It's not rocket science.

[boomer]

Also grew up without AC and don't have it now.

Used to like but do fine without it. Will run it in the truck from time to time though.

As for the climate issue I tend to go with peer reviewed science just as I do with medical research. Still critically evaluate  conclusions but facts are facts.

And of course folks can believe anything they and belief doesn't necessarily require fact. That's the definition.

In the meantime we're living with the effects of human contribution to climate disruption.
Maybe we need a really good conspiracy theory to put out all the fires and get rid of the smoke?

[Mannlicher]

Dream on, Boomer.   Dream on

[boomer]

Moe, appreciate the humor. Thank you.

[Pete Bog]

    Along the Canadian border states, at least from Montana to Michigan, every fall and winter, there are public service announcements on the TV and radio about how to pack a car kit if one should get stranded in a snowstorm or stalled in cold weather. The media is forever preaching about being prepared in the event of a power outage in the event of a winter storm. As Mannlicher said "It's not rocket science". But I figure they are trying to educate the new people moving in from the Southern states.
     There are leaflets, free for the taking, almost everywhere you go. What to pack, what to stock up on, just generally how to stay alive if things go bad in a winter storm. Bank counters, store checkout counters, highway rest stops, you name it. The pamphlets are all over the place.   
     When I lived in Virginia Beach and Memphis, there was a little information about Hurricanes and tornado preparations, but nothing about hot weather combined with power outages.
       When I've traveled, I don't recall ever seeing advisory pamphlets about hot weather survival. Is it something that's not done in the hot weather states?
     I did a little looking on the internet about how people kept cool in their homes back in the 50's. It generally talked about shotgun and dogtrot homes. Ten foot ceilings, transom windows in apartment buildings and tall double hung windows in homes.Cupolas in the roof. screened in sleeping porches and awnings over windows. All of which went out of style when Air conditioning became a common feature in homes. Features that may be sorely missed if an EMP or CME that people like to talk about every becomes a reality.
      Boomer, you touched a little on what to pack. "Water and something to make shade"
      How much water do you pack for two people? Do you fill a jug in the spring and freshen it again in the fall? Or do you grab a couple bottles as you walk out the door? Is your shade a golf umbrella or an eight by ten foot tarp with associated rope, stakes and poles? Do the people in the desert country use the cheap blue tarps or spring a few extra bucks for a white colored tarp? Maybe it doesn't make a difference. I don't know.
Do you pack insect repellent or is it not required? Here, mosquitoes will make your life miserable. even if all you have to do is change a tire at dusk.
      Or.....maybe cell phone coverage is so complete and there are so many people around now that one doesn't need to worry about being stranded on a back road. Are the days of telling stories of unexpected adventures over? Maybe. The last one I had was 1984. 20 years before cell phones became common. And even then, we were rescued by Marine Patrol because we told family where were were going and how long we'd be gone.
Marine Patrol was happy because they got to "Rescue" someone. Family was happy because they got to make the call that got us "Rescued".
Everyone was a hero except my father and I. We were a little disappointed because we were "Rescued". In our opinion, we were doing just fine.
We had run out of gas (dumb mistake) and had transitioned to paddling instead of outboard motor. We were moving along and might even have made it back to the landing before dark. if Marine Patrol hadn't interfered with our fun and put us in tow. But.....we got a story to tell anyway.
If it happened now, we'd use our cell phone to call the family and let them know we'd be a little late. No rescue required. Oh well,

[boomer]

Good post about the northlands. Winter can be fierce in some places in my area. At least it used to be. But, like you said it's mostly the heat.

Everything that flies, walks or crawls likes shade. I  prefer tarp for emergency use in scrub areas though ive never needed to use it. Areas like the Sonoran desert often have natural shade or materials to create it. The Chihuahuan not so much and the Mojave can be damn sparse  But there have been so many folks moving in that the long stretches of a couple decades ago are being populated somewhat. Clothing also provides shade especially a hat.

The biggest issue is water. In the warmer parts of the year someone used to the lower desert areas.might get by with a gallon or two maybe. An unacclimated person or one who doesn't understand the environment requires a whole lot more. When its just the dog and me in the truck heading out to the farther sticks it's 5 gallons. On a motorcycle traveling the back areas it was 2 gallons  I use it carefully either way too  Never had to but I wouldn't have been the first person to cool off in some ranch stock tank way out in nowhere.  Horses require a lot more water but that's a different thing.

Both my son and I have each come across people with heat related emergencies when out in the warmer months. Once within sight of their vehicle in my son's experience. Everyone survived fortunately People frequently underestimate the desert environments.

There's still places I frequent where it's 50 miles or more between anything. Interstate highways aside, it's pretty much a given no one will pass a stranded or broken down car and driver without offering help. Often folks on the roadside will wave someone slowing down on if they don't need assistance. But most everyone keeps an eye out. When help is requested I've never known it to be refused. Don't know anyone who would.

The SW can be an uncompromising place.

I love it.

[hayshaker]

be it summer or winter it is only prudent to have a seasonal loadout kit in your vehicle.
some items are 12x12 tarps a couple hundred feet of para cord, a case of bottled water
road flares, ect i could go on and on but y'all get the idea

[boomer]

Certainly agree hayshaker.  Always surprising to see folks so blithely unprepared with even basic items. Tourists I can kind of understand but locals not so much. Been 115 a couple of times last week which can be pretty severe and the mountains are on fire again this year. Might be a little rain on the way, I'm hoping so.

Interesting how some still want to deny what we see right in front of us.