July reminds me why I fled Dallas

I don’t know if I could call myself a climate change refugee, but a big part of why I quit my job in Dallas to move back to Birmingham was the intolerably hot summers. I know Birmingham is the Deep South and it’s relatively hot in the summers here. July is typically the hottest month. But more often than not, an afternoon thunderstorm rolls through and cools things down. Birmingham is tolerably hot. Dallas isn’t fit for human habitation.

I took screenshots of the forecasts for the next week or so for comparison.

Birmingham is warm.  OK, hot.  But it’s survivable.  Maybe a bit sweaty.  You’ll live.  I’ve got a couple of window units, I’m all right.  And there are lots of big trees and greenery around here, it softens the atmosphere.

Note the temperature scale on this forecast,  the top is at 90.

Here’s Dallas. 

Goodness gracious, 109 for three days straight and triple digits from then on?  And no rain in the foreseeable future?

Again, note the temperature scale.  It’s at 110.

When I lived in Dallas, I remember looking at these summer forecasts with dread.  Triple digits and no rain.  It was miserably soul deadening.

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