Heat wave on the West Coast, storms on the East Coast.

[Baitball Blogger]

Welcome to the new world.

[ProfessorGAC]

1. Meanwhile, Here In The Midwest...

...we had 7 straight days of rain, totalling 8 inches!
I think it was Wednesday, but at 9am it was 78° with a dew point of 76°.
It felt hot, and wasn't even 80!

[Baitball Blogger]

2. We know hot muggy weather in Florida.

The worst. When you're working outside you have to breathe through your mouth to get enough oxygen.

This week, we are in that same phase of rain every day. You would think that I would have learned from living here not to mess with clear finishes when there's a hint of rain. Yesterday I got up early to spray a clear on a craft project, hoping to get it in before the afternoon rains began. Big mistake. It dried cloudy and ruined the piece. I checked the instructions after the fact. It wasn't recommended when the humidity was over 60%. So I check the humidity levels: It was 83% yesterday!

[ProfessorGAC]

3. I Don't Run It Often, But...

...I have the dehumidifier running about 6 hours a day in the rec room.
Protecting the guitars & piano.
It actually is a hum/dehum unit so wood doesn't dry in winter. I almost never use it to dehumidify, because AC is enough.
But, with the backyard door opening & closing this room has the most moisture during the day.
Got to protect the instruments.

[Baitball Blogger]

7. Our air conditions have dehumidiers.

Helps to protect everything in the house, but not the best for the orchids.

[lark]

16. Hmm, that might explain my orchids dying so much.

I used to be able to grow them by the windows for many years of reblooming, but lately they die after about a year. Ive always had air conditioning, this is FL, so thats not new. However the heat/light levels coming through the windows seems to have increased. I'm experimenting now with how far back to have them where they live and rebloom and don't get killed by too much heat/sun. Maybe I should add a bowl of water again to the table where I keep them and add some localized humidity? I will try that too.

Wish me luck!

[Baitball Blogger]

18. If you have phaleonopsis orchids, they shouldn't get any direct light.

Also, plants next to a window get far too much heat because the glass intensifies the heat. If you see sunlight hit the plants, touch the leaves to see if you can feel heat. If you do, it's too much.

One of the common signs of excessive heat exposure is yellowing in the top leaves, to absolute black and brown burn.

And, yes, you can improve the humidity with a simple saucer, filled with stones and water. The stones are needed because the pot needs to be above water. Without the stones, the pot would sit in the water, where the roots could get root rot.

You can also use a mister.

[lark]

19. I do currently have only phalenopsis.

I didn't know this about windows, thanks for the information.

When I was in CA I grew cymbidiums outside, they were so freaking easy and beautiful. The climate here in N. FL is not as orchid friendly, too much variability, too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer. So, lately, I've been trying to grow phals indoors. Hopefully moving them back from the windows a little bit will be the answer, plus adding some extra moisture to the air, but definitely not their roots.

[ProfessorGAC]

20. Same Here

But, the rec room door opens & closes regularly to the garage or to take doggie out.
So, that room gets more outside air than any other.
It's a little unit. Only holds about a quart & a half of condensate
It's really more to keep the acoustic guitars & the piano soundboard from drying.
But, I had 65% humidity in here before I started using it.
We shed the front & temperature fell, so I'm not using it any longer.

[samnsara]

5. visited florida a few times could never live there. omg that humidity damaged my cell phone!

..at 8 am!

[Baitball Blogger]

8. I can't think of one good thing that the rain does for tourism.

Outside of needing it to maintain living things and keeping our water table at a safe level (think sinkholes), it's really all down time.

On the other hand, at least snow has its positive side for tourists who rarely see it.

[jimfields33]

9. Hurricane coming. Should hit Florida Monday-Tuesday

I hate those the most. Supposedly I live in the safest part of Florida for hurricanes. Forgot to remind Irma of that in 2017.

[Baitball Blogger]

10. This one, they say, is following the trajectory of Charlie, which hit our

community hard. A day and a half without electricity, many large trees down. It was a mess.

[jimfields33]

11. I hope it doesn't.

What part of Florida are you? I’m In Leesburg. I was not In Florida during the 4 hurricanes one after the other.

[Baitball Blogger]

12. I'm in Central Florida. The other side from you.

I was here for all those storms. Just stock up and make sure you have a safe place inside your home. Keep gas in the car.

Even if your power gets knocked out, life goes on in areas around you, which means food is still available for three squares.

I had friends who couldn't take the heat and escaped to a hotel room.

There are options. You just need to hope your house takes the initial blow.

And for most people, it's not the hurricane that does the damage, as much as the tornado touchdowns. It happens to a few. When Charlie came down, there was a near touchdown two houses down. It splintered a massive turkey oak that they had growing in their yard. We had Turkey oak debris all over the neighborhood.

[jimfields33]

15. Thank you for the tips.

This is the only thing I hate about Florida except politics. And yes tornadoes are frightening.

[lark]

17. Also, move all things that can be blown around to stop hazards.

We turn our bigger table upside down, bring all the chairs and the small glass topped table to the garage or shed, bring in the potted plants.

Have plenty of supplies for your pets, if any, including litter. Some kind of downer might be good too if they are high strung. Get the dogs to do their business as the storm starts, they might not be able to go out for awhile.

Have a big container filled with ice and cold staples and have bbq supplies ready. When you can't get out of your neighborhood because of all the big trees down and blocking the roads, this will really come in handy. Filling your tub with water is also a great plan, if you have a tub.

Hurricans are funny things, they move around a lot. Hopefully this won't hit you, but if it does, at least you have some suggestions. The worst is when there's no electricity, the storm is over and it's hot as freaking hell and your yard is just buried in tree limbs. It's usually survivable, just not comfortable.

[multigraincracker]

6. 3 weeks ago it was near drought, then

2 weeks ago it was severe drought and last week it was floods. Still waiting on the 115 degrees, but it's only the first of July.

[samnsara]

4. im in wash state had temps 30 degrees above normal 2 days ago and i have the heaters on now

[Baitball Blogger]

13. We heard about your crazy weather.

Maybe the earth is flipping on its axis?

[Sympthsical]

14. Meanwhile, NorCal is having an entirely decent summer

Dry as a bone, of course. There will be fires.

But, lows in the 50s, highs in the 80s. I can't remember such a pleasant temperature range. Usually we're in the upper 90s on the regular. Good sleeping weather. There was one weekend of triple digits, but for the past few weeks, it's been totally lovely.