Thursday July 21, 2011
By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday July 21, 2011
The hottest day ever?
With a Stage 3 heat alert, thousands across Hamilton — from city workers to youth soccer players to the elderly — are bracing themselves as temperatures are set to climb to 37 Celsius. But with the humidex, it will feel like 48.
That’s as hot as Austin, Texas, as Dubai or Jerusalem.
While temperatures are measured at the airport, they could be slightly higher in other parts of the city.
The semi-good news is that there is a good strong breeze at 21km/hr. However, Dave Phillips, senior climatologist at Environment Canada said that at temperatures 37 C and higher, “the wind really becomes a disadvantage,” as it just blows hot air instead of evaporating sweat to cool us off.
Hamilton could break a record for hottest day ever today as temperatures could go above the projected high. The honour currently goes to a July scorcher in 1911 when the thermometer topped 41 C, according to Environment Canada.
Michael Chater doesn’t usually mind the heat. He’s decided to throw in the cold towel and head to a motel.
“I don’t have any air (conditioning), I’ve been meaning to get it,” he said Wednesday. “I have fans, but it was 31 in there (the house) the last time I looked.”
Phillips said in past heat waves, it’s the temperatures still steaming at night that cause the most problems. With a high of 37 and a low of 25, Thursday’s average expected temperature is 31 C. Until now, Hamilton’s highest average (since 1959) was recorded on Aug. 1, 2006 when the mercury hit 29.6 C.(Source: Hamilton Spectator)