It’s the humidity…

I walked out this morning to get the paper from the end of the driveway and it hit me; for the first time this year it was really humid outside. Mother Nature has been hinting that it was coming off and on this spring but today, she threw down the gauntlet and said “Here I am!”

Now, if you live in the southeast, you are familiar with hot humid summers, it is a fact of life. It doesn’t matter if you like it or not. And one never gets used to it. Just stepping out on the veranda to survey the south forty is enough to cause big old beads of sweat to drip down your forehead.

We don’t have it as bad these days as we did back in the day. We move from our air conditioned houses to our air conditioned cars to our air conditioned offices and back. Still, sometimes the air is so thick with humidity that the thought comes to mind that I may not make it without breaking out my SCUBA gear. Which reminds me; I was always amazed at how cool the air you got from SCUBA gear was, regardless of how hot the tanks themselves were. Good old Boyle’s Law. Compress air and it heats up, decompress it and it cools down.

I can see it right now, you are rolling your eyes and saying “Boyle’s Law, Schmoyle’s Law!” Let me tell you that Boyle’s law has a big impact on summer life around here. The summer air in the area of the Southeast bounded by Montgomery, Alabama on one end and Fayetteville, North Carolina on the other is superheated by the compression of the air flowing off the Appalachian Mountains into the lower plains of the area. Folks in the Lowcountry have the advantage of the sea breezes from the Atlantic and the Gulf. But here especially in the mid day, during the summer, the winds are usually calm. It’s so bad that this time of the year, before the desert southewest heats up. The highest temperatures in the country are right here; Montgomery, Macon, Augusta, Columbia, Florence and Fayetteville are the warmest cities.

And, with the heat, humidity and stagnation comes milky white skies. That old song, “Those Hazy, Lazy Days of Summer” jumps off the Nat King Cole 45 RPM record and says “Got ‘Cha!” Just think about that, the next time you complain about Old Man Winter!

How did we ever survive the summer heat and humidity growing up in Florida? We didn’t even have air conditioning in our homes and classrooms, and very few offices were air conditioned. I was so grateful when Saturday afternoons arrived and Mom would give us each 26 cents, for a Coke, a box of popcorn and a matinee down at the air conditioned Lake Shore Theater. Yes, I did say 26 cents; one and a half percent of the cost of the same today.

Things got better when one summer in the late 50s, Dad, my brother and I spent two days installing an attic fan. That was a game changer. Now we could take our mandatory mid afternoon naps without lying in a pile of sweat. It was relaxing to lie there and listen to the lawn sprinkler go “ki ki ki ki swish” The sprinkler served two purposes, first and foremost, to water the lawn and keep it healthy and lush all summer long. But it also knocked down any dust in the area that would otherwise be pulled in through the window screens. Fresh air, the smell of summer grass and the sounds of the “snick snick” of the fan belt on the attic fan are some of my most favorite memories of growing up.

The forecasters tell s that we should expect a hot summer for most of the country, with above-normal temperatures dominating June, July, and August. The lucky ones this year are those in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes where they are forecasting near normal temperatures. I know that those long range forecasts are historically not very accurate but it doesn’t take a PHD in Meteorology to read the tea leaves. It’s gonna be a hot one out there, my friends. Be sure your air conditioners are up to the task.

So to Mother Nature I have this to say. “Yo Mamma! Bring it! We come from sturdy stock, we know how to do “Summer” around here!“ Oh MY!