You’ve heard people saying, “It’s been unseasonable warm.” Of course, to play devil’s advocate, Summer is the SEASON when we have our warmest temperatures. I’ve been a Outer Banks Broadcaster over 20 years, and I admit the heat does pose one on-mic challenge, I struggle with the responsibility of reminding listeners to “stay hydrated.” Truthfully, if someone hasn’t figured out they need to drink more water when it’s over 90, I’m not sure I can get them over Thirst Mountain. Everyone should know they need to drink more water. Nobody under the hot sun could be thinking, “I’m sweating so much, I bet soup and a country ham sandwich would be wonderful.”
While I can be undecided on hydration reminders, I will let listeners know the beach can be scorching. If Beach104 issues a “Hot Sand Warning,” then pay close attention. OBX sand can rise to 140 degrees. That’s not a reasonable scenario for sustained bare footin’. It’s also a bad scenario for your dog. Your dog doesn’t want beach action when it’s mid-day in mid-July. Your dog isn’t a fan of unseasonably warm weather because your dog is dressed for a different season. Fido wears a Winter coat.
I respect the heat, but I’m not a heat hater. However, the heat conjures one thing I thoroughly disdain. The constant Social Media posts which incorporate the photo of a working in-car thermometer. In the last 48 hours, I’ve scrolled through at least 171 such snapshots. Again, we get it, it’s hot outside. Fun fact, Meteorologists will tell you the car reading is usually a couple degrees off. I hate to disappoint, but that means a picture perfect score of 100 is actually 98.
Speaking of Meteorologists, for further clarification you can always watch the Weather Channel. The Weather Channel, fresh from having announced July 9th that the Outer Banks was “being menaced” by a Tropical storm not even close to our coast, is perpetually dropping cutting edge atmospheric knowledge. For instance, the other day, a Weather Channel headline read, “Lightning can cause power outages.” But my new favorite Weather Channel scary hype phrase is, “Eighty million Americans are currently under a Dome of Heat.” From what I’ve gathered, this hyperbolic phenomenon is very bad news for those suffering from heat induced Tholosphobia. In case you weren’t aware, Tholosphobia is the fear of domed structures, and according to Jim Cantore there are 80 million people in this hot dome. Hope all inside “the dome” are washing their hands, staying socially distant, and wearing a mask where social distancing isn’t possible.
On that note, I guess I’ll give in, and remind you to hydrate, after all, I think I saw somewhere on Facebook that said,”This is the most intense Outer Banks heat wave since the birth of Wanchese.” They had a pretty cool photograph of the baby Wanchese in the post so I know it’s true.