Temperatures between 104 and 110 degrees (40 to 43 Celsius) were common from Spain to Germany. The most extreme temperatures compared to normal focused in France, where monthly and even all-time records were broken.
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I went home on leave from Germany to the Central Valley of California in the summer of 1980.
When I left Germany, it was normal weather for June with temps in the 70s. Temperatures in California were also normal at 95-100+ degrees.
The first few days I was home I didn't do much of anything because of the heat, but I got used to it.
When I returned to Germany 45 days later, we were in a heat wave with temps right at 95-100 degrees and Germans were dying like flies because nobody had air conditioning, elderly people being affected the hardest. The local governments were issuing all kinds of common sense tips on how to stay cool - shit like opening up the house early in the morning and shutting all the windows and doors when it started to warm up, don't use the stove in an already overheated home, restrict all activity as much as possible during the heat of the day, etc.
Not once did I see a mention of taking a cold bath or shower during the day to cool down. Not even once. And judging by the aroma of the people around town, they didn't figure it out either.
I've never even heard that all too sensible tip here in Texas. Soak in a cold tub of water for a while and the heat feels pretty damned good for a while. Repeat as necessary until the A/C gets fixed. Sleep in front of a fan.
ReplyDeleteI remember all the stinky Germans when I was stationed there. But, hairy legged good looking women was a real mine blower!
ReplyDeleteHairy everything... First one I got scared the shit out of me. I woke up next to this wad of armpit hair that could have only belonged to an old man, but when she put her arm down, she was still pretty cute.
DeleteI was there in 78 & 79 and like Kenny said, the 70s were considered 'hot'. When it hit 70 degrees, they were running around with minimal clothing and swimming in water that couldn't have been over about 50 degrees, acted like it was fun. I was from the mid-Atlantic east coast and we didn't usually swim until the landmark 'Memorial Day' got here, when it was approaching the 90s.
Ed
I was there the same summer and didn't think it was that hot.
ReplyDeleteCourse i had just spent 2 years at Sill.
never will understand.... we never had a/c. i worked my ass off in 100 degree heat getting up hay, pulling tobacco, moving irrigation pipe etc. every summer. wtf, over? later, military training etc in 100 plus. unblouse our boots and untuck our shirts and keep humping. again, wtf, over?
ReplyDeleteJump school FT Benning Georgia, 1975. HOT! Every 30 minutes they had us roll through a bank of outdoor showers.
ReplyDeletesam
Took a motorcycle ride up to Copper Harbor, Michigan a couple of years ago. It was a steamy 100 degrees when I left, so I dressed accordingly.
ReplyDeleteBy the time I got halfway up Wisconsin, the temps were in the 50's and it was drizzling. Froze my butt off, even wearing everything I brought along. It drizzled constantly for the rest of the trip.
One of those road trips you don't forget.
I had a south Korean friend go to India for a wedding event. He said he was taking up to 7 showers a day. It's the humidity that gets you rather than the temperature. Simple things like wearing a hat, loose clothing, stay out of the midday sun, spray yourself with a hose are never mentioned.
ReplyDelete1989, Left Ottawa on a military flight to Cyprus Temperature was -19 ( early March as I recall). Landed in Larnaca Germany and the temperature was almost twenty degrees (all in celsius btw). Blew my mind.
ReplyDeleteYou need to take these temperature records with a large pinch of salt. They are generally set in places like airports and other places that have acres of tarmac. Some of the measuring equipment was only installed a few years ago. Sometimes the measuring equipment used to be in a green wooded area that has since been built on. There are countless cold temperature records set every year too, but these are ignored by the media.
ReplyDeleteWe always ride in full leather and get a kick outta folks freakin' out when we roll into a gas station. They ask if we ain't hot and I'll ask 'em why. "Hey, it's 109F today" is the usual answer, and I'll just lift my partially-zipped jacket away from my body and tell 'em it's only 98.6 inside here, as I pour a bottle of water on myself. Lotta bikers just smile when they overhear that.
ReplyDeleteJust make sure you drink more water than you pour on yourself.
Here in Arizona where it's reaching 112 now, 118 in a month or so, I carry around a middlin' sized squirt bottle of water to spray my legs and arms. Works like a charm.
ReplyDelete~Unclezip
I was at Luke AFB, west of Phoenix, in July, 1979 for F4 training. Whole flightline was concrete and summer temps got to 110F. Rule was, if you hadn’t started engines within 45 minutes of leaving the squadron, you had to return and spend at least 2 hours in air conditioning. Even if you made that limit, the F4 was not air conditioned, hot as hell on the surface or at low altitude. Had to climb for cool air. When the van picked us up after climbing down from the aircraft, there was an ice chest with bottled water and another with frozen wet towels – life savers. Back at life support, I could pour sweat out of my oxygen mask.
ReplyDeleteLC LtC