Summer 1934: Statewide Heat Wave
The summer of 1934 ranks as the hottest in Ohio since temperature records began in 1883. The average summer temperature of 75.7 degrees for June, July, and August broke the old record set in 1901 and was 5 degrees above normal. The hottest recent summer was 2003 with an average temperature of 73.8 degrees. Warm and dry weather was a trademark of the early 1930s in Ohio and much of the United States. Dry soil and parched vegetation provided little water for evaporation so surfaces heated to temperatures not normally experienced in the Heartland.
Temperatures during June 1934 were above normal on all but two or three days. July 1934 was the hottest month ever recorded in Ohio. Many heat records were set on July 21, including 106 in Columbus, 109 in Cincinnati, and 111 in Wilmington and Hamilton. It was on July 21, 1934, that Ohio’s hottest temperature occurred.
A weather station four miles northwest of Gallipolis recorded 113 degrees. Heat waves later in July sent temperatures to 111 degrees at Defiance, 110 at Fremont, 109 at Findlay and Chillicothe, 108 at Delaware, and 107 at Bowling Green. Heat takes a great toll on human life, especially among the elderly and ill. Estimates of the death toll in Ohio were about 160 dead just during the week of July 20-26.
This was prior to air-conditioning in homes. The oppressively warm nights during July 1934 led many residents to seek relief sleeping on porches, roofs, and even on their lawns.
The following photos are all taken from 1930 to 1936.
Historic Heat Wave In Hindsight: Hottest On Record In Washington D.C., Hotter Than 1930. Here’s a fascinating article from Ian Livingston and Jason Samenow at The Washington Post. Comparing apples to apples can be tricky, but these two meteorologists took the time to analyze the data carefully – here’s an excerpt of the story: “The average high from June 28 through July 8, 2012 was an astounding 99.5 degrees, besting 1930’s most brutal 11-day stretch (the first big heat wave was 12 days long with a 95 to start) by 0.5 degrees. When considering the average temperature (incorporating low temperatures as well as highs) for these segments of both years, 2012’s lead grows due to warmer overnight temperatures. 2012 finished with an average temperature of 88.0 degrees compared to 1930’s 87.0 over the 11 days.”
Indiana weather: Now, heat tolerance lower than 1930s
10:30 AM, Jul 6, 2012 |
Ike Miller carries his daughter Kayla, 4, through the water while beating the heat by cooling off in the Loeb Fountain at Purdue University, in West Lafayette, on Sunday, May 27, 2012. / Brent Drinkut/Journal & Courier
Before this heat wave is over, four days of triple digits in a row are forecast for Indianapolis — two days already in the books and two more expected today and Saturday.
Times are tough. But not like during the Dust Bowl, where, in 1934, Indy saw six 100-degree days in a row, followed by a string of nine consecutive 100-degree days in 1936.
And that was before air conditioning and 24-hour McDonald’s selling super-size drinks.
But do we feel the heat worse than our grandparents did? The evidence suggests we might, despite their lack of modern-day comforts. Or, perhaps, because of it.
“Back then, they had a lot less amenities to help,” said Earl Breon, a weather observations program leader with the National Weather Service. “I would think they would have been a little more used to the heat.”
But this isn’t “people were just tougher back in the day” talk.
Researchers at the University of Miami are showing it’s not always the intensity of a heat wave that causes the most severe cases of heat-related illness and death, but rather the “variability of the weather” in cities that have not experienced such heat — or, perhaps, populations that have not had to experience it, thanks to air conditioning.
Dr. Laurence Kalkstein, a bioclimatologist at Miami whose research is helping cities plan for heat-related disasters, argues that people in Arizona can handle heat waves much better than we can here, because their lifestyles (even their buildings) have adapted to such heat.
Here in Central Indiana, we are simply not used to this. And so, the argument goes, it hurts more.
The greatest impact from the heat comes not from extended periods of high temperatures, but rather the sudden changes — such as heat waves that occur in cities that do not normally get them, or those that occur early in a summer season, without sufficient time for residents to build up a tolerance to the heat.
“The data suggests the first few days of a heat wave are the most impactful,” Breon said. “And over time, you do kind of get acclimated to the hot weather, the longer it lasts.”
In other words, we should be getting used to this — and maybe it shouldn’t bother us. But it does, thanks to our dependence on “central air” in our homes and modern vehicles that can stay icy-cool on sizzling days.
Norma Barry, 67, Carmel, remembers growing up in South Bend in a house with no air conditioning and a coal-fired furnace that often overheated. She also remembers trips to visit an aunt in Chicago who had to have blocks of ice delivered to her apartment for her “ice chest.”
“I don’t remember 1936 because I wasn’t here yet, but I remember how hot it would get in the summer,” said Barry, who was attending a class at PrimeLife Enrichment, a senior citizens center in Carmel.
“That was a different time, and it didn’t seem like we complained about the weather much. We just opened up the windows for some breeze.”
But in 1976, that childhood toughness — perhaps a generation’s thick skin — began to slowly wear down when she moved into her first air-conditioned home in Carmel. Now, she admits, these summer heat waves can take a toll.
For the past few days, Barry has been staying inside nearly around-the-clock, stepping outside only to walk her dog in the early morning hours.
“We didn’t think much about weather back then, but this heat wave now, it’s really something. We will remember this for a really long time.”
http://www.jconline.com/article/20120706/NEWS/307060017/Indiana-weather-Now-heat-tolerance-lower-than-1930s
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