Heat Dome Over America

[Joe Hillshoist]

92 feels like 91.

I like that. Such a relief.

Man that sort of heat sucks hey. Like wintler says, if you live in Australia you'll experience it at some point. It'll cool down eventually tho (in a few days maybe.) I know you don't believe that right now, but it will.

If you find a breeze or draft and a water spray bottle you might cool down a bit. Filling buckets of cold water and putting them in front of open windows sometimes helps.

[82_28]

I have to point out that summer has finally arrived in Seattle. But it is not supposed to break 80. It could, but even if it did. Yeah. It ain't no 107. However, the days are getting noticeably shorter per 24 hour period. So that will be that. Here's to August. Halloween will be here any time and then onto christmas. The only drawback to being "this far north" is that the Sun invariably begins its noticeable procession and you know it will all be over soon.

[Pele'sDaughter]

N Texas is at 33 straight days of over 100F temps and no rain to speak of. ERCOT is now threatening rolling blackouts due to high demand for electricity.

http://www.nbcdfw.com/weather/stories/126138273.html

Wednesday marked 33 straight days of temperatures hotter than 100 in North Texas, and it looks like getting to 35 or 40 consecutive days will be easily done.

By 1 p.m. Wednesday, the temperature in DFW had risen to 103 degrees. The high reached 109, a record for this date.

The hot temperatures will stick around for the rest of the week, with expected highs of 109 on Thursday and 107 on Friday and no rain in the forecast. By the weekend, the highs will fall but will remain in triple-digits.

Tuesday's high of 110 was the hottest it's been all year, beating Monday's record of 107 degrees and setting an all-time record for that date. It was the hottest day in North Texas since 2000 and just 3 degrees shy of the all-time record set in 1980.

We should end the work week at 35 consecutive days of triple-digit temperatures. At that point, we would be just seven days away from breaking the record of 42 consecutive days set in the oft-remembered summer of 1980.

So far this year, we have had 39 days of triple-digit heat. The all-time record high at DFW was 113 in the 1980 Texas Heat Wave.

[Joe Hillshoist]

Any beaches in texas? Probably covered in oil anyway...

[Canadian_watcher]

Southern Ontario had more than a week of temps mid to high 30s with the Humidex ('feels like temp') past 40 (converts to roughly 110F). We also went through a relatively long period without rain.. and then in one fell swoop my city got something like 4 inches in 3 hours.

Mayhem since the water ran off the hard ground directly into places it normally doesn't go.

We had cars floating down the streets, kids swimming on their lawns, roads closed and hundreds of basements full of water.

I'm living in fear of a repeat since the weather went straight back to hot and clear again afterwards.

[elfismiles]

N Texas is at 33 straight days of over 100F temps and no rain to speak of. ERCOT is now threatening rolling blackouts due to high demand for electricity.

http://www.nbcdfw.com/weather/stories/126138273.html

Just got this via my day job...

NEWS RELEASE: Electric Reliability Council of Texas

Power Warning - Conservation Critical

High risk of rotating outages; Consumers asked to conserve electricity from 3-7 pm

Austin, Aug.4, 2011 -- Consumers and businesses are asked to reduce their electricity use during peak electricity hours from 3 to 7 p.m. today to avert the need for rotating outages.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT), system operator for the state’s bulk transmission grid, initiated Energy Emergency Alert Level 2 at 2:26 p.m. today due to responsive reserves below 1,750 megawatts (MW).

“Interruptible loads – large customers paid to be dropped in a level 2 emergency have been deployed,” said Kent Saathoff, vice president of system planning and operations.

“Capacity is expected to be very tight over the peak today – particularly between 4 and 5 p.m. We are asking consumers and businesses to reduce their electricity use as much as they are able during peak electricity hours from 3 to 7 p.m.,” Saathoff said.

Consumers can help by shutting off unnecessary lights and electrical appliances, minimizing the use of air conditioning and delaying laundry and other activities requiring electricity-consuming appliances until later in the evening.

Power Warnings are issued by the electric grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), when there is a high risk that rotating outages will be needed to reduce load.

The emergency procedures are a progressive series of steps that allow ERCOT to bring on uncommitted generation and power from other grids. If the situation does not improve, ERCOT will first drop load resources (a market-based demand response program) and other resources under contract to be interrupted during an emergency. Only as a last resort (Power Emergency) to avoid the risk of a complete blackout does ERCOT ask utilities to reduce demand by dropping load through rotating outages.

Rotating outages are controlled, temporary interruptions of electrical service initiated by each utility when supplies of reserve power are exhausted. Without this safety valve, generators would overload and begin shutting down to avoid damage, risking a domino effect of a region-wide outage.

The outages are typically limited to 15-45 minutes before being rotated to a different neighborhood. Some customers may experience longer outages if power surges cause equipment failure during the restoration process. Customers can minimize power surges by turning off appliances, lights and other equipment, except for one task light to determine when power has been restored.

Consumers should contact the utility company/ transmission provider listed on their electric bill for information about power outages at their homes or business, or about rotating outage procedures for their area.
Energy Emergency Alert Communications
Conservation Tips
Consumers can help by shutting off unnecessary lights and electrical appliances between 3 and 7 p.m., and delaying laundry and other activities requiring electricity-consuming appliances until later in the evening. Other conservation tips from the Public Utility Commission’s “Powerful Advice” include:
• Turn off all unnecessary lights, appliances, and electronic equipment.
• When at home, close blinds and drapes that get direct sun, set air conditioning thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, and use fans in occupied rooms to feel cooler.
• When away from home, set air conditioning thermostats to 85 degrees and turn all fans off before you leave. Block the sun by closing blinds or drapes on windows that will get direct sun.
• Do not use your dishwasher, laundry equipment, hair dryers, coffee makers, or other home appliances during the peak hours of 3 to 7 p.m.
• Avoid opening refrigerators or freezers more than necessary.
• Use microwaves for cooking instead of an electric range or oven.
• Set your pool pump to run in the early morning or evening instead of the afternoon.

Businesses should minimize the use of electric lighting and electricity-consuming equipment as much as possible. Large consumers of electricity should consider shutting down or reducing non-essential production processes.

How to Track Electricity Demand
• View daily peak demand forecast and current load at http://www.ercot.com/
• View daily peak demands by the hour at this link
• Get real-time notices of energy emergency alerts by following ERCOT on Twitter

Consumer Assistance
• Public Utility Commission Consumer Hotline – 1-888-782-8777
• Office of Public Utility Counsel Consumer Assistance – 1-877-839-0363

Call Your Electric Utility for Information about Local Outages
ERCOT manages the state’s high-voltage bulk electricity grid. For questions about local outages at your home or business, or questions about rotating outage procedures for your neighborhood, contact the utility company or transmission provider listed on your electric bill.
American Electric Power - AEP
Austin Energy
Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative
Brazos Electric Power Cooperative
Brownsville Public Utilities Board
Bryan Texas Utilities
CenterPoint Energy
College Station Utilities
CPS Energy – San Antonio
Denton Municipal Electric
Garland Power & Light
Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative
LCRA
Magic Valley Electric Cooperative
Nueces Electric Cooperative
Oncor
Pedernales Electric Cooperative
Rayburn County Electric Cooperative
Sharyland Utilities
South Texas Electric Cooperative
Texas-New Mexico Power

ERCOT Region
The ERCOT Region includes Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin, Corpus Christi, Abilene and the Rio Grande Valley. It does not include the El Paso area, the Texas Panhandle, Northeast Texas (Longview, Marshall and Texarkana), and Southeast Texas (Beaumont, Port Arthur, and the Woodlands). Region map

# # #

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc., (ERCOT) manages the flow of electric power to approximately 23 million Texas customers – representing 85 percent of the state's electric load and 75 percent of the Texas land area. As the Independent System Operator for the region, ERCOT schedules power on an electric grid that connects 40,500 miles of transmission lines and more than 550 generation units. ERCOT also manages financial settlement for the competitive wholesale bulk-power market and administers customer switching for 6.6 million Texans in competitive choice areas. ERCOT is a membership-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation, governed by a board of directors and subject to oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature.

Media Contact: Dottie Roark, 512-225-7024; droark@ercot.com