Topic: One thing about New Mexico...

[Cienega32]

New high for the year - 101.1
New high for "this date" - 101.1 (100)
New Low for "this date" - 62.4 (64)

[Downlinerz2]

New high for the year - 101.1
New high for "this date" - 101.1 (100)
New Low for "this date" - 62.4 (64)

  Wow, just what you needed.... another record!  A better record would be the most fires put out in one day, or one hour.  I was happy that I could see nothing on the visible satellites today from the fires.   Up to 58% contained on Wallow.
    Mg

[Chris H.]

Today is going to be record breaking. 99*F for a high.  

Thankfully I fixed the swamp cooler yesterday. Sand and probably ash clogged the spider tubes, so I had to clear them.

7:42 am and the temp is already in the 70s. *pant pant pant*

[Farmtalk]

Hey! That sounds like me! With dew points in the upper 60s, temps usually fall to only 67 or 68...and its 80 by 1030 now...

[Chris H.]

230 and it's 95*F. We're not done yet.

Nice thing is, there's like hardly any humidity, and the house is chillin'.

Spent all morning getting ready for a two-day yard sale. When we have yard sales, it's like someone getting married around here...waaaaaaay too much planning for something so dastardly simple (not that weddings are simple, but you get the idea). You gather all the crap you wanna sell, you put up a list and then boom, start setting up early and pack up in the afternoon.

[Cienega32]

I didn't get under 76 overnite.

3:13 - 102.4 - New high for the year and "for this date"(100.0-2002).

And there's still another hour or 2 to go...

[Cienega32]

Oh, it's gonna be a hot weekend.

At 6:20, I hit 103.7 - my station's hottest ever June 23rd beating last year's 103.6. For it to peak at 6:20 is not a good sign. 3:00 to 5:00 is peak temp time.

7% humidity - 27 Dew - not too bad of a day for raking rocks and shoveling dirt while I wait for UPS {BEEP! Finally!}

[Chris H.]

Why would you even be outside in triple digit heat? 

Anything over 95*F is too damn hot LOL.

[Farmtalk]

Why would you even be outside in triple digit heat? 

Anything over 95*F is too damn hot LOL.

You cant let the weather keep you inside!

[Downlinerz2]

   Seems like they are getting a better handle on the Wallow fire every day.  Rose up to 67% contained today.  That's about 10% in a day.  Much faster than earlier.  Even though there was some increase due to backing.  I can't wait for them to get these out so I cannot imagine how much you guys must want them out...for good.
    Mark

[Downlinerz2]

   From this mean and anomaly forecast it does not look like there is going to be any cooling for the rest of June.  There is a 12F - 16F higher temp than norm for the period in the SW.
    Mark

[Farmtalk]

Where did you get those maps from Mark?

[Downlinerz2]

    They are from the following web site:  They are from the "short term Climate Outlook" menu on the page.
         http://wxmaps.org/pix.html       There are some good things here.
     Mark

[Farmtalk]

Thanks! I havent seen that site before...Looks like a great one. I have been on Weather Predition looking at Habyhints everyday.

[miraculon]

Question for the forum New Mexicans (and other SW state dwellers) from a wannabe New Mexican (when I retire).

I have noticed in my travels to NM (and West Texas) that a lot of people use swamp coolers. Since it was just mentioned, I thought I would ask about opinions on swamp coolers vs. "refrigerated air" freon based AC. I know that the RH is normally low and that they are quite effective in that case. From when I lived in Chihuahua City about 15 years ago, I remember that they lost effectiveness when the humidity got higher. Do you find this to be the case? What about maintenance?

Also, water is a more scarce resource in the desert. Despite water restrictions and cost, is it still cost effective versus conventional A/C? You still have to run both the swamp cooler blower and the furnace blower, so there is still electricity cost as a factor.

I suppose I will wind up with whatever is on the house I buy, but I thought I would ask while the topic was in play.

Greg

[Cienega32]

Definitely much cheaper than A/C. The trade off is high humidity and higher temps when it's hot & humid out.

I hit low 100s today and the swamper runs often. The house is a little below 80 degrees but with the ceiling fans not uncomfortable. If it was raining, I would be miserable. My humidity today was 4 to 8 percent most of the day so it wasn't bad at all.

Another thing, as I'm sure you know, is keeping some windows cracked. Maintenance isn't all that bad but the seasonal openng and closing can get old for me. I miss just hitting the "Heat-Cool" switch.

The trend is for A/C in the newer homes. Mine was built in 1999 and has a MasterCool Plus on the roof which has been very reliable and (from what I've been told) is the next step below chilled air.

[Cienega32]

104.7 for today's high - my third highest temp recorded on the station. 95.9 is the avg high for today on the station. 97.7 including today's temp.

Station highs:

108.2 - 06-06-2010
105.3 - 06-05-2010
104.7 for today
104.4 - 06-16-2008
103.7 - 06-23-2011
103.6 - 06-23-2010

[Farmtalk]

Supposed to get hotter for you isnt it?

[Downlinerz2]

    I do not know how you make it with humidities of 5% - 10%.  I realize that with 100F temp there is more moisture in the air than one would think but it is still miniscule! At 104 saturated air has approx 47g/kg mixing ratio at Sea Level. So at 5% there is approx 9g per 1000g air. In the winter here when the humidity in the house goes down to 30% I get a bloody nose once a week.  Before he died my dad was on Coumadin to thin his blood and he had some real gushers.  Had to buy some blood clotting inserts that we used on the rescue squad to stop the bleeding.  Not ever having experienced those conditions out there it seems like it would be really uncomfortable. Mouth dry, nose dry, skin dry.  It must not be as bad as I imagine or no one would live there.
   Mark

[Cienega32]

I do, on occasion, get the bloody nose out here. Haven't had one in a year or two so I'm sure I'll get one any minute now.  The swamp cooler keeps the humidity a little higher than I like. It's 39% right now and I wouldn't mind shedding 10% or so.

I've been in the desert for 30 years. The dryness isn't a problem other than the nose trick and headaches now and then. The big problem is when I go back east. THAT'S the killer. August of 2000 I flew out of Vegas at 1AM, landed in Miami at around Noon, went outside to wait for the shuttle and within 5 minutes I was completely drenched in sweat.

Drove back to Long Island summer of 2002 and I was going nuts being outside with that wet blanket of air surrounding me.

I love the desert when it's nice and dry like this. It feels nice!

[Cienega32]

Supposed to get hotter for you isnt it?

That's the forecast - 105 Sat & Sun. It'll go higher tho'. My #1 temp might be in jeopardy but I'm positive this weekend will provide a new #2.

I love watching new records for my station pop up! Even when my all-time low was busted by 20 degrees - from 10 to -10 I was ecstatic! 26 below wind chill? Loved it! Until I realized how damn cold it really was...

[Downlinerz2]

I do, on occasion, get the bloody nose out here. Haven't had one in a year or two so I'm sure I'll get one any minute now.  The swamp cooler keeps the humidity a little higher than I like. It's 39% right now and I wouldn't mind shedding 10% or so.
I've been in the desert for 30 years. The dryness isn't a problem other than the nose trick and headaches now and then. The big problem is when I go back east. THAT'S the killer. August of 2000 I flew out of Vegas at 1AM, landed in Miami at around Noon, went outside to wait for the shuttle and within 5 minutes I was completely drenched in sweat.
Drove back to Long Island summer of 2002 and I was going nuts being outside with that wet blanket of air surrounding me.
I love the desert when it's nice and dry like this. It feels nice!

   It sounds pretty nice the way you describe it.  I feel terrible when it is humid here so I can't imagine what it must feel like to you.  We get used to our conditions I guess.
    Mark

[DanS]

I do, on occasion, get the bloody nose out here. Haven't had one in a year or two so I'm sure I'll get one any minute now.  The swamp cooler keeps the humidity a little higher than I like. It's 39% right now and I wouldn't mind shedding 10% or so.

I've been in the desert for 30 years. The dryness isn't a problem other than the nose trick and headaches now and then. The big problem is when I go back east. THAT'S the killer. August of 2000 I flew out of Vegas at 1AM, landed in Miami at around Noon, went outside to wait for the shuttle and within 5 minutes I was completely drenched in sweat.

Drove back to Long Island summer of 2002 and I was going nuts being outside with that wet blanket of air surrounding me.

I love the desert when it's nice and dry like this. It feels nice!

That must wreak havoc with wood products such as furniture, doors, hardwood floors, etc.,  no ?

[Chris H.]

I've been in the desert for 20 years now. The nosebleeds for me happen when I travel to and from the Midwest every other summer. I too dislike humidity...ugh. My friend has been in Thorndale, TX for the last five months...he desperately wants to be back in Albuquerque...the humidity, while at 39-50% every day and the temps in the upper 90s...is unbearable to him. I don't really blame him. Kansas City last year was pretty yucky with upper 90s and 60% humidity (which led to some supercells later that day...)

Right now the humidity here in the Albuquerque area is about 5%, with temps in the upper 90s. The cooler is blowing 77*F air...pretty comfortable. Swamp coolers generally start to suck when it either rains (it gets really humid inside, but thanks to rain cooled air, it doesn't start to heat up the house at the same time) or we get a humid spell (generally in mid to late July, early to mid August, and occasionally in September here...). I do remember a few summers in El Paso when the Monsoon season was in full swing. It would be 95*F outside, and the humidity around 30%. My grandfather's house would be unbearable.

Generally, the new trend in desert homes is refrigerated air. "Green" homes (at least in Albuquerque) will generally have one or two swamp coolers instead of one big A/C system. I find in my neighborhood (a mix of late 70s, early 80s to mid 90s homes) have swamp coolers...however some of my neighbors have converted...the houses around here were not built for such.

Since my house had its garage converted into a room, we just crack the interior garage door when the swamp cooler is on...we have attic access in there, so we're cooling the attic...it might sound like we're wasting energy, but cooling the attic down means keeping the rest of the house cooler...and since the attic has vents, there's no need to crack a window.

[Cienega32]

That must wreak havoc with wood products such as furniture, doors, hardwood floors, etc.,  no ?

Yes, it does. And even more so with those pieces you assemble that use the pressed wood. The dry winter to the swamp cooler summer changes in humidity has taken a toll on a few pieces that I never had a problem with. Slight warping here & there. Had chilled air in Vegas and humidity was lower. Now I have a few drawers that rub and paper that constantly curls up on the edges.