NationStates Jolt Archive

Hot hot hot (http://www.theage.com.au/national/relief-for-melbourne-as-cool-change-hits-20090130-7tlp.html)

For those of you shivering in a northern hemisphere winter spare a thought for us here in south-eastern Australia.

I cool change has just blown through Melbourne reducing the temperature from 45.1ºC (113ºF) to a "pleasant" 37ºC (98.6ºF).

This is the first time ever that the temperature has exceeded 43º for three consecutive days (Wed 43.4º, Thur 44.3º).

Adelaide has had it even worse. They've had about a week of it with even higher temperatures.

Old people are wilting, railway tracks are buckling and bushfires are spreading.

Yesterday, we were sent home early for occupational health reasons because the air-conditioning failed.

Ah. The Australian summer. I hate it.

Actually, i think i'm looking forward to a thick blanket of hot death, thank you very much.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2009/01/post-6.html

Filter and tarp sales are off da hook!

I'll take freezing weather and below than 90 degree weather, thanks. I quite enjoy the snow and the cold.

I'll take freezing weather and below than 90 degree weather, thanks. I quite enjoy the snow and the cold.

And I'd take the exact opposite. Give me 90's and humid any day...

Give me 90's and humid any day...
Hop into my boxers then, my good friend.
Yes, it's muggy, but at least you're not going to hear "It's a dry heat" down there.

Hop into my boxers then, my good friend.
Yes, it's muggy, but at least you're not going to hear "It's a dry heat" down there.

I'll just cover myself in menthol and rock the cooling sensation the entire day.

Give me a nice cool fall day anyday.

I'll just cover myself in menthol and rock the cooling sensation the entire day.Do you need the nightlight? I can do this cool thing with some Wint-O-Green Life Savers that may just do the trick.

Do you need the nightlight? I can do this cool thing with some Wint-O-Green Life Savers that may just do the trick.

Shit, by the time we get that far I'll have been drinking since noon...nothing cools you down like a case of beer.

I'm no big fan of the summer heat either, Errinundera. Thankfully, I'm on the southwest coast - only 31 degrees today, if a bit humid.

Shit, by the time we get that far I'll have been drinking since noon...nothing cools you down like a case of beer.Odd - i read something entirely different and ... oh, how'd it put it ... counter-intuitive, just yesterday?
http://www.asylum.co.uk/2009/01/27/alcohol-can-improve-a-mans-bedroom-performance/

Although, i owe Sarkhaan for his reminder about whiskey-dick.

I'm so glad I'm in Southern Colorado now and no longer in Southern California. Summers in SoCal, at least the part I'm from, go for two or more months in excess of 100^F. Last summer in Colorado Springs, we had three days in excess of 90^F.

Give me a nice cool fall day anyday.

I think the nicest days in Melbourne are still, clear winter days. The temperature is 8ºC - 15ºC (46ºF - 59ºF), there's no wind and the sun is kind and warm. They usually follow wet weather so the air is usually clear and clean.

For those of you shivering in a northern hemisphere winter spare a thought for us here in south-eastern Australia.

I cool change has just blown through Melbourne reducing the temperature from 45.1ºC (113ºF) to a "pleasant" 37ºC (98.6ºF).

This is the first time ever that the temperature has exceeded 43º for three consecutive days (Wed 43.4º, Thur 44.3º).

Adelaide has had it even worse. They've had about a week of it with even higher temperatures.

Old people are wilting, railway tracks are buckling and bushfires are spreading.

Yesterday, we were sent home early for occupational health reasons because the air-conditioning failed.

Ah. The Australian summer. I hate it.

Why not fly over to New Zealand, where the highest temperatures are either in the late 20s or early 30s? You could waste water to your hearts content, not have to worry about bushfires and air-con would be unnecessary - a fan and an open window would do the trick.

The Kiwi summer, I love it - the only thing that would be better is a spot of global warming to make it last year round.

I'm no big fan of the summer heat either, Errinundera. Thankfully, I'm on the southwest coast - only 31 degrees today, if a bit humid.

My experience of Perth in summer is that, thanks to the Fremantle Doctor, the nights are much more pleasant than here in Melbourne, even if the days there are warmer.

My experience of Perth in summer is that, thanks to the Fremantle Doctor, the nights are much more pleasant than here in Melbourne, even if the days there are warmer.

Generally true, though even here we get the occasional nasty day - easterlies off the desert all day followed by a hot, dank night.

Still, as one of my religious friends put it, "the doctor is god's gift to Perth."

I'll take freezing weather and below than 90 degree weather, thanks. I quite enjoy the snow and the cold.

Agreed. I'm from way up north in BC, and now that I live down near the border, I miss my -40 winters and six feet of snow.

Generally true, though even here we get the occasional nasty day - easterlies off the desert all day followed by a hot, dank night...

It's the northerlies that are the misery winds in Melbourne. And in Sydney, it's the westerlies. I guess it's the dry winds from the interior that bring to mind smelter furnaces.

I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate the heat.











That's one of the reasons why I'm in Ireland :D

It's the northerlies that are the misery winds in Melbourne. And in Sydney, it's the westerlies. I guess it's the dry winds from the interior that bring to mind smelter furnaces.

There's a damn good reason all our major cities are coastal.

I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate the heat.

That's one of the reasons why I'm in Ireland :D

Why not fly over to New Zealand, where the highest temperatures are either in the late 20s or early 30s? You could waste water to your hearts content, not have to worry about bushfires and air-con would be unnecessary - a fan and an open window would do the trick.

The Kiwi summer, I love it - the only thing that would be better is a spot of global warming to make it last year round.

I hate you guys. :(

Learn to enjoy standing in the rain!

...then find some rain. Somewhere. Anywhere.

Learn to enjoy standing in the rain!

...then find some rain. Somewhere. Anywhere.

Rain? What's that?

Hang on... Is that the stuff you get in cartons at the supermarket?

Hang on... Is that the stuff you get in cartons at the supermarket?

No, that's milk. If you're Canadian, milk apparently comes in bags.

Rain is that stuff that makes you wet.

No, the other stuff. No, the other kind of wet.

What's that? You're sticky?

...stay away from me! ;)

No, that's milk. If you're Canadian, milk apparently comes in bags.


Only in certain parts. In BC, I've only ever gotten it in plastic jugs/bottles.

No, that's milk. If you're Canadian, milk apparently comes in bags.

Rain is that stuff that makes you wet.

No, the other stuff. No, the other kind of wet.

What's that? You're sticky?

...stay away from me! ;)

If I'm sticky it's because it's still 31.5ºC (88.7ºF) in my unit despite being 9:30pm.

Anyway, the distance from Melbourne to Malibu leaves you pretty safe.

That's what I hear.

Don't worry about it. Your country brought Poutine to the unwashed American masses, and for that I'd gladly take a bullet for you.

Except for Vancouver. China might as well annex that city anyways.

Anyway, the distance from Melbourne to Malibu leaves you pretty safe.

You're just trying to lull me into a false sense of security.

Well, I'm not buying it. I know what heat-driven passion can lead to. Don't be surprised if you find yourself on an airplane bound for Los Angeles, grasping a large tube of KY Jelly and a clown suit. I understand all too well.

You're just trying to lull me into a false sense of security.

Well, I'm not buying it. I know what heat-driven passion can lead to. Don't be surprised if you find yourself on an airplane bound for Los Angeles, grasping a large tube of KY Jelly and a clown suit. I understand all too well.

Well... You do like Auntie Witch. And I think she's pretty cool.

Indeed.

The perfect woman.

I'd stab you in the head to win her love. No hard feelings, though.

Only 113 degrees? Wimps.

Indeed.

The perfect woman.

I'd stab you in the head to win her love. No hard feelings, though.

The feeling is mutual.

Only 113 degrees? Wimps.

Sweaty wimps too you, thank you.

My heart is warmed.

But probably not as much as your entire body in 31.5ºC weather.

You don't need to convert temperatures for my benefit; I grew up in Tokyo and Beijing and received strange looks if I ever said "Man, it must be 90 degrees out today". Fear of beatings kept me in love with the metric system. :D

My heart is warmed.

But probably not as much as your entire body in 31.5ºC weather.

You don't need to convert temperatures for my benefit; I grew up in Tokyo and Beijing and received strange looks if I ever said "Man, it must be 90 degrees out today". Fear of beatings kept me in love with the metric system. :D

Don't read this wrong (I'm sure you will).

It didn't drop below 30ºC last night. I woke up at about 3am and the bed was sodden.

With sweat that is.

It didn't drop below 30ºC last night. I woke up at about 3am and the bed was sodden.

With sweat that is.

Yeah, finding that you've peed yourself can make you sweat with worry

We have in Finland right now -2 degrees Celsius. Sucks to be you, Australia! :p

Only in certain parts. In BC, I've only ever gotten it in plastic jugs/bottles.

I bought it in Ontario in bags a few times. So strange.

Hot hot hot (http://www.theage.com.au/national/relief-for-melbourne-as-cool-change-hits-20090130-7tlp.html)

Relief for Melbourne? Lucky prick :p

Adelaide has had it even worse. They've had about a week of it with even higher temperatures.

Yes, yes we have "Three hot days in a row" say the Vics. Oh I feel so sorry for you try 5 days over 45 and never dropping below 30 over night. Then start complaining :)

Doesn't look like we will have much more relief we may get a cool change late next week

Ah the Australian summer I hate it

The only good thing about heatwaves like this is the boss will buy us a couple of cartons for us to drink at the end of the day or he will take us down to the beach and buy us fish and chips for dinner.

I'm not in Melbourne at the moment, but I hear my home there has no power. Okay I can understand the odd blackout in 40 degree heat but it's in the middle of the damn CBD. Seriously, what is this shit, are we in the USSR now?

uh guys i think i need the waaaambulance

I'm not in Melbourne at the moment, but I hear my home there has no power. Okay I can understand the odd blackout in 40 degree heat but it's in the middle of the damn CBD. Seriously, what is this shit, are we in the USSR now?

Is the government deliberately cutting power in some places in Melbourne? Cause that is what is being done here in SA.

I'm not in Melbourne at the moment, but I hear my home there has no power. Okay I can understand the odd blackout in 40 degree heat but it's in the middle of the damn CBD. Seriously, what is this shit, are we in the USSR now?...

I live in Thornbury, about 7km from the CBD. I left work at 6pm, only to find that no Epping line trains were running (apparently due to buckled rails).

I bought a couple of DVDs at JB Hifi in Bourke Street then caught a Hurstbridge line train to Westgarth and started walking home from there. A tram came along that wasn't too packed and eventually got home at 8pm to find the power was down and the security gate for my block of units wouldn't open.

Fortunately the security gate is a joke and I climbed over. Of course the power was out, so I got stuck into a tub of ice cream (figuring it was gonna melt anyway).

I don't know about the USSR but these sorts of things are only supposed to happen in Sydney.

Is the government deliberately cutting power in some places in Melbourne? Cause that is what is being done here in SA.

From the ABC News website:


There is chaos in Melbourne tonight, with major electricity outages causing severe disruption and depriving nearly 500,000 people of power in the city, northern suburbs, Geelong and western Victoria.

Buildings have been evacuated after alarms were tripped by the interruption to the power supply and the Metropolitan Fire Brigade has been called in to help people stranded in lifts.

Traffic lights in the city are not working and public transport is at a virtual standstill, with commuters facing lengthy delays as the power failure further compounds problems on the rail network.

Hundreds of people at Flinders Street Station have been left waiting on platforms as the power outage affected signals along the train network just before 7:00pm AEDT.

Other stations were also affected including Upfield, Werribee, Sydenham, Craigieburn, Alamein, Williamstown, Epping and Lilydale.

Commuters are being told to expect hour-long delays, with Connex cancelling at least seven train line services

ABC reporter Kirsten Veness was trapped on a train between Bendigo and Melbourne.

"The train driver was quite good in letting us know what he knew, but when we were waiting for coaches and didn't know how long that would take, I think people started to get a bit frustrated," she said.

The outage occurred only an hour after the National Electricity Market Management Company issued a statement saying load-shedding was ending and power had been restored.

But authorities now say there has been a major electricity failure in the city's west, caused by the three-day heatwave.

It is believed a minor explosion at South Morang contributed to the power problems along three transmission lines supplying Victoria's west and Victorian power supplier SP AusNet shed 1,000 megawatts.

National Electricity Market Management Company (NEMMCO) chief executive Brian Spalding says one of the two lines that has gone down should be restored by midnight.

"Once we get one of these two lines back into service, we'll be able to restore all the load," he said.

Those impacted by the blackout are supplied by Citipower, Powercor and Jemina.

Link (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/30/2478898.htm)

The reporter obviously isn't a Melburnian. South Morang is directly north of the CBD. It would explain why my Epping line trains were cancelled.

From the ABC News website:



Link (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/30/2478898.htm)

The reporter obviously isn't a Melburnian. South Morang is directly north of the CBD. It would explain why my Epping line trains were cancelled.

Yeah ok I see, well hey at least it was due to a fault although the infrastructure should be in place to handle extreme weather rather than having your power cut deliberately.

Hot hot hot (http://www.theage.com.au/national/relief-for-melbourne-as-cool-change-hits-20090130-7tlp.html)

For those of you shivering in a northern hemisphere winter spare a thought for us here in south-eastern Australia.

I cool change has just blown through Melbourne reducing the temperature from 45.1ºC (113ºF) to a "pleasant" 37ºC (98.6ºF).

This is the first time ever that the temperature has exceeded 43º for three consecutive days (Wed 43.4º, Thur 44.3º).

Adelaide has had it even worse. They've had about a week of it with even higher temperatures.

Old people are wilting, railway tracks are buckling and bushfires are spreading.

Yesterday, we were sent home early for occupational health reasons because the air-conditioning failed.

Ah. The Australian summer. I hate it.

Erri, believe me, I feel for you. We've been following the news of the heatwave closely. When we were still living in Thornbury, we had no air-conditioning, and I can only imagine what it's like for you in that older-style apartment block on [name of Erri's street inserted here] if you don't have air-conditioning. I don't know how we'd be coping right now if we were still in the area.

But you still have the 86 tram, right? Or is that so packed without the Epping line trains running that it isn't an option anymore?

The only good thing about the weather here is our summers, where the average highs in July are 76-81F (25-27C). Last year, we never got above 91F (33C). Of course, winters suck. Since Jan. 1 we have seen morning lows fall to 0F (-18C) or lower 18 times (and we average only 7 or 8 sub-zero days per winter), getting as low as -25F (-32C) last Monday.

Erri, believe me, I feel for you. We've been following the news of the heatwave closely. When we were still living in Thornbury, we had no air-conditioning, and I can only imagine what it's like for you in that older-style apartment block on [name of Erri's street inserted here] if you don't have air-conditioning. I don't know how we'd be coping right now if we were still in the area.

But you still have the 86 tram, right? Or is that so packed without the Epping line trains running that it isn't an option anymore?

Last night I caught a Hurstbridge line train to Westgarth then got an 86 tram. It was air-conditioned, which was most appreciated.

BTW, in the recent desktop thread you had a picture from South Gippsland. Was it somewhere near Tarwin Lower? There are a couple of nasty bushfires in South Gippie at the moment, particularly around Boolara and Mirboo North. Incidently, the road between those two towns is one of the best motorcycle roads in Victoria.

So far, it's been a beautiful Saturday morning at St Lilda. Went for a morning dip at Albert Park Beach - water so flat and calm that I swam out to the "No Boats Beyond this point" sign. Yesterday, I was working at Distance Ed in Thornbury but luckily we had air conditioning so we onlf felt the 44 degree heat when we got in the car. We decided to head down through Kew over the Eastern Freeway and through Hawthorn and Burnley on the way back to St Kilda (this was really lucky because we later found out there was a fire on Hoddle St.)
I hope good old Mirboo North is spared the flames. Keep cool guys - the worst is over.

So far, it's been a beautiful Saturday morning at St Lilda. Went for a morning dip at Albert Park Beach - water so flat and calm that I swam out to the "No Boats Beyond this point" sign. Yesterday, I was working at Distance Ed in Thornbury but luckily we had air conditioning so we onlf felt the 44 degree heat when we got in the car. We decided to head down through Kew over the Eastern Freeway and through Hawthorn and Burnley on the way back to St Kilda (this was really lucky because we later found out there was a fire on Hoddle St.)
I hope good old Mirboo North is spared the flames. Keep cool guys - the worst is over.

I played soccer this morning at DISC - you work just behind there, as I recall. It was about 25ºC in the shade. I'm middle-aged, fat and unfit. It was hard work. Call me mad.

Mad dogs and Erinundras go out in the morning sun.....now it it were the noonday sun you guys would have been certifiable!

I like those grounds but they'd be getting very hard now - I wouldn't want to fall over too often!

Agreed. I'm from way up north in BC, and now that I live down near the border, I miss my -40 winters and six feet of snow.
Sheesh, how many times to i have to extend the ... invitation?
*pouts*

Learn to enjoy standing in the rain!

...then find some rain. Somewhere. Anywhere.The dock at Lahaina.
*nods emphatically*
http://maui.aloha-hawaii.com/assets/images/articles/194_main_1.jpg

Rain? What's that?

Hang on... Is that the stuff you get in cartons at the supermarket?Not yet. It's the taste of Verdigroth's sister, actually. Teach 'em to stare at MY kids' birthday packages!
*nods*

Last night I caught a Hurstbridge line train to Westgarth then got an 86 tram. It was air-conditioned, which was most appreciated.

BTW, in the recent desktop thread you had a picture from South Gippsland. Was it somewhere near Tarwin Lower? There are a couple of nasty bushfires in South Gippie at the moment, particularly around Boolara and Mirboo North. Incidently, the road between those two towns is one of the best motorcycle roads in Victoria.

The South Gippsland photo was taken just northeast of Yarram. If driving on the South Gippsland highway between Yarram and Sale, you'd turn off just a little bit north of Yarram, opposite the local golf course.

The archaeological site it was taken on was the site of one of the earliest attempts at European settlement in the region, in the early 1840s. Aeneas McDonnell, the Lord Glengarry, attempted to move his entire Highland clan to South Gippsland in 1841 or 1842.

He lasted a year.

The current weather conditions may go some way towards explaining why settling South Gippsland with cold-climate shaggy-haired Highland Cattle may not have been the most obvious way to start up a cattle station.

We never had much trouble with bushfires when I was working there from 2005-2007, but the drought had already been going on so long that the ground crunched underfoot from the dead and dry vegetation.

Edit:
[whoops - posting with an RP puppet; but this was the Archregimancy posting]

Nice to see that Melbourne has gotten over their heat for the year. Shame we are no where no finished.

I'm not sure if Melbourne is finished yet. The weather bureau keeps insisting that rain is coming..... maybe they're just cockeyed optimists.

I can cope with the heat during the day, but it's the night's that really get to me. It's so hard to sleep & I just wake up feeling tired & crappy.