Meanwhile, in Livermore, it continues cooler than average. Tomorrow's high predicted to be 91 F, which is relatively nothing. It's so far a total reverse between north and south this year.

Supposed to be 108 here in inland SoCal tomorrow its currently 87... first day of summer : /

Does anyone know what the expected high is for Baker, California, tomorrow? That place is hell on earth. I remember driving to Las Vegas in the early 1970s from LA, during the afternoon, with no AC in the car, and a four year old in the back seat. Very risky business on my part, and I'm not proud of it. Baker was 126F when we rolled in to the town. I got out the car in a cafe parking lot, and the elastic failed in my harem pants, or whatever they were, and they fell down around my ankles. I pulled them up, grabbed my kid, and staggered into the restaurant. We stayed there for a couple of hours cooling off, and finally reached LV at seven in the evening--it was down to 110F at that time. At midnight it was 100F. A horrible experience, but I was told that not having AC probably saved us. Everyone else with AC was pulled over to the side of the road. One guy at our hotel had burnt out the engine in his new car. Diane

113 F expected in Baker tomorrow.

Henry, are you being facetious or is there a reason for the recommendation?

That's too hot! There won't be any Harleys on the roads, they have air cooled engines. Stay inside and be safe.

It's a joke I think, referring to the high temperature process for virus clearing roses. Wouldn't actually work mind, not consistently high temp for long enough (at least I hope not for Jeri's sake!).

113F is almost as high as the 116F (47C) I experienced in Khartoum, Sudan one day in May 1965. Daily average for the month of May was 109F. Very hot for building work, carrying mortar and tying rebar reinforcements at a voluntary work camp. But I was young and didn't mind much. Now I suffer when temps reach 89F. Luckily the nights in the desert were cool, 77F (25C).

I remember passing through Death Valley in early July in an un-airconditioned car, in an epoch when it didn't get as hot as it does now. I practiced internal air conditioning: a stop at every 7-11 along the road to get a big cup of ice and water, as well as frequent rests for the car. It worked. In Diane's case, the really worrisome part would have been the child. I don't think I've ever been anywhere that hot.

Summers, A few degrees F, while they can make all the difference to living creatures, should not make an iota of a diffrence to a well designed air cooled internal combustion engine (just consider the temperatures reached in the combustion chamber). Now.... I don't know about Harleys...

I remember rolling into Las Vegas at 10 PM and it was still 110. The swimming pools offered no relief feeling like bath water. Up here in extreme Northern California we are supposed to reach 81-85F depending on which weather service you believe. Not having AC I have cooled the house down pumping in cold air with fans and shut all the drapes. A technique that has worked for even the hottest days up here. Being in the mountains, though only at 3300', our night air is always cool, It is currently 49F at 7 am.

A few years ago (2012? 2013?) it was 109 in June, and I was outside watering the garden like usual. It was the middle of the day, the sun was brilliant, and the plants looked pretty droopy, so I thought they could use a refresher. I hadn't checked the weather, so didn't realize what the temp was, and was just going about watering and talking to everyone (the plants, of course- the dogs weren't stupid enough to go outside). The humidity was down in the 20s which is VERY unusual for here, so that's why I didn't feel it. It actually seemed like nice weather, except that my brains felt like they were cooking. I stuck my head under the water hose, cooled off and then finished what I was doing before going in and checking the weather. What a dingdong! I called my husband and laughed about it, though as I recall it took several hours to cool down, and I was only outside for a little over 20 minutes! Since the humidity was so low, the "feels like" wasn't bad at all. The plants though, all that dry heat made them look like they'd been hit with a blowtorch. Blooms especially, of course, but even the leaves were upset. I really feel for those of you getting hit by this heatwave in those conditions. It's harder to feel the dry heat, and you may not realize the danger. Stay safe!

Now, I hate humidity. This time of year, you walk outside with the dogs for five minutes, and come in soaked with sweat. Yuck! I must change my clothes four times a day. But, the humidity really protects the plants when those temps get soaring. For instance, today it will only be 92, but due to the humidity the "feels like" temp will be 109. That sucks, but overall, I'm not worried about the plants. When the regular temps get over 100, and the "feels like" inches closer or surpasses 120...yikes. Not looking forward to that. Hopefully that won't happen until August.

The following grape virus paper suggests that rosarians near/in the California desert MAY be able to naturally "clean" virused roses.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1439-0434.2006.01142.x/abstract]onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1439-0434.2006.01142.x/abstract

"Oddly enough, one way they eliminate virii is by clonal propagation. Simply put, if you culture enough buds (~100) some small number of them (two or three maybe) will be virus free. The drawback is space, labor and the need to index all the test plants."

"Of particular interest (to me) is that Davis is able to get virus free roses from buds. This follows logically from the discovery around 2000 that the viruses were not distributed evenly in the plants. "
------------------------------------

"It would be nice if Davis looked at this further with the idea of optimizing the conditions (what time of year should one take the buds to get the best yield, where on the plants does one have the highest probability of having "clean" buds, would treatment of the virused plant with an aspirin (or other readily available chemical immune system boosters such as a commercially available harpin) result in more clean buds, etc. "

If the odds can be increased, we may have a practical "home remedy" after all. "

From: http://rosebreeders.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=38492&p=38719&hilit=desert+virus#p38719

The predicted high for today, for Palm Springs, is 120. I'd not like to think about Death Valley. They are almost always the high for the nation -- but it's often not reported.

Here near the Ventura Co. coast, it hit 90 at 10:30 a.m. -- and the weather station outside reports it as still climbing.

It was a good morning to wash two dogs -- but other than watering pots, it's a BAD morning for yard-work. And it would be a bad day for walking dogs:

http://i2.wp.com/www.poochandclaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/dogs-hot-asphalt-chart.jpg

Jeri, I already beat you yesterday with 109 degrees here, but not at all happy to be the winner. It may be cooler today since it's only 100 at 11:25. I hope that everyone is thinking about the animals and leaving plenty of water for them in different places. Yesterday I had to keep changing it because even in the shade it was warm in no time. After a while I had to ask my husband to do it because I can't tolerate that kind of heat. I worry about the feral cats here because even in the shade there was no relief for them.

It takes some getting used to. Moreso, for us, because we never used to have temperatures like this. It's a new world, and I DON'T LIKE IT.

1:15 p.m. ... And, keep in mind -- we can see the sea from our living room.

Wow, that is hot by the ocean. We used to flock to the foggy beaches around San Francisco as teenagers when it got hot in the East Bay. Or to Berkeley which used to have and probably still does have one of the most perfect climates on earth. Co through the Caldecott Tunnel and it was always 10 degrees cooler. :) Just checked the weather for Berkeley today, 74F right now with a high of 75 expected, 55 tonight!

Our climate has always been cool and foggy. No real winter chill, and only rarely real heat -- with a cool arctic ocean current as our natural "air conditioning." But the last few years have been getting hotter and hotter . . . and at 1:45 p.m., it's 103 deg.

Ouch!

It's past 100 here now and will only get hotter as the day progresses. Last night it was warm at midnight but tonight it will be even worse. I knew someone who used to live in Desert Hot Springs and they got sheets wet and spun them out and put them on the bed. Half way through the night, they re wet the sheets. The Dalai Lama was just here in So CA and asked people to put wet towels on their heads while they waited to hear him speak outside the new temple. I decided to put a wet towel on my head while I was watering and it felt good. Yeah, it feels like being a cookie in an oven out there. Poor roses, poor birds, poor pets, poor bees. Basically anything except the lizards who don't seem to mind hanging out on the shady wall.

No the lizards don't seem to mind at all, but we're keeping two bird baths filled, and have put water on the plants, which should help the bees. I have three 1-G, not ready to pot up, but they seem to be hanging in there.

Temp's dropped to 101, and it's just hanging there, so I suppose it will stay that hot now until after sunset.

One summer my wife and I drove from LA to Las Vegas. The temperature was some sort of a record 117 degrees F. We were forewarned so we took an ice chest and plenty of liquids. We did not use the car air conditioner and drove 55. Sooner or later every car that passed us with their windows closed was seen on the side of the road (including one commercial bus). When we got to Vegas, my wife asked me why there were 2 of every building.

See: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heat-stroke/basics/symptoms/con-20032814

SOOO HOOTTTTTT... and several fires near me. Even tho i soaked everything well this morning a lot of things fried today. Supposed to be hot all week long.

Thanks for mentioning about AC in the hot weather. I didn't know that. I have to let my friends know about this. Now it's 67F, we are having a really bad storm, heavy heavy rain with high wind, plus lightning and thunder.....downpour!! Some areas are going to have flooding issues tonight. Got the camping lanterns ready, in case have to run outside to start the generator.......

summersrhythm, I want to be where you are. It hit 109 in the southeast San Fernando Valley .. one degree hotter than yesterday, At 1 pm I was in the car, taking my 92-year-old father-in-law for his hearing aid checkup, and it was 101 down there in Beverly Hills. My roses are turning into crispy critters, and I've been misting two or three times a day and watering every day. I feel as if I'm in a natural emergency -- which I suppose I am! Looking forward to going (in August) to a cabin on a lake in the upper Midwest ...

Sylvia, I am in the snow country/"Ice Hole" near 2 Great Lakes: Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. We have a lot of rain for the summer and tons of snow for the winter, most of storms are coming from the lakes. 2 years ago, Southtown got 7' of snow within 24 hrs, so many people got stuck in their houses for a whole week, many got stuck on the roads for days. Many people I know have snowmobiles, I have snowshoes in my car during the winter just in case. We have 6 months of winter, and temp can go down to -10F with strong wind from the lakes. People can go ice fishing on the lakes just like Alaska. :-) Do you feel the chilly air now just by reading this? :-) Summer is cooler than most places in the country, we only need AC during the day, the night time temp is around 50's-60's. The storm past us went to east! No power outage this time. Hope the weather over there cools down soon. Over 100F is really hot. A cabin on a lake sounds wonderful! :-)

Well I can't beat anyone in temperatures we are just in the low 90s but I bet I can beat you in humidity 65-75% for this week. Having come from Arizona and experienced 120 degrees before I can say 90 degrees with high humidity is far worse.

Grace e

Well, Needles had everyone beat for California heat. It was 125 degrees there yesterday. Blythe was 123. Palm Springs was 122. Thermal was 121. El Centro was 118.

It is only supposed to be 106 here today and then between 103--105 for the rest of the week until the weekend. Starts going up then and by Tuesday we are at 112 for most of the week. Ahhhhh, summer! Yes, my roses get a work out here during the summer. If they make it here, they can make it anywhere (just about) for heat resistance.

One of my new roses, Candice seems to be taking it in stride. She is also in a pot so she doesn't even have the ground to help with the heat. She is getting the full brunt and is still pumping out blooms! I think this is going to be one terrific rose.

I can't beat the heat some of you have, it sounds awful and I hope y'all stay safe and inside. I can however say that the humidy today in SE Tx is 95% and that is with no rain! It is absolutely miserable, it's like walking around with a wet blanket over you and it makes the heat seem hotter than it is.

Yuck 95 percent humidity?!!!!!! You have my sympathy!!!!!

As I found while living in western Massachusetts, humidity does make heat many times worse -- occasionally it would be close to 100% humidity with no rain in the summer! Envelopes would glue themselves shut, the basement would have water dripping from the ceiling, and the dehumidifier would be working overtime...those were the days.

Meanwhile, here in Livermore, we've only had one day over 100 degrees so far (on June 3) which is highly unusual. It's been 70s and 80s mostly, with a few 90s (yesterday was in the lower 90s, but cooling off quickly in the evening with coastal breezes, as predicted for today, too). It's practically been a cold spell, for us.

It was 110 here in the shade on the north side of my house so I can only imagine what it was on the south and west sides. It's nuts. We never had that kind of heat before. It used to be rare to get over 100. Then it was just a few days a year of 101 or maybe 103. New growth on the HTs has crisped. Once again, the fuchsias were wiped out. I used to have until August and September before the extreme heat and spring flowers had a chance through early summer. The area around Fullerton/ Anaheim gets the hottest and we sit along the break in the hills where the winds rush through. The ocean breeze still comes in after 4 so that's a mercy. Sunday night it was cut off and we baked all night but last night around 9 or 10 the hot air suddenly changed to the cool ocean air. It felt so good that I sat outside feeling the air on my skin and looking at a big full moon which was golden yellow on the longest day of the year. The 110 F made it seem extra long.

Even here, almost at the coast, there has always been the potential for a rogue heatwave pushing the temperature up near or at 100 -- particularly in August through Sept. . . But in late June? NO NO NO!!!

We are surely living in a different age.

Have I mentioned before that I DON'T LIKE IT!!! ??

Today, at least, we should drop down into the 90's.

Today was much much better. I learned that the rare full moon yesterday is called a strawberry moon.

Yes. MUCH better today! Thank God.

summersrhythm, I fled the cold climates many years ago. My last stop before CA was Iowa City, IA, not quite the snow belt you're in but cold enough ... No, I don't miss that season one bit! It does get extreme around here in the summer, though, and we need a green-and-wet break once in a while.

Today was certainly better, although I know I've lost a lot of blooms to that great frying pan in the sky. Glad to say Munstead Wood and Queen of Sweden are undaunted (they are in the afternoon shade area). It's the HTs and floribundas out front that have been fried.

Sylvia, Lol you were stuck in an ice hole before CA! IA is even colder than here. It's raining outside (again), had a heavy rain storm last night, more rain day after tomorrow. It's too wet here. I got my comforter out, it's 64F. Glad to hear you guys had a better day today, hope the heat will be gone soon, give everyone a break.

As Jeri said, never, ever is it this hot in June, but this is the new normal, and it's anything but. It's frightening, because you don't know what will come next, but the suspicion is that it won't be good. We had several rabbits sitting in the shade of the house near the front door, where I had a bowl of water and I saw them take turns drinking. The poor things don't have AC.

Today was a little warmer than yesterday (87 versus 81), so I am NOT complaining. Jim Sproul stopped for a visit for a few hours and said it wasn't as hot in Bakersfield where he lives as was expected, either.

We had rain all weekend, but after reading this...I am no longer complaining.

Consistently over 90F and over 40% humidity for the past week. Both I and Aris are tired of it unable to move much... Kalliope and Lara seem unfazed... Does this mean something?...

We do it a bit differently here from many of you... highs are in the low to mid-90's, but with 60-70% humidity the heat index is in the triple digits. Also. the humidity means that it still feels hot and muggy, even when we took our dog for a walk at 11pm last night. At least folks with low humidity get a respite from the heat at night. At least it isn't 95-100% humidity, but that will come soon enough.

We're expecting cooler temps next week, though... and have had cooler than usual temps this year, and I'm grateful for any breaks.

Virginia

I am so sorry for you, Jeri!!! Heat without ample water is brutal on vegetation and bodies!! We get to 96 tomorrow, but down to 50-60's during the night and 79 the next day.

In 1972 we made a trip to Las Vegas without air conditioning in AUGUST. On the day we drove through the desert to get to LV, they had record low temps. On the day we drove out of the desert 2 weeks later, they had a ripping rain storm. While we were there, we made a day trip to Boulder Dam, and I was mostly sick for most of the day. UGH!! That has been my only exposure to high heat. I'll take my 6 months of winter with -30F any day. We get 110 degrees on occasion, but we have low humidity, and it's usually for a day or two in July. To me, 3 feet of snow and 30 below is preferrable to getting my brain fried. I guess we all live where we live for a reason.

Having said all this, I have air conditioning in the summer and central heating in the winter. There are those that do not and suffer because of it, so my climate can be brutal as well.

Rebecca