"It's hot, Don!" and Other Southern Indiana Weather Sentiments

 Here in Utah, triple digit temperatures are not uncommon in the sizzling summertime. We had family visiting for the first time from Evansville, Indiana, on the Ohio River in the southwest corner of the state. They expressed some concerns about how hot it was predicted to be here during their stay. "Don't worry!" I declared. "Remember--it's dry heat." And, it is dry heat. For example, today it may reach 101 degrees by 4 p.m., but the humidity will be only 11%. With those conditions, you can feel the perspiration evaporating off your body. Cool.

We lived in Evansville for over a decade. In a summer months local car dealership TV ad, a fellow shouted, "It's hot, Don!" Don was the owner of the dealership, and, of course, his deals were hot. The weather was hot, too, and unbearably humid. Not uncommonly it could be 95 degrees with 98% humidity. (Here's evidence: Today in Evansville, Indiana, the temperature at 4 p.m. will be only 88 compared to our 101. The kicker is that in Evansville, the humidity will be 57%--five times ours!)

So, in Utah you can take a bath and not be sweating while you bathe. You can walk under a tree and detect that it is cooler in the shade. A breeze is not a blast from a furnace set on "high." When you leave your air-conditioned house or car, you don't feel as if a big, wet, hot blanket has been thrown over you. In short, yes, it's hot, Don, but it's dry heat. 

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