HOT

It's been so hot. And not just peaking in the middle of the day and cooling off around the edges, but just hot, all the time. The low temperatures are in the upper 70's and come right before dawn. Around 11PM last night the heat index was still 97F. Immediately after the sun starts to rise the temperatures climb. You can pull up Weather Underground and just watch the temperature go up. And up. It's sort of grimly entertaining. Unfortunately, the humidity is always 90-something % at that time so the heat index is astronomical. For instance, right now...

9:30 AM.
Temperature: 88.3F
Humidity: 80%
Dew point: 81F
Heat index: 107F
Wind: 0 mph

9:42 AM
Temperature: 88.7F
Humidity: 79%
Dew point: 81F
Heat index: 108F
Wind: 0 mph

That's a pretty uncomfortable situation. Note the dew point of 81F. The temperature is supposed to be 101 today (it was 100 yesterday) and the heat index will be much higher. The last few days the heat index has topped out at 112.

We're under an excessive heat warning and have been for a couple days. We're in good company: it extends over the entirety of Mississippi and Louisiana, most of Alabama and Arkansas, and half of Oklahoma and Texas.

Of course, it's worse in parts of Iran, where the heat index reached an unbelievable 164F yesterday. Lord have mercy!