As I drove away from Squaw Valley's Art and Wine Festival yesterday, at 6:00 pm, my car temperature gauge read 93 degrees. "What????" I knew it was hot, as indicated by the smaller turnout this year for wine aficionados, but 93? Really? That got me curious about our weather history, so I thought I would share this tidbit of information I found on our local weather guru Mark Mclaughlin's website:
Our average high temperature in the Truckee region in July from 1961-1990 was 81.2 degrees. I've had a hard time compiling the data from July 2009, but I would reckon to guess that our average high this month to date would be around 87-88 degrees. I'm just spit-balling here, but with another 5 days forecasted to be in the high 80's to low 90's, I'd say that this is one of the hottest months I can recall since I moved here 18 years ago! Global warming or just natural climate change? The jury's still out on my end, but regardless, I think this unusually hot weather reminds us all that no matter our viewpoint, it's a good thing to take care of our planet. Reduce, Recycle, Reuse, People!
