[scratchpaddy]

According to the coroner, he was "dead before he hit the ground."

June 4, 2013

CHANDLER --- It may not officially be summer yet, but the legendary heat in the Valley of the Sun has already claimed its first victim.

The body of one Tempe resident, known online by the ridiculous username "scratchpaddy," was discovered in the desert south of Chandler this morning. According to the Chandler Police Department, he likely dropped dead in the 105° heat while riding his bike home from work yesterday.

"He was dead before he hit the ground," the coroner said. "He was obviously unprepared for the heat. I mean, black jeans? Come on!"

The resident recently moved to the Valley from Atlanta to work as an engineer at a foundry in Chandler. Likely fooled by the mild winter temperatures, he was unable to withstand the harsh reality of summer in America's hottest city.

The average high temperature at the beginning of June is 100°, but the National Weather Service expects the mercury to rise past the 110° mark by the end of the week. Valley residents are advised to avoid strenuous activity outdoors and drink plenty of water.

In related news, there are unconfirmed reports of a cloud spotted over Scottsdale. We will have more details as the story develops.

[Rupert]

I'll trade you...been there and at least it's dry heat. Try 101F and 85% humidity like we have been having. You can die from just looking out the window at a bicycle...and your pool doubles as a large pot for boiling lobster or crayfish.
Regards!

Too hot to swim...already. You have to ice it down first.
[IMG] [/IMG]

[LaurenOE]

Florida in the summer? Ya'all got nothin' on me!

[reeftool]

Up here in the beautiful Adirondacks, we had snow for Memorial Day weekend with frost extending into the following week. By this past weekend, it was in the 90's. Another front came through and it's 40's and 60's again. I think the weather swings are far worse. BTW, I'm from Florida but haven't been back there in 44 years.

[boriscleto]

I think the weather swings are far worse.

My ankle agrees with you.

[scratchpaddy]

To tell the truth, I'll take a dry 105° over 90° and humid any day. I really do feel sorry for you guys. I wouldn't even consider riding my bike five miles to work and back each day if I was still living in Atlanta. Well, they don't have bike lanes or even sidewalks there, anyway.

Last June, when I was still working in Atlanta and commuting 60 miles each way, there was a heat wave and the temperature hit 110°. My car's air conditioning didn't really work until I hit 40 mph, so for about half the trip, I didn't have A/C.

The neighbors used to take us out to Lake Westpoint (on the Alabama border) in their boat. It's a pretty large lake, but the water temperature would be well above 90° by mid-summer. It was bathwater.

Here, I'm still riding my bike, and I plan to keep doing so even when it passes 110°. They're doing construction on the road in front of where I work, but I can avoid a 2-mile detour by taking a little trip through the desert on my bike. That's where I took the picture.

This is the place to be if you don't like weather swings. A few months ago, the weatherman could just copy and paste "90° and sunny" every day for weeks on end.

This is the hottest city in the country, though. It feels hotter elsewhere, but 120° tends to sound more impressive than "100° and humid."

[MSL]

Humid or not, black jeans still aren't the best thing to wear!
Great photo and thanks for the morning chuckle.

[scratchpaddy]

Humid or not, black jeans still aren't the best thing to wear!

No kidding. It's blue jeans today, and I've got shorts stashed in the trunk bag. I'll change in the dust closet before I leave. I think I'm done wearing pants on the way home.

[Ratmagiclady]

My ankle agrees with you.

Oof, I'm feeling it. When there's a few swings in air pressure in a short time, it really seems to have a cumulative effect. One of these days, I'll get hold of some fancier weather instrumentation. might help me see some of these days coming.

[mrNewt]

Is raining over here and is 12 degrees Celsius ... Canadian Summer ... the gooses are melting

[scratchpaddy]

the gooses are melting

Not a pretty image...

I think the weather swings are far worse.

What's a "weather swing"? I'm not familiar with this phenomenon.

[reeftool]

Is raining over here and is 12 degrees Celsius ... Canadian Summer ... the gooses are melting

About the same here and not expected to get much warmer today. According to the weather guys, this rain is part of a "tropical storm" riding along a front but I think the tropical part went someplace else.

[hks_kansei]

Yesterday here had a top of 14deg, and a bottom of 11deg.

Which according to google is 51.8F low, and 57.2F high