This has got to be the crest of the heat wave that is assaulting the nation, at least as far as the western Great Lakes is concerned. Here at my apartment in Caledonia, Michigan, I just took a read with my Kestrel 4500 weather meter of 98 degrees F temperature and a dewpoint of 81. Eighty-one freaking degrees! And a heat index of 122 F.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. Then I thought, okay, I logged that data on my third-floor balcony, where I keep my well-watered collection of carnivorous plants. Sensitive as the Kestrel is, it may have picked up on the moisture from the planters.

So I scooted downstairs and took another read, and this one produced more modest results of 91/76/102. Not as bad as out on my balcony, but still just downright nasty.

A weak cold front is forecast to move through here sometime this afternoon and lower the dewpoints a few degrees. I hope it happens; I’m all for taking five or so degrees of dewpoint temperature and shipping them off somewhere where they’re needed. As things stand, I don’t even want to venture outside. But I’m afraid I’ve got to. Once this post is published, it’ll be time for me to hop into my oven-like Buick Century and head over to my mother’s house, there to perform my weekly ritual of vacuuming the carpet.

Whatever would we do without air conditioning on days like this? I don’t know how people manage who don’t have it.