Thursday June 27
I decided to sit out in the sun for a bit today. It’s mid-afternnon, about 2:30pm. When I arrived and exited the plane here in Puerto Escondido I was taken aback by the strength of the heat.
Today (and most days) when I stand in the direct sun it feels like that again. I decided to check the temperature. Sheila keeps a thermometer in the bathroom, it read 82 when I retrieved it from the shelf. I put it in the direct sun and watched it climb until it surpassed it’s highest hash mark at 50 C (120 F). I did not want to break it so I took the photo and then moved it to the shade of the veranda table, where it settled back down to 32 C (88 F).
The only other time I know of in which i had experienced that kind of heat was during a motorcycle trip in June 2001. It was the middle of the afternoon, like today. I was about 100 miles east of Carson City on US 50. I pulled off at an unmarked side road that led to a sand dune where I could see some ATV’s and dirt bikes playing. After taking off my helmet and getting a drink of water I glanced at the thermometer I had mounted on the fairing of the old BMW. It read 120 F. When you are doing 60-70 mph on a motorcycle you don’t notice it so much.
I found a website that gives a large quantity of info on the historical weather record for P. E. as recorded officially at the airport. I wanted to know what the lowest recorded temperature was. It said 20 C (76 F). Seems reasonable to me. It also said the highest was 32C. I’m having trouble with that one after today, but the site said it’s record’s only went back 6 years (when the airport received international status).
This one gives more: http://www.tutiempo.net/en/Climate/Puerto_Escondido/768556.htm