Death Valley regularly tops the thermometer, but today was a doozy. It hit a recorded 130 degrees today, which is apparently the hottest temperature ever officially recorded on the planet. Now, back in 1913, it topped out at 134 but that was before measurement became “official,” whatever the hell that means. The good news is it’s entirely probable it’ll be even hotter this weekend.
Tropical Storm Elsa has been downgraded and is making its way towards the Northern Atlantic. In the meantime, it’s been dumping massive amounts of rain on the Northeast and kicking up tornadoes in New Jersey. Probably the most dramatic display of just how nasty things are getting happened in New York City which experienced unprecedented flooding. Across the five boroughs, streets turned into rivers and cars were submerged, while the subway system reached chin-high. And good Lord, that water looked nasty and some poor bastards had to make their way through it anyway.
In other good news, the Delta variant of COVID-19 has a new partner in the Lambda variant. As we discussed Wednesday, the coronavirus novel is like the flu in that regardless of vaccinations, it’s going to evolve and mutate into something that might not be affected by existing vaccines. That’s why things like polio and smallpox are almost, but not quite, totally eliminated while we have to deal with the flu every year. The White House is trying to get ahead of what most experts see as a possible surge due to this. Better safe than sorry, at least.
Here in Mississippi, Dr. Thomas Dobbs in his position as head of the State Department of Health sent out the bat signal for folks 65 and over or who have compromised immune systems. Whether they’re vaccinated or not, he said, it’s probably best if they avoid enclosed spaces with large numbers of folks, even if they’re wearing a mask. We’re already seeing a rise in hospitalizations.
Confirmed cases have been slowly inching up over the past couple of weeks, partially due to the aforementioned Delta variation. However, it’s been exacerbated by the rather pathetic amount of vaccinations in the state. Mississippi has been hovering in the low thirties, percentage-wise, but was passed by Alabama today with 33.2% to our 33.3%.
There are several reasons why the rate’s so low here, from anti-vax dingbats to people not understanding that it’s free because our health care system is so screwed up. However, a lot of it is politically motivated, as Gov. Tate Reeves spent the last month downplaying the need for vaccinations, taking pot-shots at President Joe Biden’s 70% nationwide goal, and generally worrying more about advancing the GOP’s anti-vaccination stance than concerning himself with the people of his state.
Finally, rescue workers officially have stopped looking for survivors of the condo collapse in Surfside, Florida, a little suburb of Miami. Now, they’re just looking for bodies to identify. Right now, 72 residents have been confirmed dead with another 60 still unaccounted for. There’s been a couple of good stories and small victories, but for the most part, this has been devastating to not only the survivors and families but also the rescue workers.
Enjoy your weekend, folks. It’s tough out there for all of us.
Dear Y'all 