Storm the Field

CHK completes its exit from the Eagle Ford. Silverbow just bought all their remaining South Texas assets for $700M.

First post from SCW in probably a month that isn't 100% hopeless. https://spacecityweather.com/expect-a-weak-front-this-week-and-some-glimmers-of-hope-on-the-horizon/

Less than 24 hours later, this is majorly outdated, and not in much of a good way.

Hopped in the pool earlier this evening for a swim once the sun got low enough to be blocked by the fence. Decent, somewhat drier-than-usual breeze was blowing and it actually felt pretty nice outside despite the fact that it was still an ambient temp around 98 or so. Spent yesterday doing some work out at my hunting lease up near Rayburn and it was hot as shit. Hit 106 at the hottest point of the afternoon, but the lower humidity compared to Houston was instantly noticeable and made it far less oppressive. As soon as the sun went down, it was genuinely pleasant last night. Mid 70's and a steady breeze.

Highs expected to go from 105-107 to 102 or less starting this coming Sunday. Friday quite possibly will be Austin's final day above 104 this year, a level that was breached 20+ times already this Summer. Also, there will be small windows of pleasant weather from Tuesday morning through Wednesday evening. Enjoy a littler outdoor time if given the opportunity. It's not much, but it's something.

Welp, got some good news and bad news in the latest forecasts. DFW: 107 tomorrow, but 2 "nice' days on tap Tuesday and Wednesday with highs only in the mid-90's. Brutality resumes Thursday-Sunday. Slight improvement the week after, with highs ~102 or less. No sign of any rain at all though. Austin: 106 tomorrow, but 2 better days Tuesday and Wednesday, though not quite as significant temp dropoff as DFW. ~105 again Thursday and Friday, before highs start edging down a few ticks Saturday and Sunday. Small but noticeable rain chances Monday-Wednesday. Highs 102 or less the week after next. Houston: 103 and muggy AF tomorrow. Highs still ~100 but significantly less humidity Tuesday and Wednesday. 102 and muggy AF Thursday and Friday. However, no projected triple digits after Friday. Solid rain chances 8/21-23.

Current long-range forecasts have Houston area have the next 7-8 days being absolute scorching hell, but they're hitting the hopium hard for the 4th week of August.

Welp, like idiots, brother and I volunteered to head up to the lease tomorrow morning and check on things since nobody has been out there in a long while. Supposed to be around 105 or so. God help us if the window units in the camp house have crapped out or the fridge kicked the bucket and there was anything perishable in there. I've also got a strong hunch that I'll be needing a can of wasp spray or two. Wish me luck!

No guarantees, but it's getting late enough in the calendar year, and looking at the long-range forecast, this SHOULD be the hottest weekend of the rest of the year. Now don't misunderstand me. I'm not sunshine pumping and acting like it's gonna get significantly better soon. A weekend of 102/80 is not much better than 104/81, but it beats 106/82. That's the entirety of my message. There will still be shitloads of hot ass days from now through Halloween. Summer of 2011 eventually came to an end, and so will this one. It's just gonna go kicking and screaming and punching holes in the wall on the way out.

Grasping at straws here, but at least the days are getting shorter. Currently losing an average of 90 seconds of sunlight each day. A week from today will be the last day of the year with a sunset past 8:00. By Labor Day, that'll be down to around 7:45. Less time each day spent at peak high temps. Baby steps.

Don't threaten me with a good time.

Ugghh, I just want it to finally cool down some and be hunting season, or at least "hang out around the fire pit at the lease" season. Can we agree to just skip the rest of August?

Breakdown of the forcefield keeps getting pushed back. As of this past weekend, forecast had lower high temps and rain chances set to kick in by Tuesday or Wednesday next week. Now looking to stay hot and dry at least through next Thursday. Triple digits until then. Insane that I'm actually excited to see a chance 11 DAYS AWAY of 97/79 with 58% chance of showers.

Looking at the extended forecast, the old adage "it's always darkest before the dawn" comes to mind. 9 or 10 more days ahead that will be worse than the 40 that preceded them. Popped down to the neighborhood brewery earlier to grab some beers to go and the walk across the parking lot was probably the hottest feeling I've ever experienced in Houston. Like, so hot, if on my way out, I discovered my truck had a flat tire, I'd take an Uber home and just leave it there for an indeterminate amount of time. Reminded me of a trip about a decade ago where my family insanely decided to spend July 4th weekend in Phoenix. One day we went to the movies to kill some time and the bottom my shoes started melting on the walk through the freshly blacktopped parking lot. "But it's Summer in Texas and it's supposed to be hot! Pop Pop spent 23 hours a day mining asbestos deep underground and went home to a shack without AC and hopped in the shared bed with Grandma and their 26 kids. Never once heard him complain, but then again, folks were tougher in those days."

People who only talk about politics, and/or automatically assume you share theirs.

Lol, it's White Linen Night in the Heights. The most absurdly scheduled event in all of Houston. Even worse than when Free Press Summer Fest used to be down on the Bayou in July. It's currently 99 with a Heat Index of 111 and thousands of people are walking up and down the blocks in their linen shirts and dresses, dragging coolers and pushing around strollers and whatnot, getting blasted by the heat radiating off the blacktop parking lots. I'd rather try and eat a live grenade.

Houston supposed to hit 103 or 104 today and expected to be 100+ every day through next Tuesday. It'll be considered a huge relief if the current forecast holds and we get some days of "only" 97 and scattered showers 8/16-20. We'll almost certainly officially end up hitting >100 more than 20 times this Summer. By comparison, it never happened in 2021 and only 6 times in the "miserable" Summer of 2022, which now seems like a joke compared to 2023. Last year, it was 90/74 on the first Saturday of August.

The duration of this god awful heat has been the real kick in the pants. It's been hot and dry as fuck for over a month now, and we're about to kick it up a few notches to really punctuate everything these next 10 days before having any hope of relief. Not long ago, a big chunk of the USA was experiencing hotter than average temps. Nationwide heat wave, but it broke down and moved on in most places after a week or two. Looking around at random cities, 90% of the country is back to their typical August weather patterns (no doubt complaining how sweleteringly hot it is at 88 degrees). Meanwhile, in Texas and Louisiana: These are the times that try men's souls.

JPM waves the white flag.

Current long-range forecasts for Houston area have the next 9-10 days being absolute scorching hell, but they're hitting the hopium hard for the 3rd week of August.

I've noticed a conspicuous change in what construction workers wear the last 2 summers. Never really paid much attention, but feel like most of my life, you'd see guys out on job sites just wearing regular shirts and hard hats. Now they make sure to cover up every inch of exposed skin. Long sleeve quick-dry UPF fishing shirts. Neck gaiters up over their mouth and nose, and they have those shrouds attached to their hard hats that cover from the brim to their shoulders.

Mosquitoes need standing water to lay eggs in. On the unlikely chance a puddle were to actually form somewhere these last few weeks, the eggs would probably be hard-boiled.

Waited too long to edit. Wanted to add: Just a little over 2 hours to get to town from my house in Houston and then maybe another 15-20 heading down backroads to the lease, so it's really convenient for me. Close enough where I could take off on Friday at lunch time, get there in time for an evening hunt Friday, another one in the morning and then be back by lunchtime Saturday if I want. Don't need to block off an entire weekend with 8+ hours of driving roundtrip to consider a trip. I'd love to get on a classic hill country lease out near Leakey or Junction or Llano or something, but those are all 5+ hour trips and a lot more $$. Maybe later in life. This'll do for now.

Guess I should have said ESETX. Just south of Rayburn. Closest "town" is Colmesneil.

I'm all in. After a disappointing '22 where none of my hunting plans actually came to fruition, I'm champing at the bit for '23. 1. As I posted in last year's thread a few days ago, just joined a lease in East Texas with my brother and some of his buddies. Lotta work to do to whip that place in to shape, but I'm actually looking forward to having an outdoors project on my hands. I've gotten way too city-fied over the past decade. Also, first time I've ever actually been on a lease as a paying member rather than having to wait to get invited. Gonna spend a couple Saturdays out there this offseason filling feeders and clearing out routes to the handful of serviceable stands, drinking beer, and plinking targets. 2. Have a weekend of 4 dove hunts booked for South Zone opener after missing last season entirely. 3. Standing invite to head to a buddy's hunting club down on the coast for a duck hunt this Fall. Just gotta figure out a weekend that works for both of us.