The relentless heat across the eastern portion of the U.S. is stressing the power grid. In the Abilene area, we are on track to shatter records for the most days above 100 degrees in a year.

You may remember that last summer, Abilene had rolling blackouts over a couple of days due to an overload on the grid. That situation not only caused a major outcry, but the government got involved and grilled power company officials about not having enough capacity. They admitted at the time that several plants were off the grid undergoing upgrades or repairs, and that they were unprepared for the load.

This summer however, the increased stress on the grid is not expected to cause outages, despite the increased and extreme heat. The weak economy is a factor leading to more available capacity because people are turning up thermostats a bit. In addition the utility companies say that, because of fewer storms this year, they have less downed power lines that would take plants off the grid.

 

The bottom line is that we've still got another 45 days of intense summer left. August is typically the hottest month of the year in the Big Country. All we can do is hang on and mark off those days on the calendar. You can get a five day outlook on our Abilene area at a glance with the new weather feature here on the site at TrueOldiesAbilene.com/abilene-weather (via HuffingtonPost.com)

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