This Wikipedia map shows the hottest place in the world on Aug. 2, 2012: Saudi Arabia.
Speaking of Saudi Arabia, Wojdan Shahrkani made history by becoming the first Saudi Arabian woman to compete in the Olympics. She lost to Puerto Rico's Melissa Mojica Friday morning in judo. MIKE GROLL/AP Photo
Did you see Saudi Arabia mentioned in
this morning's article on heat? There's a story behind the story as it were, so I'll fill you all in:
A little over a year ago, we were in the middle of February 2011 and after the snow came the below-zero temperatures, and this website called
AccuWeather.com sends us a press release informing us that parts of Oklahoma
were colder than the South Pole.
So, when an editor asks if I can find out the hottest parts of the world and compare them with Tulsa and the rest of Oklahoma, the first call I made was AccuWeather. I bring the top 5 hottest locations in the past 24 hours back to my editor... and they were ALL in Saudi Arabia:
122: Al Hofuf, Saudi Arabia
119: Al Qaisumah, Saudi Arabia
119: Yanbu, Saudi Arabia
118: Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
117: Wadi ad-Dawasir, Saudi Arabia
You didn't see this in print, because after further discussion, we decided it would be better if we gave some more worldwide perspective.
However, the next time you think Oklahoma is the hottest place on Earth, remember Saudi Arabia: Our worldly partner in extremely hot and unbearable temperatures.
And now, your update on Tulsa weather records:
Current record: 112 degrees, hottest temperature on Aug. 2We may grow tired of comparing 2011 and 2012 with all of our drought and burn bans and hot temperatures, but we tied the calendar date record that we set last year for Aug. 2, with a high of 112 degrees.
But we did set a new record on Wednesday...
Old record: 110 degrees, hottest temperature on Aug. 1 (set in 2011)
New record: 112 degrees, hottest temperature on Aug. 1It is around this time of year - the first two weeks of August - that Tulsa sets its absolute hottest temperatures.
Stay tuned!
-- Althea Peterson
