“God, it was hot! Forget about frying an egg on the sidewalk; this kind of heat would fry an egg inside a chicken.” Rachel Caine, pen name of Roxanne Longstreet Conrad, American writer of novels of science fiction, fantasy, mystery, suspense, and horror

 We in the Crescenta Valley have been experiencing some intense heat these last few days with temperatures at 98 degrees on Monday and edging past 91 on Tuesday. Early morning Wednesday – just one day into summer – brought some powerful storms with lightning and teeth-rattling thunder that had some crawling under the covers for safety!

The rarity of thunderstorms – much less summer thunderstorms – in Southern California has piqued the interest of local residents who are also asking, “Is this going to continue?” Not likely, according to the National Weather Service – NOAA.

“A low system off the coast is bringing monsoonal moisture with 
showers, thunderstorms, and possible dry lightning … through Wednesday
night. Continued inland heat for the rest of the week with slightly cooler 
temperatures at the coast as the marine layer returns. Things will calm down significantly Thursday. There will be just enough residual moisture and 
instability to allow for a slight chance of showers across the interior in the afternoon. 

“The coasts will cool one or two degrees due to a slightly stronger sea breeze. Max temps away from the coasts will be eight to 12 degrees above normal.”

Today, Thursday, sunny weather is expected with a high near 90 degrees. That forecast takes us into next week with few fluctuations in temperatures.

And who came up with the idea of frying an egg on the sidewalk to test temps? According to Smithsonian Magazine, that has been a summertime pastime for over 100 years!

“One of the earliest references to frying an egg on the sidewalk contained in the Library of Congress dates back to an 1899 issue of the Atlanta Constitution. In a column titled ‘How to Keep Cool,’ Dr. Francis Henry Wade advises his readers: “With the thermometer cavorting away up among the 90s, with the bricks of the sidewalks hot enough to fry eggs, with ‘heat prostrations’ and sun strokes ‘filling bodies with anguish and bosoms with fear,’ as the poet puts it, the question ‘How to keep cool?’ becomes an all-absorbing one of the hour in the mind of every one, no matter what his vocation or walk of life.”

And a fun fact: Though it has never been hot enough to fry an egg on a sidewalk (or inside a chicken for that matter), July 4^th has been designated National Fry an Egg on the Sidewalk Day – the same day when Americans celebrate their independence! So while folks gather in the evening to watch fireworks light up the sky earlier in the day some may have tried cooking some eggs on the hot sidewalk.

Robin Goldsworthy wrote this for Sue Kilpatrick while she’s on vacation.
Sue Kilpatrick is a Crescenta Valley resident and Official Skywarn Spotter for the
National Weather Service. Reach her at suelkilpatrick@gmail.com.