Detroit's hot summer of '88...

[Jimaz]

...Record high is 118, and we've hit 117 numerous times....

I survived Phoenix's record high of 122°F On June 26, 1990. It was reportedly 123°F but, again, the airport's reading is considered official.

Driving home from work was surreal. It didn't just feel hot. It felt hot on a higher scale, very eerie. Exiting the freeway, I had to wait at a red light surrounded by concrete walls radiating heat onto cars from both sides as well as from below. The car's A/C couldn't keep up. Planes were grounded because nothing had ever been tested at those temperatures {or so they claimed}. Birds were grounded too. They just hopped around on the ground with their beaks wide open — very strange. Rear view mirrors fall off the windshield because the adhesive fails.

I am so happy to be back in Michigan!

• Phoenix hits record for 19th day of 110+ degrees in a row