Hoosier

Flu deaths are virtually non existent at this time of year in the US. Maybe a dozen or two dozen per day or something? Meanwhile covid is still killing 500+ a day on average. It's not the same and never has been, but with any luck, it will be similar one day.

That is giving me fits on mobile. Maybe try again later.

I am not familiar with how those states share the hospital data... do they provide covid-only numbers or total numbers? If it's the latter, then it would make it more difficult to figure out the trends since hospitals can suspend elective procedures and what not.

Under a severe thunderstorm warning. Heavy rain definitely the bigger story though.

Looks like a run of temps near 90 at ORD. Might be hard to put together a real streak of 90 though given the borderline nature. Good thing Alek isn't farther inland.

Just checked and our bars in Indiana can operate at full capacity starting July 4. Hopefully we get through it better than the other states.

I think that was my dewpoint.

Kinda sticky today.

I agree in not putting all the hope in a vaccine. I mean, I think there will be one or multiple, but we have no idea how effective it will be. It would be nice to get one that is wildly successful but it would be wise to keep expectations in check. Look at what has been learned in the past several months. Not rushing to intubate people even if their oxygen levels are shockingly low, a couple preexisting drugs that reduce hospital stay/mortality to some extent, etc. Even among the people who have comorbidities/are older, they are in a better position to survive than they were several months ago. And in a few more months, perhaps they will be even more likely to survive than they would be right now, before any potential vaccine.

My sister is having a birthday party for her kids in a couple weeks (joint party because their birthdays are close). She doesn't really follow any of the guidelines. Definitely doesn't wear a mask. Normally there are like 40-50 people at the house and it's mostly indoors. There is a deck but most people don't go outside. Kinda uncomfortable about going as I haven't been in a house setting like that since this started. Would be nice to try to have it outdoors. She said she may end up cancelling if a lot of people don't want to come but not sure.

Masks aren't required at your airport? My aunt recently flew out of Midway and said that masks are required there (though she is a tad flaky so I'm not sure if she's right lol) and I know Michigan has been one of the stricter states in general.

I may not agree but on some level I can understand not wearing a mask in low populated areas/areas where the disease prevalence is basically non existent. The mask science seems pretty good as far as reducing transmission. Science has a way of coming to a conclusion only to later reach a different conclusion, so if the idea of masks resulting in lower transmission is wrong, then imo it's not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. If masks do reduce transmission, then we get the numbers down and don't have the stories about more cases dominating the news all the time.

Nice corridor

Valpo area looks good.

Absolutely dumping. Gusty winds too but sub severe at my location.

Dews have mixed out a little around/south of I-80 where the better heating has occurred. But waning diurnal heating/approach of sunset may bring them back up in that zone.

Northward recovery creep continues. Temp has risen into the upper 80s here.

The current rate of deaths (~600 per day on avg) isn't exactly great. It's only good compared to what it was. At least it has been consistently trending down, but it will be difficult to keep that going down further as long as we are putting up 30-40k plus cases per day. The new cases do seem to be skewing younger than before, but probably not to the extent that it seems. You practically had to be on your death bed to get a test back in March if you were young, especially if you didn't have contact with a known infected person.

I guess I don't understand why the mask thing has become a big deal. People act like it's some massive infringement. Yes, it's inconvenient and uncomfortable especially when worn for a long time, but I look at it as a temporary measure to try to get us through this period of time. I'll change my tune if the mask rules become a permanent thing, but for now, just going to deal with it.

I'm not a Trump fan but there was a missed opportunity with the masks. He should've marketed and sold Trump masks like maga hats. Whatever it takes. Wouldn't solve it entirely but it would help. If you're not wearing a mask these days, chances are you are a follower of the president.

Not really unexpected though. Main window for severe has always been around mid afternoon into evening, so we'll see what happens in the next few hours.

Getting more breaks of sun now. There is about a 10 degree temp spread between our locations.

Been pretty well socked in with clouds here so far today. If all I knew is what's happening outside my window, I'd say big red flag in terms of severe wx later. But it is always important to look at the bigger picture and watch what is going on upstream.

Texas closing bars too.