Heat

Tonight's local newscast is being partly broadcast from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park because of a telethon that begins at 7 p.m. One of the "Live at Five" anchors is at the Sugarlands Visitor Center near Gatlinburg where the temperature is between 97 and 98 according to the handheld instrument she had in hand. The chief meteorologist for the station is atop Clingmans Dome in the park which has apparently at least tied a record high of 72. The temperature (depending on where the clouds are at the time) has been between 69.4 and 72 during the broadcast. I'm tempted to get in my car and drive to the cooler temperatures, but a lot of other folks probably have the same idea. 70 degree temperature sounds wonderful to me!

Update: The telethon has been very educational. If you wish to donate to Friends of the Smokies, you can do so through their web site. The park does not have an admission fee so it relies on fund-raisers such as this and the little donation boxes throughout the park to make improvements. The last segment was just talking about how they have to airlift some of the materials to renovate the shelters on the trails. They've raised $178,161 as of 7:45 p.m. and want to raise $200,000 by 8:00 p.m. Of course, they'll take donations any time!

Update 2: They did it. The last total was over $203,000 before the telethon was over. They are still taking calls. This figure breaks last year's record of over $202,000.