It's the heat AND the humidity, stupid!

Gray damp skies hung over my neighborhood and the rest of San Diego all weekend, feeding the mopish mood that has settled over many southern Californians in recent weeks.

Last weekend it was scorching triple-digit temperatures that made people run for the nearest beach, swimming pool or cold shower.

Things clearly aren't as they should be.

July weather in San Diego is supposed to be nothing short of ideal. Average rainfall for the month is a nearly immeasurable 0.03 inches, and the average high temperature hovers around a comfy 76 degrees (24.4 C).

With July falling at the height of the region's dry season, humidity this time of year is "almost unknown," according to the National Weather Service.

Nothing has been normal this July though.

It actually rained yesterday! Several times! Humidity levels, at times, have topped a soggy 75 percent. And the blazing heat is suspected in more than 140 deaths across California in recent weeks.

Weather forecasters say that an uncommon high pressure dome is sitting over the desert southwest, pumping hot air into southern California like a furnace. Late last week, an equally rare mid-summer thunderstorm system in Arizona and New Mexico added moisture to the mix.

None of this would matter much if air conditioners cooled and dried every enclosed space here, but they don't. Floor and ceiling fans are usually all that's needed to circulate air through rooms to keep things relatively comfortable. But that's not working this summer.

Like many others here, we've reached our limits here in my un-airconditioned apartment. We're going shopping for a portable air conditioning unit. That's easier said than done. I've heard stories of grabbing and shoving matches breaking out over the limited supplies of air conditioners in local stores. We'll be lucky just to find one on a shelf.