COFFEE BREAK B8 — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD TuESDAY, SEpTEmBER 14, 2021 Mother puts pressure on unemployed child tain my living expenses for the time being. However, I’m trying to hold out for a job or career that connects to my soul passion. Working for decades in a job that sustains me and my children is no match for the longing of my passion. (I’m still not sure what it is.) How do I curb my moth- er’s pushing me for a resolution without coming off as annoyed, which I am? I’m sure she wants to express her concern, but I want support in my efforts without feeling condemned. Help me, please. — Annoyed in Alabama Dear Annoyed: I will try. Because you still aren’t sure what your “soul passion” is, it’s time Dear Abby: I am currently without a job. I hesitated to inform my mother because I was sure her reaction would only add to my stress. I was right. She constantly corners me about my efforts to find a job. I talk to her nearly every day to keep up with how she and my stepfather are doing. Because she never fails to dig into me about my job search progress, I now find ways to shorten our conversations. I can get a job or two to sus- a man, “Carson,” on and off for about five years. Last year, when I asked him if we were exclusive, he quickly said no, so I went and slept with an ex and became pregnant. I didn’t reach out to Carson because I thought the baby belonged to my ex, but when the baby was born I quickly realized she might be Carson’s. When I told him, he immediately denied she was his but still rekindled our relationship. Abby, he disappears fre- quently and doesn’t answer my calls. What should I do? Leave him? Stay? I do love him. — Hopeless Romantic in Pennsylvania to find out. A place to start might be a career counseling center (some universities have them). Contact one or more and inquire whether they offer career coun- seling and aptitude testing. The test results will tell you what you are best suited for. Of course, this service is not offered for free, which is why you might want to buckle down and take a job or two in the meantime to afford it, as well as to feed your little family. As to your mother, who may be wor- ried because you don’t yet have a plan of action, explain to her about seeking career counseling and she may calm down. Dear Abby: I’ve been seeing Dear Hopeless Romantic: Have your child DNA-tested. If it proves she IS Carson’s, he should be contributing to his daughter’s support. (The same goes for anyone else you think could be the father.) It’s important that you understand this man behaves the way he does because he is not in love with you and doesn’t care about your feelings. He sees other women, just as he did the first time around. If this is the way you want to be treated, continue this relationship. If, however, you think you deserve some- thing — anything — better, end this poor excuse for a romance now. Record heat, fire danger plague West after hottest summer on record for U.S. it also extends into Nevada, Idaho and Montana. Meteorologists with the National Interagency Fire Center have labeled it a “high risk” event for much of Northern California on Thursday and Friday “due to critical combina- tion of abundant lightning and increasing winds fol- lowing a prolonged period of unusually warm and dry conditions with critically flammable fuels.” A northward surge of monsoon and Pacific mois- ture is fueling the lightning threat, combined with a low pressure zone moving into the West Coast that will trigger thunderstorm devel- opment. Although a mix of wet and dry thunderstorms could occur, storms will be fast moving, which will limit the amount of rain that any given area receives. In addition to erratic winds from thunderstorms, the system will usher in strong southwesterly winds as it passes through, which could wreak havoc on the many ongoing fires in the region, including the Caldor and Dixie fires. By JASON SAMENOW and DIANA LEONARD The Washington Post PORTLAND — Pun- ishing heat waves have plagued the West all summer and, even at the brink of fall, another swel- tering blast has moved over the region. The heat has brought record-setting tem- peratures in the Southwest and is exacerbating a vol- atile fire situation farther north. This latest heat wave enveloping the West coin- cides with an announce- ment from National Oce- anic and Atmospheric Administration that the months of June through August matched the Dust Bowl summer of 1936 as the hottest on record for the Lower 48 states. “A record 18.4% of the contiguous U.S. experi- enced record-warm tem- peratures,” NOAA wrote. The excessively high temperatures of the moment are being generated by a large and unusually strong zone of high pressure or heat dome parked over the Eric Thayer/Bloomberg Flames consume trees Aug. 21, 2021, during the Dixie Fire in Genesee, California. Punishing heat waves have plagued the West all summer and, even at the brink of fall, another sweltering blast has moved over the region. Four Corners area, a sit- uation that has occurred repeatedly in recent months. Temperatures near the core of the heat dome are gener- ally 10 to 20 degrees above average, and its influence extends everywhere west of the Central Plains. degrees. Death Valley could hit 120 degrees. The weather setup threatens to worsen an already exhausting fire season in the northern half of Western states. After hot and dry weather this week has On Thursday, Sept. 16, record highs in the 90s and low 100s are predicted from California to Colorado. Excessive heat warnings are in effect for parts of the desert Southwest, including Las Vegas, where the fore- cast high is around 105 weather | Go to AccuWeather.com further primed the land- scape to ignite and burn, dry lightning followed by strong winds could lead to new fires and rapidly spread fires already on the ground. The potential for light- ning is highest in Northern California and Oregon, but AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION Astoria Longview 52/63 Kennewick 53/68 St. Helens 59/74 55/71 62/75 59/72 54/72 Condon WED THU FRI SAT Mainly clear Partly sunny Plenty of sun Mostly cloudy Overcast and cooler Baker City 41 76 32 Comfort Index™ 10 La Grande 50 72 39 Comfort Index™ 10 Enterprise 41 71 39 Comfort Index™ 10 63 40 Eugene 10 10 4 56/76 69 47 73 51 59 43 10 10 3 73 51 58 44 9 10 4 10 NATION (for the 48 contiguous states) High Sunday Low Sunday High: 114° Low: 25° Wettest: 1.86” 78° 35° 80° 41° 82° 42° PRECIPITATION (inches) Sunday Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Normal year to date 0.00 0.24 0.18 3.35 6.60 0.00 0.17 0.24 6.71 11.57 0.00 0.04 0.37 15.83 16.28 HAY INFORMATION WEDNESDAY 25% NW at 7 to 14 mph 10.3 0.18 RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Monday) Phillips Reservoir Unity Reservoir Owyhee Reservoir McKay Reservoir Wallowa Lake Thief Valley Reservoir N.A. 15% of capacity 12% of capacity 35% of capacity 0% of capacity 0% of capacity OREGON High: 88° Low: 35° Wettest: Trace Medford Baker City Brookings On Sept. 14, 1984, lightning struck during a soccer game in Chester County, Pa., killing one player and injuring 26 other people on the fi eld. SUN & MOON TUE. Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset WED. 6:30 a.m. 6:31 a.m. 7:05 p.m. 7:03 p.m. 3:43 p.m. 4:40 p.m. none 12:05 a.m. MOON PHASES STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Sunday) Grande Ronde at Troy Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder Burnt River near Unity Umatilla River near Gibbon Minam River at Minam Powder River near Richland Death Valley, Calif. Stanley, Idaho Apalachicola, Fla. WEATHER HISTORY AGRICULTURAL INFO. Lowest relative humidity Afternoon wind Hours of sunshine Evapotranspiration Florence 496 cfs 0 cfs 77 cfs 43 cfs 59 cfs 4 cfs Full Sep 20 Last Sep 28 New Oct 6 First Oct 12 45/75 45/74 Powers 55/70 58/79 Silver Lake Jordan Valley 46/78 Frenchglen Paisley 43/79 41/77 Diamond 46/80 Klamath Falls 54/83 41/80 Lakeview 40/81 McDermitt THU. Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W 63/46/s 64/49/pc 74/40/s 68/47/s 81/47/s 75/54/s 71/53/pc 67/50/s 78/32/s 74/40/s 65/47/s 66/48/s 75/45/s 74/50/s 78/41/s 75/47/s 70/39/pc 69/45/s 76/43/pc 74/48/s 76/43/pc 71/52/s 74/47/pc 73/51/s 73/39/pc 70/43/s 74/38/s 69/45/s 71/38/pc 68/46/s 80/44/s 74/52/s 80/39/s 77/40/s 81/37/s 78/40/s 45/84 RECREATION FORECAST WEDNESDAY REGIONAL CITIES City Astoria Bend Boise Brookings Burns Coos Bay Corvallis Council Elgin Eugene Hermiston Hood River Imnaha John Day Joseph Kennewick Klamath Falls Lakeview 43/82 43/82 Fields Shown is Wednesday’s weather. Temperatures are Tuesday night’s lows and Wednesday’s highs. WED. Grand View Arock 45/77 50/86 Medford Brookings Boise 53/81 54/82 55/71 45/84 42/76 Chiloquin Grants Pass Juntura 39/78 43/69 Beaver Marsh Ontario 48/82 Burns Brothers 41/75 Roseburg Huntington 42/71 50/73 Coos Bay 47/78 54/80 Seneca 46/74 Oakridge Council 41/76 John Day Bend Elkton SUNDAY EXTREMES TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin 44/66 45/74 54/65 Comfort Index takes into account how the weather will feel based on a combination of factors. A rating of 10 feels very comfortable while a rating of 0 feels very uncomfortable. ALMANAC Sisters 58/74 69 45 43/76 Baker City Redmond 51/62 54/61 Halfway Granite 56/75 Newport 75 45 10 49/73 54/69 57/73 Corvallis Enterprise 41/71 50/72 Monument 57/74 Idanha Salem 72 36 10 Elgin 48/70 La Grande 52/69 Maupin TONIGHT 61/72 Pendleton The Dalles Portland Newberg 50/63 57/78 Hood River 59/75 TIllamook Lewiston Walla Walla 57/80 Vancouver 54/69 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021 WED. City Lewiston Longview Meacham Medford Newport Olympia Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Powers Redmond Roseburg Salem Spokane The Dalles Ukiah Walla Walla THU. Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W 78/46/pc 72/52/s 68/44/pc 71/51/pc 69/37/s 68/44/s 83/49/pc 82/51/s 62/43/s 60/46/s 67/42/pc 67/48/pc 82/48/s 77/46/s 78/40/s 73/49/s 75/43/pc 69/54/s 72/49/pc 72/53/s 70/42/s 72/44/s 75/34/s 71/44/s 79/47/s 77/50/s 73/45/s 75/54/s 69/42/pc 64/46/s 75/48/pc 75/56/s 68/33/pc 66/43/s 72/46/pc 69/54/s Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice ANTHONY LAKES PHILLIPS LAKE Partly sunny Partly sunny 50 33 68 34 MT. EMILY REC. BROWNLEE RES. Partly sunny; cool Partly sunny; nice 57 35 77 46 EAGLE CAP WILD. EMIGRANT ST. PARK Partly sunny Partly sunny 59 27 64 29 WALLOWA LAKE MCKAY RESERVOIR Partly sunny Breezy in the a.m. 71 38 74 44 THIEF VALLEY RES. RED BRIDGE ST. PARK Partly sunny Partly sunny 76 32 72 39 Casual Sofa with Accent Pillows only $ 799 Lay-Z-Boy Recliner $ 599 5 Pc Mango set Solid mango wood 42” X 60” leg table that extends to 78”. Paired with 4 side chairs. • Free Delivery • In-Store Credit $ Only Bench available at extra cost. 899 HOURS:Mon. - Fri. 9:30 am-6:30 pm Sat. 9:30 am-5:30 pm Sun. 12 noon-4 pm (541) 963-4144 • 888-449-2704 • 70 Store Buying Power • Decorating Assistance 1520 ADAMS AVENUE La GRANDE, OREGON 97850