On a snowy morning in February, I wrote a column observing that it was colder in Waco than in Anchorage.

Don’t shoot the messenger, but today it’s supposed to be hotter in Waco than in Phoenix.

Last I heard, the forecast for this afternoon was 107 degrees in Waco and 106 degrees in Phoenix.

This summer’s a sizzler, and we’re in the middle of what’s statistically the hottest stretch of the season. We should break the record for consecutive days above 100 degrees on Thursday and on Aug. 15 we’ll likely set a record for the most days above the century mark — 64.

This heat wave’s stronger than an acre of fresh-mowed garlic.

But rather than merely holding our nose and suffering through it, we might as well have some fun along the way. I’ve mentioned before that I enjoy collecting colorful Texas sayings. I love the use of humor and clever turns of phrase to artfully and succinctly offer an observation.

Texans have lots of colorful ways to describe our extreme weather. Some of them you can use in a family paper, others you can’t. Some of the best ones are right on the line.

A decade ago, former Tribune-Herald publisher Dan Savage staged a contest to see how many ways our readers could describe the heat wave that was smothering Texas at the time.

The winner, Dan recalls, was Henry Walbesser.

And how hot was it back then?

“Hotter than sex in the attic.”

Those six words summed up that blistering heat wave better than a meteorological dissertation. And this summer is even hotter.

How hot is it?

*  Hotter than Satan in longhandles, it is.

*  So hot the armadillos are hitch-hiking.

*  Hotter than a hundred-dollar Rolex.

*  Hotter than a Bernie Madoff check.

*  So hot the cows are giving evaporated milk.

*  Hot enough to wither a fencepost.

You get the picture. Now, get your competitive juices flowing and come up with your own descriptions of our summer misery. Email your list to dbaggett@wacotrib.com or mail it to me at P.O. Box 2588, Waco 76702-2588.

To make it worth your while, we’ll put up prizes for the most original, most descriptive and most humorous creations. Send in as many entries as you’d like.

Each winner will get a $25 gift card to H-E-B. You can spend it on ice cream to help you beat the heat. But you might want to eat it on the way home, before it melts.

After all, it’s hotter than a billy goat in a pepper patch.

Donnis Baggett is publisher and editor of the Waco Tribune-Herald . His email address is dbaggett@wacotrib.com.