The origins of lambaste are somewhat uncertain, but the word was most likely formed by combining the verbs lam and baste, both of which mean to beat severely. (Incidentally, lambaste can also be spelled lambast, despite the modern spelling of the verb baste.) Some other synonyms of lambaste include pummel, thrash, and pound.
According to the Wikipedia article on Fahrenheit: Fahrenheit remains the official scale for the following countries: the Bahamas, Belize, the Cayman Islands, Palau and the United States and associated territories (Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Canada retains it as a supplementary scale that can be used alongside Celsius.
Contour plot of the dewpoint temperature (F) for the contiguous US. The dewpoint temperature indicates the amount of moisture (or humidity) in the atmosphere. The amount of moisture in the atmosphere can affect how you feel and is used in the heat index computation (see above). Dewpoints above 65 reflect humid conditions. Summer dewpoints can reach the low 80s.