Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
And it is funny how people will generalize for an entire region without any experience or facts. When I moved to New Mexico my friends from Missouri asked how I was ever going to stand the intolerable heat (thinking Arizona). The record high in Albuquerque was 107 some years ago for a few hours but the humidity was probably 8% so it was not that bad. If Missouri had 107 degrees the humidity would be 80% or higher - deadly. I recall some oppressively hot Missouri days of 112 with high humidity.
I agree on this. This is why I find northern climates easier to deal with than southern climates. Here in Texas, our extreme season is summer when we can reach 100 quite often. And 100 is reached in the late morning, afternoon til early evening. Its most of the day when its 100 and during the time people are outside. Meanwhile up north in the winter, it can get below zero sometimes, but that typically happens overnight and early morning. When most people are sleeping. In Texas we deal with the worst of the heat more often than folks in Wisconsin deal with the worst of cold. I've driven a car in 100+ with no AC, I hated my life and cursed out the window. I've also driven a car in 20 degrees with no heat. My hands were cold, but I managed.
It works both ways; winter daily highs in many northern cities can still be too cold for any thriving outdoor activity.
It works both ways; winter daily highs in many northern cities can still be too cold for any thriving outdoor activity.
True if you are a sedentary person. I find that most people who think it is impossible to go outdoors in winter are just lazy or unathletic. But most northern countries are well known for lots of intensive outdoor sports in winter.
When my mother was young, she and her family would ski (cross country) every day after school/work. Not just because they liked it, but because it actually keeps you warm, and by not heating the house while they were out, their firewood supply lasted longer.:-)
And of course it is difficult to be cold while cross country skiing which is why skiers dress in what amounts to a lycra bodysuit, even down to single digits.
Also there is the old saying, 'firewood heats you twice: first when you chop it, then when you burn it.' :-)
Because both of their biggest cities Phoenix and Las Vegas have summers in the 100's. Most people don't know that Flagstaff has some of the best summers in the country.
why does Arizona prominently feature a cactus on their license plate then?
I live in New Mexico and see cactus covered in snow all the time in winter. Cactus have little to do with heat, everything to do with poor soil that doesn't hold water.
That is why there are even cactus in New York State is some very rocky microclimates.
It really has to do with where the population is. Both Nevada and Arizona's greatest population centers are Las Vegas and Phoenix/Tucson. With this in mind, all these cities are very hot in the summer. Reno can also be hot in the summer, but tends to more "seasonal" with four seasons. Both Nevada and Arizona have areas of cold winters, in Arizona, Flagstaff is cold with moderate snowfall during the winter. In Nevada, Reno gets snow every year, and as you move northeast, Winnemucca and Elko also experience real winters, though generally sunny.
I've been to Reno, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. All three were really hot, since it was summer. I believe Phoenix was 115 when we were there!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
