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Do you ever feel a bit foolish for moving to PHX and constantly complaining about the heat ? It's kind of like moving to Florida and complaining about the humidity or moving to North Dakota and complaining that it's flat and cold. I'd think the fact that it was going to be hot in the desert would have been obvious.
It has taken me several years for me to really know how I feel about this place. When I first started ASU in fall '04 I figured I'd basically be a snowbird, here for the school year, then back home for the summer. That's basically what I did for the first 2 years. My first two years here, I loved it! I thought I wanted to permanently stay here after graduation and become a life long Phoenician. I was almost intoxicated with the heat. This year was my first time spending the pretty much the whole summer here. Now I've had the full experience of what the heat's like here. Let me just say, wow! I've decided to toss in the towel. For me at least, it feels like I'm throwing half of the year in the garbage can living here year round. I feel like I'm imprisoned in the heat, with no escape. That's one lesson I've learned-- going here on vacation and/or living here seasonally is NOT the same thing as being a permanent resident here. Not even close. I'm glad I learned this lesson now while I still am young and mobile.
Desert=dry, it does not necessarily equal hot all year round. There are so-called "cold deserts," like the Great Basin of Nevada or the Colorado Plateau in the four corners region, that are just as dry as here, but not as hot in the summer, and even cold and snowy in the winter. Even compared to Las Vegas in the Mojave Desert, Phoenix is more consistently hotter for a longer period of the year. This urban heat island effect is so powerful-- it's an environmental disaster, really, that Phoenix doesn't even have a true Sonoran desert climate anymore-- it's turned into an artificial heat cesspool-- even hotter than what the Sonoran desert is like naturally, especially at night.
Desert=dry, it does not necessarily equal hot all year round. There are so-called "cold deserts," like the Great Basin of Nevada or the Colorado Plateau in the four corners region, that are just as dry as here, but not as hot in the summer, and even cold and snowy in the winter. Even compared to Las Vegas in the Mojave Desert, Phoenix is more consistently hotter for a longer period of the year. This urban heat island effect is so powerful-- it's an environmental disaster, really, that Phoenix doesn't even have a true Sonoran desert climate anymore-- it's turned into an artificial heat cesspool-- even hotter than what the Sonoran desert is like naturally, especially at night.
Surely you knew the Sonoran was a hot desert before you moved here. I'm sure you were also aware that every major city in the US has a heat island effect. I just don't understand the thought process involved in moving to an area and then complaining about it's most obvious quality whether it be heat in Phoenix, earthquakes in Los Angeles or snow in Buffalo.
Surely you knew the Sonoran was a hot desert before you moved here. I'm sure you were also aware that every major city in the US has a heat island effect. I just don't understand the thought process involved in moving to an area and then complaining about it's most obvious quality whether it be heat in Phoenix, earthquakes in Los Angeles or snow in Buffalo.
1. As I just said, yes, I knew Phoenix was in the Sonoran desert, and that it was going to have extreme heat. Do I need to repeat myself twice? I said I actually liked the heat when I only had to deal with it in a small dose (late August to mid October, and then a few hot weeks at the end of the school year from mid April to early May). I thought that living in Phoenix would be like being on vacation-- and it kind of was. Experiencing the heat here for the whole summer this year is what has finally changed my mind. Go back and read what I just said. I plan on moving out as soon as I graduate next May. I've learned my lesson, and I'm writing this, not to be a little b****, but to share my experieces with others who think that just because they have vacationed here, that living in Phoenix year round is just heavenly. Thing is, Bill, people's brains don't always work logically. Everyone knows Phoenix is hot (with the exception of real estate and tourist promoters who are always talking about how "mild" it is), but for some reason, people don't always put two and two together.
Oh, I and seriously doubt there is any other US city that suffers from the heat island effect as accutely as Phoenix.
Oh, I and seriously doubt there is any other US city that suffers from the heat island effect as accutely as Phoenix.
OK, I have stayed silent while this term "heat island" has passed several times. The "heat island" is by and large an urban phenomenon. If you live near the airport, like in Tempe, then your night time temps are elevated by radiation from pavement and such. The heat island is minimal in the suburbs and disappears completely in the the far-flung burbs. Where I live for example, the temps are almost always 8-10 degrees lower than the airport at night. I have a recording digital weather station on my property and I did not have a single night this summer where the low was above 90. My overnights have been in the high 50s to low 60s ever since monsoon broke. So let the new urbanists sweat and swelter in their mid-town high-rises. We are enjoying the cooler temps out here.
All right, I have to jump in here and set the record straight, except for Stevie-0. I lived in Chicago for 45 years. We may have as much total precipitation as Seattle, but it is not a constant moderate rainfall. In moves in and moves out. In the Summer when thumderstorms pass through, yeah it can drop a lot of rain, esp late afternoon or at night. But then, it can be completely over the next day and you'll have a beautiful clear sunny day, usually cooler and sometimes it will thunderstorm over night and be gone the next day. In winter precip is lower and usually in the form of snow. In fall it may rain as much as 2-1/2 days in a row absolute tops, but then you'll have an even longer sunny period. This may happen also in Spring, although you can get the thunderstorms as mentioned above in Spring. Basically, the same is true of the enitre midwest with some variations. Hotter and more humid as you go South, cooler as you go North. The one draw back I found about Chicago is the being near the lake, cloudiness can hang around a long time without breaking up. I'll never forget this one November where it was cloudy for almost the entire month, but not raining, just cloudy. To some people this is depressing. The benefit of being by the lake is that it is usually cooler by the lake and if you get a lake breeze and it pushes inland a ways your temp can drop 10-15 degrees in 5 seconds. A great thing is when you have a lake wind it wipes out all allergens. Also many say living near the lake tends to be a Tornado resister which I've seen to be true as most of the tornados we've had were southwest and inland a little. Going toward the middle midwest there are more extremes in temperature. like North or South Dakota where it can really bake in summer and freeze in winter. Basically in upper midwest, like Chicago, Summer is the best time of year, the time you look forward to. People come out to play. I moved and have spent 9 months in Tucson. The summer months of June, July and August (also parts of may and september) were what I would call HELL ON EARTH. I had to rethink my favorite season, which, if I stay here, which I don't know if I'm going to, would be October, November, December and maybe February, March and April (although the sun is building in strength by April). This Summers in Tucson are a shock to a midwesterner, taking hot to a whole new level. I had a taste of this in North Carolina where the summers were too hot and humid and were not the best time of year.
What is the temperature at John Wayne Gacy's house? 27 below and 4 down by the lake Hee Hee.
Last edited by Zorina; 10-03-2007 at 02:13 AM..
Reason: boo-boo
Soemtimes I wonder if I clicked the Chicago forum instead of the AZ forum.
Well, anyway, this has been a great late summer/early fall. Temps fell below 100 just after the monsoon ended. They are going to taper off into the 80s this week. After a particularly hot and dry summer, there is a pretty good chance we will not see another 100 degree day until next April (in AZ).
Oh, I and seriously doubt there is any other US city that suffers from the heat island effect as accutely as Phoenix.
I've done a little research on this and depending on what you mean by "suffer" you are either right or wrong. If you mean that the additional heat caused by UHI (urban heat island) makes life here even more unbearable then you may be right. But it you think that the UHI is more pronounced in Phoenix than other areas, you are probably wrong.
UHI is brought about by a number of factors but replacing vegetation with pavement and rooftop is probably the most significant. In Phoenix, there is not a lot of natural vegetation so the effect of paving the desert is less dramatic than clearing and paving around Houston, for example. Also, once the sun goes down, radiational cooling takes over. Humidity and cloud impede radiational cooling (hence the warmer monsoon nights). But, Phoenix does not have a lot of clouds or humidity when compared to other large cities where UHI is evident so, in fact, cools more rapidly. When you start at 115 a 25 degree drop gets you to only 90.
Anyhow, no arguing the nights are getting warmer especially at the airport. But Phoenix as UHI champion - I doubt it. My vote is for Houston.
I've done a little research on this and depending on what you mean by "suffer" you are either right or wrong. If you mean that the additional heat caused by UHI (urban heat island) makes life here even more unbearable then you may be right.
That's exactly what I meant! I'm not a climatologist, so I can't tell you the exact number of degrees of additional "urban heat" and how it compares on a chart, but yeah, the point is, it's hot enough in the desert as it is, and the UHI makes a bad situation worse.
Quote:
UHI is brought about by a number of factors but replacing vegetation with pavement and rooftop is probably the most significant. In Phoenix, there is not a lot of natural vegetation so the effect of paving the desert is less dramatic than clearing and paving around Houston, for example. Also, once the sun goes down, radiational cooling takes over. Humidity and cloud impede radiational cooling (hence the warmer monsoon nights). But, Phoenix does not have a lot of clouds or humidity when compared to other large cities where UHI is evident so, in fact, cools more rapidly. When you start at 115 a 25 degree drop gets you to only 90.
Anyhow, no arguing the nights are getting warmer especially at the airport. But Phoenix as UHI champion - I doubt it. My vote is for Houston.
Ok, what you are saying, Ponderosa, makes a lot of sense. Hmm, maybe it IS cooler at night in other parts of the valley-- and maybe they get more stars at night, too. All I know, is that here in Tempe, where I live, the UHI problem is miserable. And since I'm in a huge apartment complex with the building units closely stacked together, interspersed with a giant alley/parking lot, it's even worse here than it is in the residential neighborhoods in Tempe. I think the heat here just plain sucks. I'm sure if I lived in north Scottsdale, I'd have a totally different opinion.
And BTW, I understand that even though Phoenix, when it comes to pure temperatures, is the HOTTEST city in the US, it's not even close to being the most uncomfortable. I would still rather live here than Houston any day. I don't totally hate Phoenix-- there's a lot of things I love about it here. I used to come here a lot on family road trips growing up (way back in the 1990's-- I remember when the 101 wasn't even built yet!) , visiting some family here, and I loved it! And even if I move back to CO, or to a whole new place altogether, I'll still come here on vacations. The main thing I'm questioning-- and the reason I'm on a city relocation forum learning about different locales-- is "Is Phoenix worth living in as a year round, permanent resident, or are there better choices for me personally?"
I do not get when you don't live here why you feel the need to put down AZ every chance you get. Do you have no life? It's very strange. I read this forum alot but rarely post. You though live in Chicago, why are you even here? I understand you lived here in the past. JC, find something better to do with all the great things there are in Chicago than running down AZ all the time.
I am sooooo jealous. We have great weather right now in WV, but I want it all year!
What are your winters like out there?
Cool to cold without snow. (35 low at night, 50 during the day is typical) It sometimes warms up to around 70 degrees for about an hour during the day. (I know, that's so weird!) January I think is the coldest month. By February, you are out in the sun with a sweater and by March you are sun tanning. April through October are pretty hot (up to high 90's) with the hottest months obviously in the summer especially in July and August when it's 110 plus high humidity.
Take like now, in mid October when it's 90-95 degrees during the day. It's still HOT - "but" if you are in the shade it is so cool and comfortable. Most of the time because of the lack of clouds, when you are out directly in the sun, it's not the heat that will get to you, it's the suns rays. They literally burn. It feels like someone is taking a match to your skin. That is why you will see so many people wearing lightweight long sleeve shirts in the middle of the summer if they are in the sun. It actually feels cooler with long sleeves on!!! The rays are SUPER intense here, really intense. Burning hot intense.... LOL
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I've decided to toss in the towel. For me at least, it feels like I'm throwing half of the year in the garbage can living here year round. I feel like I'm imprisoned in the heat, with no escape. That's one lesson I've learned-- going here on vacation and/or living here seasonally is NOT the same thing as being a permanent resident here. Not even close. I'm glad I learned this lesson now while I still am young and mobile.
All I know, is that here in Tempe, where I live, the UHI problem is miserable. And since I'm in a huge apartment complex with the building units closely stacked together, interspersed with a giant alley/parking lot, it's even worse here than it is in the residential neighborhoods in Tempe. I think the heat here just plain sucks. I'm sure if I lived in north Scottsdale, I'd have a totally different opinion.
sizzle
The rays are SUPER intense here, really intense. Burning hot intense.... LOL
