Just *how bad* is the heat in Phoenix? I'm from Metro Detroit (to buy, living)

[HX_Guy]

Does the exaggeration come with spending too much time here also or....

Halloween highs for the past 10 years...

2014: 91º
2013: 73º
2012: 87º
2011: 89º
2010: 78º
2009: 82º
2008: 91º
2007: 82º
2006: 78º
2005: 84º

There's been more highs in the 70s than there have been in the 90s on Halloween.

As for the high temps wearing on you, I actually found it to be kind of the opposite, or maybe it's like a bellcurve. Maybe the first few years it's bad, then after 5 years you get a bit tired, but then 10+ years you just get used to it. I've been here for 24 years and yes it sucks still, but it's part of life and not that bad. Certainly better than having to deal with single digit temps and snow.

[HTY483]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

Does the exaggeration come with spending too much time here also or....

I got the following from daytime highs on October 31st from wunderground.com. Either way, by the end of October, I'm ready for it to go away and no amount of swimming or AC can take away the fact that a simple task such as running to the grocery store can really suck in July. You also need to take into account the unfortunate amount of pavement in the Phoenix area. Daytime highs recorded by weather stations are not indicative of the actual temperatures experienced when walking across a parking lot. When I was in college my roommates and I took a thermometer out into the street on a July day and held it about 3' off of the surface and got a temperature of over 130F if memory serves.

2014 - 95F
2013 - 76F
2012 - 88F
2011 - 90F
2010 - 81F
2009 - 88F
2008 - 92F

[HX_Guy]

I got mine from Wunderground too, but for Peoria 85383, so looks like there's a bit of difference there.

[TempeAZnative]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

You don't have to be trapped in the house here ever. When it's hot out, it's perfect pool time. In the middle of the summer, it's still pretty toasty at night but you can certainly go on a walk or bike ride or whatever you want and you won't die. You can do so in the middle of the day for that matter. Just hydrate. No matter what, it's not even comparable to the cold, gray hell of Detroit. If you come out, bring me some Buddy's and a coney please.

try Detroit Coney Grill for your coney fix
Detroit Coney Grill - Tempe, AZ | Yelp

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by TempeAZnative

try Detroit Coney Grill for your coney fix
Detroit Coney Grill - Tempe, AZ | Yelp

I've been meaning to get there. It looks legit. Thanks for the reminder.

[infocyde]

My wife is from the Detroit area and she didn't like the heat down in the Phoenix area. She tolerated it, but she never really embraced it. I spent about 5 years in the metro Detroit area before coming back to Arizona, and once here again after a few days my heat tolerance was back and the heat didn't bother me again unless it was like over 110.

I think if you are a really fair skinned person who grew up in colder climates, not so much metro Detroit cold but maybe more UP cold, you *may* have problems adjusting to the heat. Others are fine with it, well maybe not fine with it but will take the heat of a Phoenix area summer over the bitter cold of midwest Winters. If you are moving out here that is another reason to maybe rent at first to see how you do before putting down more solid roots.

[Ztonyg]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

I've been meaning to get there. It looks legit. Thanks for the reminder.

That place is awesome. Definitely reminds you of Detroit.

[R_Cowgirl]

Go to "search this forum" in the top right hand corner of the Phoenix Forum. Type in the word "heat." You'll find pages of conversations about it.

The answer to your question is "it depends." It depends on what time of day, what time of the year, how much humidity is in the air, your tolerance for heat, how your home is insulated, etc.

For me it's cyclical. One summer I'm just so over it, the next summer it seems to fly by. And the temps don't seem to change all that much. IMHO, after 110, it all feels the same. Now, when the wind blows and it's hot, we get a "Wind Hell Factor." (I just made that up...)

Here's how it feels: Turn on your broiler in your oven. Open the door. Stand in front of it with a hair dryer on high pointing at your face and let'er blow. That's when you know we have moved 10 miles east of Hell and a block from the sun.

It goes on forever. It's hot in late October when everyone else up north is having homecoming floats and playing football in the brisk winter air. We all start to moan and groan that it will never end. Then one day it's absolutely stunning and amazing weather. It stays that way (with the occasional freeze in late January) until about May 20th. We all bask in the beauty of the Valley of the Sun. Get to know our neighbors again. Grow herb gardens and pick fruit off our trees, and love this place. Then hell sneaks in again and there we go again...

it's like that.

[goolsbyjazz]

Originally Posted by R_Cowgirl

Go to "search this forum" in the top right hand corner of the Phoenix Forum. Type in the word "heat." You'll find pages of conversations about it.

The answer to your question is "it depends." It depends on what time of day, what time of the year, how much humidity is in the air, your tolerance for heat, how your home is insulated, etc.

For me it's cyclical. One summer I'm just so over it, the next summer it seems to fly by. And the temps don't seem to change all that much. IMHO, after 110, it all feels the same. Now, when the wind blows and it's hot, we get a "Wind Hell Factor." (I just made that up...)



Here's how it feels: Turn on your broiler in your oven. Open the door. Stand in front of it with a hair dryer on high pointing at your face and let'er blow. That's when you know we have moved 10 miles east of Hell and a block from the sun.

It goes on forever. It's hot in late October when everyone else up north is having homecoming floats and playing football in the brisk winter air. We all start to moan and groan that it will never end. Then one day it's absolutely stunning and amazing weather. It stays that way (with the occasional freeze in late January) until about May 20th. We all bask in the beauty of the Valley of the Sun. Get to know our neighbors again. Grow herb gardens and pick fruit off our trees, and love this place. Then hell sneaks in again and there we go again...

it's like that.

Perfectly stated.

[HX_Guy]

Originally Posted by goolsbyjazz

Perfectly stated.

Yep!