Only 1/4 of Arizona is Hot! (Phoenix, Tucson: sales, schools, college)

[Fiddlehead]

I was looking at a topo map today, and I was surprised to see that really only the southwest quarter of the state is really cooking hot. The southeast is higher and pretty warm, the central part (Mogollon, White Mts.) is not really very hot at all, and the north is really pretty intermediate, except for the Grand Canyon. It would bet that most of Texas or lowland California is every bit as hot or hotter than most of Arizona. Just to make my standards clear. I view hot as high temps of 100+ for at least one month in summer.

It is kind of like Oregon and Washington. You hear about the rain because people live in Seattle and Portland, but the majority of both those states are not really wet. Interesting how state reputations don't really always match the geography.

Am I barking mad, or do you agree?

[WatnNY]

116 in Phoenix today they said!

[grmi66]

Please don't tell anyone, it's our secret.

[Fiddlehead]

Originally Posted by WatnNY

116 in Phoenix today they said!

Very true. Hotter than a habanero salad. But, recall Phoenix is in the SW Corner I was talking about. It is unusually hot. For instance, yesterday at 6:30 pm, while it was 112F in Phoenix and 113F in Bullhead City, it was 62F in Flagstaff after a nice rain. Same time, same state. I suspect many other areas of the state were between those two extremes, and actually under 100F by dinner time. As I type this at 6am, it is 92 in Phoenix, 70 in Sedona, 57 in Prescott, 52 in Flagstaff, and 47 at Happy Jack Ranger Station on the Mogollon Rim.

Looking at the map, I think I would weasel my way back from the OP to say only 1/3 of Arizona is hot. That includes the SW corner, plus a smattering of valleys in the SE,W, and N. corners that get down low enough in elevation to get pretty hot (>95F average summer temps). While I don't consider those temps horribly hot, if your July average is 97 degrees, you probably get plenty of triple digit heat in summer, so hot. But even with that concession, 2/3rds of the state is definitely NOT HOT!

[atler8]

You are not "barking mad" and your comments are well thought out.
Most folks know so very little about the 50 states & the varieties of weather found within the different climatic zones in the states. Thus there are popularly-held but incorrect stereotypes about the weather across the country. This plays out in the many, many incorrect statements made here on CD about the weather in various locales.

[locolobo13]

Depends on what you mean by hot. And what you're used to. In '87 I lived and worked in Safford area, Wilcox to Morenci. Temps got a little over 105 compared to 115 in Phx. At the time 105 seemed hot enuff. In '88 I lived and worked in the Show Low area, Heber to White River. High temp I experienced there was in the 90s. Seemed hot enuff to me then.

Moved to Phx in late 88. Hot here too.

[Fiddlehead]

Originally Posted by grmi66

Please don't tell anyone, it's our secret.

Well, to balance this out, I would say, Arizona is a lot like California. The state has amazing geography and climates, but most likely the jobs are going to be in hot, crowded places Phoenix or Tucson, so the places a typical person could live and make a living are far more limited than the amazing geography would imply.

If you move here, you will be probably end up sitting in traffic at 115F!

[grmi66]

Had to take an Arizona Geography class in college for my major. Found out that there are 14 distinct climate classification zones and Arizona has 12 of them.

There area places like the Verde Valley & Safford that do hit 105 in the summer. But there is a big difference between hitting 105 for an hour or two in the afternoon and then cooling off into the 60's vs hitting 100 degrees by 9:00 AM and staying above 100 for the next 12 hours. All I know is that I'm in outside sales and it is weeks like this one that make it hard to do my job. Once I cool off my car I need to stop and get out. Do that 8-10 times a day and I'm beat.

[retiredtxn]

Originally Posted by Fiddlehead

I was looking at a topo map today, and I was surprised to see that really only the southwest quarter of the state is really cooking hot. The southeast is higher and pretty warm, the central part (Mogollon, White Mts.) is not really very hot at all, and the north is really pretty intermediate, except for the Grand Canyon. It would bet that most of Texas or lowland California is every bit as hot or hotter than most of Arizona. Just to make my standards clear. I view hot as high temps of 100+ for at least one month in summer.

It is kind of like Oregon and Washington. You hear about the rain because people live in Seattle and Portland, but the majority of both those states are not really wet. Interesting how state reputations don't really always match the geography.

Am I barking mad, or do you agree?

Obviously, you've never lived in either TX or CA. They have very diverse areas in temperatures just like AZ. We've lived in both TX and CA and I can tell you that Northern TX (Dallas/FW, etc.) can be very chilly, wet and they get snow in the winter, while south TX (where we lived) is hot and humid...ALL the time! Yuck...hated it there. Southern CA (where we lived) isn't all that hot...not like TX. They have some humidity and it can feel hotter than it really is, but it's not the temperature there that's unbearable...it's the smog, congestion, and ridiculousness of people trying to live up to the status quo. In northern CA, up near San Fran, it's cold, damp and chilly most of the time. Farther north it snows like hell in the winter and it's cold.

[maverick974]

Originally Posted by Fiddlehead

I was looking at a topo map today, and I was surprised to see that really only the southwest quarter of the state is really cooking hot. The southeast is higher and pretty warm, the central part (Mogollon, White Mts.) is not really very hot at all, and the north is really pretty intermediate, except for the Grand Canyon. It would bet that most of Texas or lowland California is every bit as hot or hotter than most of Arizona. Just to make my standards clear. I view hot as high temps of 100+ for at least one month in summer.

It is kind of like Oregon and Washington. You hear about the rain because people live in Seattle and Portland, but the majority of both those states are not really wet. Interesting how state reputations don't really always match the geography.

Am I barking mad, or do you agree?

I don't think you are barking mad or as I put it, bats**t mad at all. Sounds like you've doen some research but I'll disagree with you about Washington and Oregon. I lived up there for 25 years or so and I can tell you it is wet, VERY WET.
Unlike here in Arizona where we get the monsoons that will produce and inch or two of rain in an hour, the rain in the PNW is a heavy drizzle, all day, almost every day for 9 or 10 months. We may only get 1/4 inch, but it comes over the course of 24 hours, not in 20 minutes. That's the difference. It's ALWAYS wet.
I lived on the coast of Oregon and there were times I wouldn't see the sun for weeks. There were a few times I didn't see the sun for several MONTHS. Not common but it happens.
You are accurate in saying most of each state doesn't get THAT much rain but that is east of the Cascade mountains. Not much population in eastern Oregon or eastern Washington. If I remember right, the most desolate county in the nation is in eastern Oregon. They don't even have schools there, they ship their kids to Nevada every week. I think it's Harney County but I could be wrong. I did some work out there and there is NOTHING out there but huge hay farms.

Originally Posted by grmi66

Had to take an Arizona Geography class in college for my major. Found out that there are 14 distinct climate classification zones and Arizona has 12 of them.

There area places like the Verde Valley & Safford that do hit 105 in the summer. But there is a big difference between hitting 105 for an hour or two in the afternoon and then cooling off into the 60's vs hitting 100 degrees by 9:00 AM and staying above 100 for the next 12 hours. All I know is that I'm in outside sales and it is weeks like this one that make it hard to do my job. Once I cool off my car I need to stop and get out. Do that 8-10 times a day and I'm beat.

That is an interesting fact. I love to learn stuff like that. I'll remember that one.
Also, did you know that UPS, FEDEX and USPS have no A/C in their delivery trucks? OSHA or the unions don't allow it. It's unhealthy to go in and out of the hot and cold so much apparently. That's what one of the drivers told me anyway.