Summer Heat II - Sierra Vista (Tucson, Douglas: place to live, moving to, retiring)

[country pride]

I just read the original post in here and realized youre from WI. What parts are you from? Just curious.
In comparison to WI, yes, this heat here can be unbearable. I love what I do for a living (electrician) but the concenquences that come with it include being out in this heat, especialy when we're doing work in trenches. We've so far had temps as high as 113 in many areas, and just yesterday, the thermometer on the patio read 110 in the shade around 4:30-ish. But then, Im told nothing is accurate....

[30apples]

"monsoons' in AZ.--- A kind of joke, really. It just means fairly sudden down-pours. Afterwards, it's not at all humid. Sometimes I wish it were, as the extreme dryness is bad for the skin (causes itchiness), bad for your throat causing it to be always dry and your voice hoarse sounding (chewing gum helps), and for some people bad for the nasal passages causing nosebleeds. Also the dry air is bad for furniture as the wood drys out, cracks and sometimes shrinks. For some people none of these things happen or noticed....
The 3 month period is the usual time of year when these downpours can happen, though sometimes the rain comes in the other "seasons" instead. So the Monsoon season does mean a 3-month period of occasional rain. When these rains do come in the summer, it's more often in the mid to late afternoon. Also there are a lot of lightning "storms" w/out any rain. That's because the rain often evaporates up in the atmosphere, so there's none left to fall to the ground. These lightning storms often set grass and forest fires during the summer,thus the " fire season".
And yes the temps are cooler in S. Vista, but still plenty hot. If it's 115 or 118 in phx then 105 in Sierra Vista is much cooler!

[30apples]

Steve-o has given an excellent and accurate description of what the "summer" weather is like!

[azloafer]

Originally Posted by lludvig

Most of the construction contractors here start early in the morning when it's cooler and are off site by early afternoon. It is said that you need about a month to get acclimated to the elevation and weather.

Monsoon season typically starts here around the 4th of July and lasts until early September. The monsoon season has not been very good in quite some time. It pretty much starts to downpour when you get off work and are on your way to your car in the farthest place in the parking lot. It gets humid then.

This is the most accurate description of the weather in AZ that I have seen. You get a reputation bonus.

[ws_sisu]

Wow, you guys have given me lots of info and I really appreciate your input!

LA Woman - we're from La Crosse, in the southest part of WI on the Mississippi River. It's good to hear from another electrician.

We've been experiencing the same heat wave as the rest of the country, but haven't hit 100 yet. However, we've had 75% humidity and 97 degrees, which is truly unpleasant.

Steve-o - you plain ol' scare me with your description of AZ in the summer. We're coming next week to see the worst of AZ weather, and it sounds like we might just get our wish!

[ws_sisu]

Originally Posted by L_A_Woman

I just read the original post in here and realized youre from WI. What parts are you from? Just curious.
In comparison to WI, yes, this heat here can be unbearable. I love what I do for a living (electrician) but the concenquences that come with it include being out in this heat, especialy when we're doing work in trenches. We've so far had temps as high as 113 in many areas, and just yesterday, the thermometer on the patio read 110 in the shade around 4:30-ish. But then, Im told nothing is accurate....

Are you also from WI? in another post, I read that you had recently visited there. Where did you visit?

[country pride]

My last visit there was a couple of years back and I stayed just south of Madison (Stoughton). Even talked to some guys who worked for Doc Electric in Stoughton but never made it to their shop, though, they were hiring big time back then. Saw a lot of smaller towns and was very much impressed with Albany, out in the middle of nowhere. My next visit will probably be more in Madison, as it was also impressive and memorable.
And I had never seen so much green before, wow!! Very pleasannt, memorable...

[ws_sisu]

How long have you been in AZ? It sounds like you might be considering a move to WI, to the "land of the green". It's definitely different from AZ!

I also love Madison - a very arty college town. Every few months, we have a girl party down there and stay in Madison to hit State St. on campus so we can shop and gorge on many different ethnic foods, because there is little to choose from in La Crosse. But...next time you're up north, try to give La Crosse a visit. IMO it's the prettiest area in the state.

[country pride]

I've heard a lot about LaCrosse and everything I hear has all been positive, from all directions.
We all went to the college out there on State St, to the ice cream place there and sat out on the pier watching the kayakers.
Girls get together out there, lol...sounds like fun.
It somewhat resembles Seattle, in a small way, and we shopped the little boutiques and there just is no comparison. Beautiful country, thats the bottom line. I was out there a week and almost didnt come back...

[ArizonaBear]

For the record:

I personally think that Cochise County; where Sierra Vista, Bisbee, etc. are has possibly the best overall weather in Arizona.

A touch of winter but nothing like back east and the summers are at least 10-20 degrees cooler than Phoenix/Casa Grande/LHC, etc. Plus there is more rain.

My biggest issue with Cochise County is the impending water shortage as well as the proximity to the Mexican border.