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The heat index (which incorporates Relative Humidity) is lower for Houston than Phoenix during the summer.
I can echo something, in Houston the heat has felt uncomfortable, it never felt dangerous. I felt in danger when I was Kingman, Arizona and the car thermometer read 127 F while driving on the highway. What was worse, wind at that temperature didn't feel like a relief, it felt like a blow dryer to the face. The sun was unrelentless, and the desert just proves how inhospitable the climate was.
A humid 90 degree day, and the breeze still feels good, and cooling.
Anyways Kingman isn't Phoenix, but you both get the same weather.
Well, your car thermometer was a bit optimistic, considering its never been that hot in Kingman. Ill agree that the air/wind isnt a relief, it is hot (like a hair dryer). But if youre sweating, the air feels good.
Yes, the sun is relentless, we all know that. Thats the draw for many in the desert. Waking up to clear blue skies 330+ days a year does wonderful things for the mind. Some like it, some dont. Im one of the people who like it. Its a blessing, and a curse at times, but Ill take it over the constant gray skies of somewhere like Seattle.
Ive lived in humid climes in IL and TN, visited FL in summer several times, as well as TX... the humidity there is horrible. Day...night...doesnt matter. You sweat buckets, regardless. While our summer is blisteringly hot, the rest of the year is dry as a bone, and extremely comfortable... something you dont get in Florida.
The dry heat argument is moot because even with that, the heat indices are still higher for Phoenix than they are for Tampa, or Houston. Phoenix, along with the rest of the lowland Southwest, is still Gehenna compared to Houston or Tampa, especially during summer.
Its not a moot point, as most people prefer dry over humid. It might be hotter here, but it feels better to me because the dew point/humidity is much, much lower than you find in Tampa. Its a matter of preference, but theres a reason Phoenix's population is much larger than Tampa's... more people prefer to live here. And if AZ's wilderness was habitable (ie more rivers, less mountains), IM sure AZ's population would be higher than Florida's. I see so many people moving here from Florida, for good reason.
Its not a moot point, as most people prefer dry over humid. It might be hotter here, but it feels better to me because the dew point/humidity is much, much lower than you find in Tampa. Its a matter of preference, but theres a reason Phoenix's population is much larger than Tampa's... more people prefer to live here. And if AZ's wilderness was habitable (ie more rivers, less mountains), IM sure AZ's population would be higher than Florida's. I see so many people moving here from Florida, for good reason.
Phoenix may have a larger population than Tampa, but that is because Florida's population is more evenly distributed. That is a nonsense argument, as there are plenty of humid places with larger populations than Phoenix.
And second of all, Florida has almost 20 million inhabitants, whereas Arizona is just underneath 7 million. Not that Arizona won't grow, but that speaks volumes. Florida had grown a lot more than Arizona, before the advent of air conditioning. In addition, Arizona lacks a coastline. Mountains are nice, but they are no substitute for the coast. Most people would rather spend a day at the beach than go hiking up a mountain. Florida offers that, and Arizona does not.
Yes, the sun is relentless, we all know that. Thats the draw for many in the desert. Waking up to clear blue skies 330+ days a year does wonderful things for the mind. Some like it, some dont. Im one of the people who like it. Its a blessing, and a curse at times, but Ill take it over the constant gray skies of somewhere like Seattle.
I live in Miami Beach, we have sun every day, and thunderstorms everyday (well not this summer, it has been unusually dry).
Quote:
Ive lived in humid climes in IL and TN, visited FL in summer several times, as well as TX... the humidity there is horrible. Day...night...doesnt matter. You sweat buckets, regardless. While our summer is blisteringly hot, the rest of the year is dry as a bone, and extremely comfortable... something you dont get in Florida.
Right now it's 88, I was outside for 20-30 minutes doing some errands, and did not sweat. And this is July.
Dryer heat in general feels better than humid heat but that's when temperatures are EQUAL. When you compare 110F to 90F the "dry heat" card goes out the window.
Miami Beach is 80s for 95% of the year, that is your sweet spot in Arizona.
Miami has more people (in the metro) than Phoenix and Tampa and Miami is warmer (average for entire year) than either. The argument is nonsensical. Tampa is the third city in Florida, Phoenix is the primary city in Arizona. If you want a fair comparison compare Phoenix to Miami.
Its not a moot point, as most people prefer dry over humid. It might be hotter here, but it feels better to me because the dew point/humidity is much, much lower than you find in Tampa. Its a matter of preference, but theres a reason Phoenix's population is much larger than Tampa's... more people prefer to live here. And if AZ's wilderness was habitable (ie more rivers, less mountains), IM sure AZ's population would be higher than Florida's. I see so many people moving here from Florida, for good reason.
Yes the point is moot; even with the dry heat advantage, the average heat index is still higher in Phoenix than it is in Houston, or Tampa. So Phoenix, on average, feels hotter than Tampa or Houston.
Phoenix may have a larger population than Tampa, but that is because Florida's population is more evenly distributed. That is a nonsense argument, as there are plenty of humid places with larger populations than Phoenix.
And second of all, Florida has almost 20 million inhabitants, whereas Arizona is just underneath 7 million. Not that Arizona won't grow, but that speaks volumes. Florida had grown a lot more than Arizona, before the advent of air conditioning. In addition, Arizona lacks a coastline. Mountains are nice, but they are no substitute for the coast. Most people would rather spend a day at the beach than go hiking up a mountain. Florida offers that, and Arizona does not.
In general, most of Florida didn't really start growing until the 1950's and 1960's when central air conditioning could be built for homes on a massive scale, just like Arizona. Only Miami was a fast growing part of Florida until that period of time and even then, the growth wasn't as huge as it was until much later. In the 1950's, there were less than 500,000 people in Dade County, where Miami is. By 1960, Dade County had around 1 million people, about 88% growth rate. Maricopa County, where Phoenix is had a bit above 300,000 people in 1950, but that increased to around 660,000 by 1960, which was double the rate of people. So both Miami and Phoenix metro areas grew exponentially around the same time. The State of Florida as a whole grew from around 3 million people in 1950 to almost 5 million by 1960, a growth rate of about 78%. Arizona grew from about 750,000 in 1950 to about 1.3 million people by 1960, a growth rate of around 73%. Keep in mind that during that time, California was booming quite a bit and had a much more diverse economy than both, so many people skipped over Arizona to move to California instead.
Also, Florida is much closer and more accessible to the East Coast and Midwest, which is far more populated than the part of the country where Arizona is and Northeasterners and Midwesterners have fueled the vast majority of growth in Florida, so its more of a matter of convenience to warm weather than desirability of living in the desert instead of the ocean. And unlike Arizona, Florida has more access to water. Much of Arizona's land is federally owned and cannot be built on. What can be built on is restricted due to the water supply. So it's not really fair to say that Florida grew faster just because more people supposedly prefer the beach - totally subjective. If that was true, Orlando, which is inland would be a much smaller city than it is, in spite of Disney World and other theme parks. The reasons why Florida is more populated than Arizona is a lot more complex than whether people prefer the ocean or desert. Different strokes for different folks.
In general, most of Florida didn't really start growing until the 1950's and 1960's when central air conditioning could be built for homes on a massive scale, just like Arizona. Only Miami was a fast growing part of Florida until that period of time and even then, the growth wasn't as huge as it was until much later. In the 1950's, there were less than 500,000 people in Dade County, where Miami is. By 1960, Dade County had around 1 million people, about 88% growth rate. Maricopa County, where Phoenix is had a bit above 300,000 people in 1950, but that increased to around 660,000 by 1960, which was double the rate of people. So both Miami and Phoenix metro areas grew exponentially around the same time. The State of Florida as a whole grew from around 3 million people in 1950 to almost 5 million by 1960, a growth rate of about 78%. Arizona grew from about 750,000 in 1950 to about 1.3 million people by 1960, a growth rate of around 73%. Keep in mind that during that time, California was booming quite a bit and had a much more diverse economy than both, so many people skipped over Arizona to move to California instead.
Also, Florida is much closer and more accessible to the East Coast and Midwest, which is far more populated than the part of the country where Arizona is and Northeasterners and Midwesterners have fueled the vast majority of growth in Florida, so its more of a matter of convenience to warm weather than desirability of living in the desert instead of the ocean. And unlike Arizona, Florida has more access to water. Much of Arizona's land is federally owned and cannot be built on. What can be built on is restricted due to the water supply. So it's not really fair to say that Florida grew faster just because more people supposedly prefer the beach - totally subjective. If that was true, Orlando, which is inland would be a much smaller city than it is, in spite of Disney World and other theme parks. The reasons why Florida is more populated than Arizona is a lot more complex than whether people prefer the ocean or desert. Different strokes for different folks.
Either way, I don't believe that Arizona would have 20 million people if it lacked federal lands/state lands/Indian Reservations. I was refuting what the previous poster had put. I do believe that coastline has more of a "pull" than mountains. Historically, populations settle near a water source. Why did Arizona get skipped over when California was growing exponentially? Can you explain why the majority of California's population is located on or near the coast? Why was the economy more diverse there? All of the states larger than Arizona either have coastline or touch a Great Lake.
Either way, I don't believe that Arizona would have 20 million people if it lacked federal lands/state lands/Indian Reservations. I was refuting what the previous poster had put. I do believe that coastline has more of a "pull" than mountains. Historically, populations settle near a water source. Why did Arizona get skipped over when California was growing exponentially? Can you explain why the majority of California's population is located on or near the coast? Why was the economy more diverse there? All of the states larger than Arizona either have coastline or touch a Great Lake.
Why are you asking so many questions and why is it so important for you to discredit Arizona?? Why did we need a weather report from you?
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