Phoenix summers and the monsoon Season (humidity, worst, about)

[av8nlvr]

I'm in the job search phase while I still have one and am looking at Phoenix because I liked it when I visited and I'm being lured to the west. I'm currently living in the deep South, where the temp AND humidity can both be 90 but I'm a native of the Great Lakes so I know winter all too well. I have an elderly parent who is going to have to live nearby. She's not handicapped per se, but very frequently in the winter here complains about feeling cold when the outdoor temp drops to the 50s and below even with the indoor heat on. The doctor can find no issue other than the fact that she's on a blood thinner med which has been known to screw with people's "feels like" body temperature. In the summer here she does not complain nearly as much as I do about the heat and humidity!

That said, how well do elderly folks do in the extreme Phoenix heat? I am thinking it must not be that bad because a lot of northern old folks move out there, right? Maybe there's some truth to the body temp thing, where the elderly don't feel the heat as bad as younger people? I don't know, I'm not there yet thank god! All I know is I sweat buckets here in the summer! I went out west last summer and on a 95 degree day with very low humidity I spent about 10 hours outdoors one day and did not even break a sweat, it felt awesome!

[wit-nit]

Originally Posted by MNtoAZ

I'll share your replies with my wife, THANK YOU!

Please keep the replies coming. The summer-time weather is our one and only fear!

Come early before the heat starts up and rent for 1 year and experience the differences in person to see if it's a fit for you. A lot of people do that.
Most people come and stay, that's how we've gotten to the over 4 million population so far and growing.
BTW there are a lot of MN transplants here along with many other Central States residents.

[new2colo]

Originally Posted by av8nlvr

I'm in the job search phase while I still have one and am looking at Phoenix because I liked it when I visited and I'm being lured to the west. I'm currently living in the deep South, where the temp AND humidity can both be 90 but I'm a native of the Great Lakes so I know winter all too well. I have an elderly parent who is going to have to live nearby. She's not handicapped per se, but very frequently in the winter here complains about feeling cold when the outdoor temp drops to the 50s and below even with the indoor heat on. The doctor can find no issue other than the fact that she's on a blood thinner med which has been known to screw with people's "feels like" body temperature. In the summer here she does not complain nearly as much as I do about the heat and humidity!

That said, how well do elderly folks do in the extreme Phoenix heat? I am thinking it must not be that bad because a lot of northern old folks move out there, right? Maybe there's some truth to the body temp thing, where the elderly don't feel the heat as bad as younger people? I don't know, I'm not there yet thank god! All I know is I sweat buckets here in the summer! I went out west last summer and on a 95 degree day with very low humidity I spent about 10 hours outdoors one day and did not even break a sweat, it felt awesome!

My elderly parents do fine. Both suffer from arthritis and since moving out here their pain has subsided significantly. It can't still get pretty damp and chilly here during the winters (not often) and a decent chunk of summer is pretty humid, which causes my parents' arthritis to act up. Both do get hot during the summer, but they do seem to be pretty stingy about their air conditioner. They keep their AC setting on 85, which is way too hot for many people, but seems to work for them with the help of a fan, cold drinks, and keeping still.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by av8nlvr

I'm in the job search phase while I still have one and am looking at Phoenix because I liked it when I visited and I'm being lured to the west. I'm currently living in the deep South, where the temp AND humidity can both be 90 but I'm a native of the Great Lakes so I know winter all too well. I have an elderly parent who is going to have to live nearby. She's not handicapped per se, but very frequently in the winter here complains about feeling cold when the outdoor temp drops to the 50s and below even with the indoor heat on. The doctor can find no issue other than the fact that she's on a blood thinner med which has been known to screw with people's "feels like" body temperature. In the summer here she does not complain nearly as much as I do about the heat and humidity!

That said, how well do elderly folks do in the extreme Phoenix heat? I am thinking it must not be that bad because a lot of northern old folks move out there, right? Maybe there's some truth to the body temp thing, where the elderly don't feel the heat as bad as younger people? I don't know, I'm not there yet thank god! All I know is I sweat buckets here in the summer! I went out west last summer and on a 95 degree day with very low humidity I spent about 10 hours outdoors one day and did not even break a sweat, it felt awesome!

I'm fast approaching the "elderly" stage and what I have noticed is that I am much more intolerant of cold than I used to be. I wear a jacket and sweats where I never would wear one before. Sadly, the increased intolerance of cold has not translated to an increase in tolerance for our summer heat. So I am miserable year round, now .

On that I don't sweat in low humidity. You do, you just evaporate it as quickly and that is what keeps you more comfortable. Humans are physiologically adapted to low humidity climates. Hot and humid is what we do worst at. Dry and moderate is our comfort zone. Most of the year in Phoenix is dry and moderate.

[kell490]

This is why I tell everyone who asks me about moving here to come here around July 4th that is the start of the peak heat index to get an idea about how hot it gets. I don't really understand how you can really compare our July-Sep heat to any other place it is the hottest city in the nation by far. Play with this heat index calculator you will notice that high humidity but lower temps the index changes very fast from 80 to 90 degrees, but high heat and lower humidity it changes very slowly this is why at night in many states it cools down into the low 80's or high 70's it feels much cooler. Here we are lucky to see 102-103 at 1 am in the morning.

Heat Index Calculator

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by av8nlvr

That said, how well do elderly folks do in the extreme Phoenix heat? I am thinking it must not be that bad because a lot of northern old folks move out there, right? Maybe there's some truth to the body temp thing, where the elderly don't feel the heat as bad as younger people? I don't know, I'm not there yet thank god! All I know is I sweat buckets here in the summer! I went out west last summer and on a 95 degree day with very low humidity I spent about 10 hours outdoors one day and did not even break a sweat, it felt awesome!

A lot of it depends on the individual, and factors such as genetic makeup, weight, and overall health conditions. Generally speaking, elderly people are somewhat more tolerant to the heat and much more sensitive to the cold. I'm middle aged, and I don't care for extreme temperatures on either end (hot or cold). I can tell you that the summers have become harder for me to tolerate the longer I'm here. The heat may be dry for the most part, which does feel better than humid heat ... but it's the monotony of it (four straight months with hardly any breaks) which gets on my nerves. And what's worse is that during the monsoon, the nights/early mornings don't cool off very much. It can still be well into the 100s at 10 PM, and in the 90s early in the morning many times.

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

And what's worse is that during the monsoon, the nights/early mornings don't cool off very much. It can still be well into the 100s at 10 PM, and in the 90s early in the morning many times.

While I look forward to the cooling rains the monsoons bring, I loathe the dust storms, humidity, and hoardes of mosquitos that follow. All that and the nasty, huge flying beetles make summer miserable for me here.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

While I look forward to the cooling rains the monsoons bring, I loathe the dust storms, humidity, and hoardes of mosquitos that follow. All that and the nasty, huge flying beetles make summer miserable for me here.

Huge flying beetles? I haven't seen any of those here. Are they like a June bug? (what I would see in the Midwest May-July)

The mosquitoes were horrible last summer, I agree.

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

Huge flying beetles? I haven't seen any of those here. Are they like a June bug? (what I would see in the Midwest May-July)

The mosquitoes were horrible last summer, I agree.

June bugs are like 1/10th the size of the beetles here. They come out during the monsoon season. I cant stand em. Theyre gross, spiky, and fly all crooked, making dodging them difficult. Theyre called "Palo Verde" beetles, look em up. I have them all over the place by me in Scottsdale. We'll have several crash land on our patio at night, prompting several hurried, panicky evacuations. hahahaha

Palo Verde Beetles, Huge Horny Bugs, Descend On Arizona Looking For Love (VIDEO)

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

June bugs are like 1/10th the size of the beetles here. They come out during the monsoon season. I cant stand em. Theyre gross, spiky, and fly all crooked, making dodging them difficult. Theyre called "Palo Verde" beetles, look em up. I have them all over the place by me in Scottsdale. We'll have several crash land on our patio at night, prompting several hurried, panicky evacuations. hahahaha

Palo Verde Beetles, Huge Horny Bugs, Descend On Arizona Looking For Love (VIDEO)

Oh, I think I did see one of those last summer. It was on the ground and it was huge. My cat wanted to catch it and give it to me as a gift LOL

I just saw the one, though, and never saw it fly.