Cold Weather here in the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix: rental car, appointed)

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

Let's keep this geared toward Phoenix weather, please.

Speaking of which... Ive had enough of this bloody rain, overcast skies, and damp, cold air. I have an absolute lake off of our back patio, and we even had hail yesterday.

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Especially when one considers that the probability of any weather related disaster is small. Relatively few people have losses to tornadoes or flooding or winds in a given year. But the risk of extended exposure to excessive heat in the Phoenix area is 100%. It's going to happen and it is going to begin to happen in only a few weeks from now.

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

Speaking of which... Ive had enough of this bloody rain, overcast skies, and damp, cold air. I have an absolute lake off of our back patio, and we even had hail yesterday.

Personally, no complaints here. I'm okay that Arizona has this balance of both heat and cold, extreme or otherwise.

[ScottsdaleMark]

I'm with Colt, I continue to love that we are "having a winter" this year after last year, where it felt like winter for about one week. 2013-2014 was just a very warm winter by Arizona standards and it's nice to have one that's on the chilly side by our standards to balance things out. Makes it much easier to take the heat once it hits us.

The power of positive thinking...if you hate the cold and rain, just think how much more you will enjoy it when it is hot and sunny again!

[JGMotorsport64]

I dislike being cold, but I grow tired around September of every year when the heat has just been unrelenting for months day and night. I welcome this cold and rain, variety is great sometimes. I'm sure this season has been frustrating for snowbirds, but it happens and we should be grateful for this extra moisture, we need it badly.

One major perk of the Summer? Watersports and less people

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by JGMotorsport64

I dislike being cold, but I grow tired around September of every year when the heat has just been unrelenting for months day and night. I welcome this cold and rain, variety is great sometimes. I'm sure this season has been frustrating for snowbirds, but it happens and we should be grateful for this extra moisture, we need it badly.

One major perk of the Summer? Watersports and less people

It's difficult to believe that snowbirds can be all that down in the dumps over anything Arizona! Totally in agreement that summers in the desert are terrifico when the 'birds aren't all over these roads, restaurants & stores in general!

Other'n that, I'll certainly sing their praises, and pat their white, little Q-tipped heads... as they loosen up and unload their purses & wallets here in the Arid Zone!

[Heath V]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Especially when one considers that the probability of any weather related disaster is small. Relatively few people have losses to tornadoes or flooding or winds in a given year. But the risk of extended exposure to excessive heat in the Phoenix area is 100%. It's going to happen and it is going to begin to happen in only a few weeks from now.

Very very depressing but true.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by ScottsdaleMark

I'm with Colt, I continue to love that we are "having a winter" this year after last year, where it felt like winter for about one week. 2013-2014 was just a very warm winter by Arizona standards and it's nice to have one that's on the chilly side by our standards to balance things out. Makes it much easier to take the heat once it hits us.

The power of positive thinking...if you hate the cold and rain, just think how much more you will enjoy it when it is hot and sunny again!

Yep, I completely agree. The rain and cool temperatures this last week were more than welcome, and I hope we continue to have more of the same throughout the rest of the winter & early spring. It's perfectly normal to have rainy spells this time of year (regardless if there's an El Niño present). Some of us are sick of all the bloody sun day after day, and embrace the moisture. We all know that CA & AZ definitely need the precipitation. Still, there are those who thrive on complaining about the weather, and aren't happy unless it's sunny & warm 365 days of the year ... or 366 days this year!

[azriverfan.]

If you read the heat threads, one of the common complaints is the heat is never ending. They claim the summer seems to go on forever. I never used to understand or empathize with that comment until I moved to South Florida. In Miami, it never gets cool. I never thought I would envision myself empathizing with all those whiners each summer who b$#$3 about our heat and exaggerate it. But after living in South Florida, I get it. I don't know if I could live in Phoenix if WE DIDN'T have some winter weather. It truly resets things you know and it makes the summer heat more tolerable in a sense. In Florida, you just get tired of warm humidity 12 months out of the year. I run the air conditioner every single night. The humidity means you have to run your A/C daily otherwise you can't sleep at night because it feels sticky and you don't feel that sensation of being cool. I love warm weather but I missed living in Phoenix because after you experienced a hot summer, you had a relative cool down in the winter.

What is nice about the Phoenix winters is that even during a cooler than normal winter, you don't receive the truly devastating winter weather that other places get. You don't have wind, snow or ice. Schools, airports and freeways are not closing. You don't have to buy a snow blower or hire a snow shoveling service. You don't have to drive behind a snow plow on the way to work. You don't have to go outside in a cold driveway or garage and start your car 10 minutes early just so it warms up. You don't to winterize your vehicle. You don't have to apply heating blocks. I don't have to weary heavy coats, hats, gloves and scarves or dress my children in it. The cooler weather is simply a drop in temperature with no real ramification to your lifestyle. And usually, it's just the mornings and evenings that are cold. It gets pretty warm in the day. I wore shorts today in the afternoon because it was beautiful outside. Finally, I love the rain we are getting. It fills reservoirs and create a fun ski season up north.

Atlanta boy loves to take a cheap shot at Phoenix by showing "lower than normal temperatures" but we never get the type of devastating winter Atlanta and the rest of the east coast got as recent as 2014.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Yep, I completely agree. The rain and cool temperatures this last week were more than welcome, and I hope we continue to have more of the same throughout the rest of the winter & early spring. It's perfectly normal to have rainy spells this time of year (regardless if there's an El Niño present). Some of us are sick of all the bloody sun day after day, and embrace the moisture. We all know that CA & AZ definitely need the precipitation. Still, there are those who thrive on complaining about the weather, and aren't happy unless it's sunny & warm 365 days of the year ... or 366 days this year!

In spite of all the El Niño hoopla in the media, this has, so far, been an average or below winter for precip. There was nothing terribly unusual in last week's weather as you suggest, and there is very little on the extended horizon to suggest that El Niño is having much of an effect as of yet.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

In spite of all the El Niño hoopla in the media, this has, so far, been an average or below winter for precip. There was nothing terribly unusual in last week's weather as you suggest, and there is very little on the extended horizon to suggest that El Niño is having much of an effect as of yet.

I read his words to say what you just said: there was nothing unusual in last week's weather (cold and rain). Even with "El Niño".