Visiting PHX in July, just how bad is the heat? (Phoenix: live, versus)

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Some people tolerate the heat better than others. When I was younger, I didn't mind the heat much at all. As I've gotten older, it becomes harder to handle. There's also a lot of truth in the theory that newcomers are the most tolerant to the summer heat, and natives & long term residents are the least tolerant. In my opinion, the heat in July is BAD! Even the ones who love the heat need to keep in mind that Phoenix's average summer temperatures are the hottest in the nation among all other large cities. Going outdoors & engaging in any kind of activity requires being adequately prepared/hydrated.

I will agree with you here...it becomes repetitive and yet another reminder that you are getting older. But on the flip side...knowing that Summer is coming also drives you to find things to do in cooler climates and travel. When it starts cooling down in October we really look forward to all the holidays and being able to air the house out from being closed up all summer.

[Renegade007]

You can cook breakfast outside in July. On the sidewalk. (Slightly exaggerating of course. )

[locolife]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Some people tolerate the heat better than others. When I was younger, I didn't mind the heat much at all. As I've gotten older, it becomes harder to handle. There's also a lot of truth in the theory that newcomers are the most tolerant to the summer heat, and natives & long term residents are the least tolerant. In my opinion, the heat in July is BAD! Even the ones who love the heat need to keep in mind that Phoenix's average summer temperatures are the hottest in the nation among all other large cities. Going outdoors & engaging in any kind of activity requires being adequately prepared/hydrated.

Yep, you should learn about unique things anywhere you intend to go and be outside, ticks in the northeast, frequent weather changes in the high Colorado mountains, and so on.

But if this person is game for driving 2 hours to Tucson in July I recommend the head the other direction and checkout rim country in July.

[WilmaWildcat]

If you want to see Pima Air and Space in summer during the midday, there are exhibits to see indoors; and highly recommend the air-conditioned motor coach Davis-Monthan Boneyard (AMARG) tour, which you can get from PA&S. Check schedules online. They only have April schedule right now; make sure you don't schedule the open tram tour, rather the cushy coach tour.

We usually visit Tucson the first week of June (crack of the off-season), which is the hottest month (only about 5 degrees F cooler than Phoenix) and have a number of summer strategies, like air-conditioned venues such as the DeGrazia Gallery, Mini-Time Machine Miniatures, Arizona Historical Museum, U of Arizona Mirror Lab tour, UA art museums, Tucson Museum of Art, Catalina Highway drive to the top of Mt Lemmon, UA Sky Center telescope evening programs on Mt Lemmon, etc.

One great feature a lot of venues have been instituting are evening programs, such as the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum's Cool Saturday Nights, Reid Park Zoo's Friday nights, Tucson Botanical Gardens Thursday nights, etc. It seems like they are coordinating with each other, and we have gone to only going at nights when we can get away with it. You might want to check and see if Phoenix venues are doing the same.

Have a great time; you will have the whole place to yourself. That's one thing we love about going to the desert in the off season. One June I went to the Phoenix museum of the Arizona Historical Society and to the Pueblo Grande Museum when it was 114 F, which is on the hot side but not unheard of at all, and it was doable if you're smart.

Wear long sleeve cotton T's or other sun rated wear, wide brim hats, long lightweight cotton pants, athletic shoes. I also started wearing sun gloves for driving; oven mitts would work better, but I draw the line. :-) There's a reason Sahara bedouins cover up; it's cooler if the sun doesn't hit your skin.

[LadmoFan]

It's hot. I would not recommend visiting the zoo in July. I made the mistake of asking to go the zoo in May and it was hot. July will be worse.

Phoenix is hot during the day and warm at night. It never cools off.

Need I repeat it's hot.

Bring sunscreen, wear a hat and drink water.

I was born in Phoenix and loved living there until I moved to the high desert. The days are warm and the nights are cool in the high desert. Typically we will get around 115 degrees during July/August so I am still living with heat. I don't live in Phoenix though.

[ajonesaz]

The beginning of July will be better than mid to late July. Once that monsoon moisture moves in its a whole different kind of heat. However, if we get a good monsoon rain the night before, the mornings can be really nice.

[sexxxcblac]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

If you are just visiting, it is not that big a deal. You will go. oh my" but by and large you go from cooled space to cooled space or sit in the pool with a tropical drink. Living here with month after month of unrelenting heat is a whole different ball of wax (or pool of melted wax as it were). Visiting in early July you may miss the monsoon start so it might still be a dry heat and cool off decently at night.

Or they might enjoy our beautiful state and wonder why everyone is out having a blast while some natives sit inside and complain.

[AZgarden]

I did not mind it when we first moved to Phoenix. I thought, well, I can plant flowers all year long. The second and third years were about the same. By the time the 5th and 6th years came around, I thought this is ridiculous. At 10 pm it was still 98 degrees. In October, Halloween always meant cool weather, long sleeves, and pumpkins, but Phoenix just didn't cool off much even in October. The novelty wore off with me and I hated the summers. Being cooped up in AC was awful. So, I moved.

I do think the older you get, the worse it is. I also think the summers (heat) start earlier now than they did in the past.

[hikernut]

The title made me laugh because it reminded me of a line from one of my favorite movies...


Man who hires Wells: [about Chigurh] Just how dangerous is he?
Carson Wells: Compared to what? The bubonic plague?

[grad_student200]

Originally Posted by Idaho945

First off, I've been to Phoenix several times in past years, but never any later than December thru March when the weather is beautiful. I've lived in Boise, Idaho for nearly a decade, where its not uncommon to hit 105+ degrees about 25 or so times a year, and 110 about once or twice every summer. Plus my job involves working outside so I'm no stranger to hot weather. However I would like a local's input on really how bad it is, especially doing things outdoors, like the zoo and even the Pima Air and Space museum in Tucson. I'll be staying a week around the 4th of July.

Once it gets above 115 it feels really bad in the afternoon. But there are ways to deal with it. The key is to adapt: avoid outside activities at that time of day. For example, a lot of people like to hike the foothills of the area, so they restrict it to early mornings in the summer (sunrise to about 7 am). Local teens can still be found playing pickup basketball after 9 pm on hot summer days.

I was born and raised in Arizona. Then I lived in Florida for over 13 years - mostly in Tallahassee with a year in Fort Lauderdale. I still feel the dry heat at its maximum is worse than the humid heat of Florida. But the "dry heat of July" in Phoenix can be dealt with as described above: restrict outside activities to early morning or late evening.

Other "experienced Phoenix" adaptations:
* get a sun reflector for the car so it reduces the heat absorption
* leave the parked car window open just a little to let the air circulate and keep it a little cooler
* drink plenty of fluids.
* Go north - a simple drive to Payson about an hour northeast gets much cooler up in the Mogollon Rim.
* Flagstaff is an easy two hour drive.

One year I came back for Father's Day and took a flight from New Orleans to Phoenix. The temperature was about 105 F. When I got into the rental car it felt like an oven inside after it had been parked all day. The next day, I drove up to Flagstaff. I hiked up as far as I could up Mt. Humphrey. I had to turn around at about 9,000 feet because the snow went above my knees. It was too deep.

Then I went back to New Orleans. Later that summer, they got hit by Hurricane Katrina. I saw New Orleans before it fell to the hurricane winds and flooding.