Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I used to lived in Arizona (Tucson) for 7 years, but also had relatives in the Phoenix area and the hottest I experienced while there was 118°F (47.8°C) in Phoenix on July 21, 2006. I also lived and worked down in Antarctica and in September 2011 at McMurdo Station, I got to experience a -40°F (-40°C) air temp with a wind chill of -81°F (-62.8°C).
So having experienced both extremes, I would say I would rather have neither!
I'd take the cold because it would encourage activity, thereby warming up the body and making the 10 minutes seem to go by quicker than wilting in the heat would.
-40 wind chill because you can be 100% covered with multiple layers (except the eyes and nostrils) and be OK; I've experienced close enough wind chills.
115 (46C) is just purely oppressive, and there is no escape no matter how lightly are you dressed.
What I prefer in January and what I prefer in July aren't the same. A -40 windchill in winter is pretty cold, in the summer it's unfathomably bad. In summer, a 115 heat index is very hot, in winter it would be unfathomably bad.
I would say from mid April - mid October I'd take the 115, from late October - early April the -40 windchill. I would actually enjoy a 115 heat index in summer and a -40 windchill in winter, in moderation (no more than twice per summer / twice per winter). For the Southern Hemisphere, flip those dates around.
Voted for 115 because it's August 14 right now and I live in the Northern Hemisphere.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.