Is it hot in the Desert Southwest at night in the summer? (climate, warm)

[lpfan921]

I remember someone telling me awhile ago (i think it might have been someone in this forum actually) that nights in Arizona are hot long after the sun goes down. Does anyone else who has been in the desert in the summertime agree? I have never been to AZ but i don't think i would like to live somewhere that it is hot during the day and at night. I think most would agree that the East Coast gets plenty hot during the afternoon in summer, but cools down nicely after the sun goes down. Humidity makes for less-than-optimal sleeping weather, but most summer evenings are very pleasant to be outside watching a baseball game, having a cookout, kicking back with a couple beers, etc...

Is it strange to be in a place where it's still blazing hot while it is dark out? I guess if you are used to it, it is not strange anymore. But to me, that would take awhile to get used to.

[dunno what to put here]

Phoenix has hot summer nights.

[Kaul]

just looking at the averages for phoenix or dallas is enough to give you an idea of how hot those places can remain during the nights

[dunno what to put here]

Phoenix
Very hot nights

Tucson has cooler nights but still warm

[Patricius Maximus]

Any average above 80F for the morning low is very hot no matter how one slices it, so the answer is automatically yes.

[Flight Simmer]

[mod cut]

You'll find hot nights in the Australian deserts aswell where alot of desert areas have average summer lows of 23-26C.

[Candle]

Needles, Calipatria, El Centro, Yuma, just to name a few.

http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ca6118

[tom77falcons]

I remember flying back from San Francisco to the East Coast one year in April. We landed in Phoenix at nite (was dark but not sure of time) and you could feel the heat when the plane doors opened. If I remember right I recall the pilot saying it was 86F and that was in April.

[Bottletree]

Was in phoenix in august, got a luck rain day which brought the temp way down.

[sandiegosunriser]

Yes, the Southern California desert, for some reason, stays hot during "summer" nights.
During the winter months, though, day temperatures can be in the 60s and 70s, while nights get very cold in the 40s and it can get very windy.


Does anyone know why summer desert nights stay hot while winter desert nights get cold?
(I read sand does not retain heat, so that may explain why winter nights are cold.)