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The "S" word...


Harry P.

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I remember the first time I was ever in Phoenix.

Got on the plane here at O'Hare... fly to Phoenix. Exit the plane through the accordion thingie... into the air-conditioned terminal. So far, so good. Everything seems normal...

Then I step outside the terminal for the first time to hail a cab.

WOW! It was literally like stepping into an oven.

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WOW! It was literally like stepping into an oven.

Yep, it's a dry heat. As weird as it sounds, I went to Miami a few years ago in July. Coming back to Phoenix, 115 and low humidity felt better than upper 90s with humidity in the 95% range... though having lived in both Florida and Arizona, both places have their charms..

Edited by Rob Hall
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Yep, it's a dry heat. As weird as it sounds, I went to Miami a few years ago in July. Coming back to Phoenix, 115 and low humidity felt better than upper 90s with humidity in the 95% range... though having lived in both Florida and Arizona, both places have their charms..

That "dry heat" really is true.

Around here, when it gets into the 90s, the humidity is usually way up there, too. It's like a sauna. You can sit in the shade under a tree, not move a muscle, and sweat.

I remember one trip I made to Las Vegas a few years ago. We walked the entire strip, from the Luxor to the Stratosphere, in 100 degree + temps, and didn't even break a sweat.

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About 30 years ago, my wife and I went on one of those whirlwind "package" vacations...... 4 days in the San Francisco area and 3 days in Vegas. When we landed in Vegas they wheeled the stairs up to the plane so everyone could get off. When I stepped out of the air conditioned plane onto the top platform of the stairs I got hit with the 114 degree heat blast..!! I turned around and went back inside the plane. The stewardess asked "Sir, what are you doing?" I said "It's too darn HOT out there so I think I'll stay here..!!"

The wife and I made the BIG mistake of spending the afternoon in the pool at our hotel (The Frontier). We both got the worst sunburn either of us have ever had... It was actually sun poisoning. We couldn't go to dinner or the Show we had tickets for that evening. We wound up calling room service to send up a bunch of vinegar that we were pouring over each other in the bathtub of our room. We smelled like salads that night.

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I remember the first time I was ever in Phoenix.

Got on the plane here at O'Hare... fly to Phoenix. Exit the plane through the accordion thingie... into the air-conditioned terminal. So far, so good. Everything seems normal...

Then I step outside the terminal for the first time to hail a cab.

WOW! It was literally like stepping into an oven.

That reminds me of what a couple I knew through work told me about their son (who spent a bunch of money at the store in R/C stuff) when the Army reassigned him from Iraq to Alaska.........in late November! He left Iraq and it's 110º+ temps, came back here for an unseasonably mild November for a couple weeks, then shipped him to Alaska. Apparently when he got there, he's looking out the windows then walks up to the door thinking "This isn't so bad."...............then he walked out that door and walked into.........well, what we've had here this winter!

Then I was talking to another customer who's been in Iraq a few times with the National Guard and has gotten so used to the desert heat that he considers 80º temps almost cold and has been all but frozen solid this winter! Last time he was in he had to be wearing multiple layers of sweatshirts and a fairly heavy coat.

Edited by Joe Handley
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Talk about dry heat, I remember shortly after we moved to SoCal. In September we had and elevated humidity and we though we were in for a rough patch. Temps in the 90's and 50% humidity. We decided to visit my wife's family in Baltimore. I recall stepping out of the terminal at BWI and I felt like someone hit me in the face with a wet dishrag. High 80's and 90% humidity. You would step out of the shower and just couldn't dry off. That is far worse than anything we ever have out here. You can keep it.

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10 degrees and 4" of new snow here in the northern part of Ohio.

I don't care if it's dry, stale, 120 and 100% humidity soaking wet heat.... I will take it..... i'm TIRED OF WINTER!!

so, in Arizona, it's only brutally hot a few months out of the year, right, then it's 80's... or am I off base with this?

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so, in Arizona, it's only brutally hot a few months out of the year, right, then it's 80's... or am I off base with this?

Basically most all of June-September are above 100. Hot, dusty, unrelentingly disgusting and vile. The occasional monsoon storm to stir things up. The sky is usually silver w/ the sun and haze.

May (warm up) and October (cool down) are 90s-100 or so. Nov-Apr are nice w/ blue skies and cooler temps.

Not sure which is worse, 5 months of AZ summer or 5 months of a Midwestern winter..having lived in Ohio and Michigan I kind of miss the greenery that comes from having a more moist climate.

Edited by Rob Hall
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As of this morning, 83 straight days without precipitation of any form.

I was born, raised and worked an entire career in the midwest. The desert I can handle. Working in those never ending midwestern winters and incredible summer humidity was mind numbing. I was speaking of it once in the office and some of my fellow agents were stunned speechless. All those from Southern Nevada, Southern Arizona and Southern California didn't have a clue. Most thought I was joking. My partner was born in Kentucky and raised in Northern Utah, the Provo area, and readily confirmed my stories.

My admin. assistant is a lovely lady from Phoenix who was born in Zacatecas, Mexico. She admitted she never saw snow until she was 19 and visiting relatives in Chicago. As a younger woman she was a reporter for a Phoenix area spanish language TV station. She recalled that any weather event was big news in the office. The one time it snowed she was done with Phoenix and told the then husband we're moving!

Gonna rain here tomorrow maybe.

I think I saw a cloud..........................................................

G

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10 degrees and 4" of new snow here in the northern part of Ohio.

I don't care if it's dry, stale, 120 and 100% humidity soaking wet heat.... I will take it..... i'm TIRED OF WINTER!!

so, in Arizona, it's only brutally hot a few months out of the year, right, then it's 80's... or am I off base with this?

I am with you there, This has been the most cold and snowiest winter we have had in Minnesota in a few years.

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Daughter and son in law moved from SoCal to Baltimore last fall. They were both in love with the idea of four seasons. They really liked the fall on the east coast and were ecstatic when the first snow hit the ground. They sent us pictures of each snow fall. Now Ben has fallen on icy steps twice. They have shoveled snow and driven on icy roads. Had the power go out a couple of times and dealt with subzero temps. I am now getting posts about how wonderful the spring is going to be! I can't wait to hear about how wonderful the summer heat and humidity is ? :lol:

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I'm originally from the Midwest--lived off-and-on in Ohio over 20 years, Michigan 3 years, S. Florida 6 years, Colorado 12 years, and now AZ for 6 years. So I've experienced a lot of climates. I think my tolerance for moisture, humidity and cold is better than my tolerance for heat and dust....

About time for something different...I think my next move will probably be to one of the 4 corners (So Cal, Pacific NW, New England, or back to S. Florida (long shot)). I'm a restless soul, and I like San Diego and So Cal, Seattle and Boston (the last two being great cities for my thing--software development)..

Edited by Rob Hall
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I don't like the cold much, if I wasn't married I would probably movew to a warmer climate. My wife on the other hand likes the cold weather and cant stand the heat (at least when it is above 85 degrees). I will probably be staying where I,m at because I dont see getting a divorce over weather as an option. LOL

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I recall stepping out of the terminal at BWI and I felt like someone hit me in the face with a wet dishrag. High 80's and 90% humidity.

Yep. Those 90-90 days are a killer here (90 degrees and 90% humidity). Miserable. But I'd take a day like that over a 10 below zero day any time.

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Right now it is 18 with a wind chill of 4, this Sundays storm could drop 8 inches of the S stuff, and record lows are expected Tuesday.

DO NOT think for a moment that because the calender says "first day of spring" on it in 3 weeks that mother nature will take that as a requirement to warm up.

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The dry climate is the killer for me. Back when I used to travel to Denver on business a few times a year, the lack of humidity made the inside of my nostrils crack. Yea, nothing like putting Chapstick up your nose.

First time I experience that was in Alaska. Flew into Eielson AFB in February and you want to talk about dry! This was dry cold! Any heated room had less that zero humidity, well not really but close. All the quarters had those humidifiers that were little tubs with a motor and blower on top. I was actually unable to fly the second day because my sinuses were so dry they were badly swollen. Went back to quarters and got a towel and put it over my head and the humidifier to get some relief.

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Ok, now it our turn to duck! Weather reports indicate that the dry spell is over. They say we could get as much as 2 inches of rain tonight. I don't care where you are from, that is a lot of rain!!

Thanks to that storm we have flash flood warnings on the west side of the valley. No hiking in Red Rock this week end.

G

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