It is getting hot in Phoenix. How do people do to deal with the heat?
It’s June 19th, 2016. According to a news report in The Arizona Republic this afternoon, today was a daily temperature record and the fifth hottest day on record in Phoenix. Temps of 118° Fahrenheit (48° Celsius) were measured at Sky Harbor International Airport. That is only 4 degrees shy of the all-time record high of 122°F for the city of Phoenix set in 1990.
I took this photo a few hours ago by the pool. Almost time for a new thermometer.
Today, Father’s Day 2016, is the hottest day that I have experienced since moving to the Valley of the Sun two years ago. If you have not lived in Arizona or experienced the heat, you might have preconceived ideas that it is unbearable or worse than shoveling snow. It’s not. But there are things to consider.
Just like freezing weather in northern latitudes, the high temps here take preparation. These are some of my observations about dealing with the sun and heat in Arizona on triple digit days:
So what does 118°F feel like? There is very little humidity, so reminds me of standing under a heat lamp or talking into a hair dryer at arm’s length.
I carefully chose the time today for my outdoor activities and chores due to the high temps. I started early this morning and received a pleasant surprise. A Mourning dove who flew over within eight feet of where I was watering plants and looked at me as if to say, “Hey, why don’t you share some of that cool water?” He allowed me to lightly mist him with the garden hose for about half a minute. Even animals and birds will make compromises to cool off in this Sonoran Desert heat. He had his fill, fluffed his feathers in a birdbath motion, and flew off.
Later, this mourning dove devised an ingenious method to get a sip of water from my pool. He landed on the floating pool dispenser and leaned over.
Do you have an observation about sun or heat in Arizona to add my list above? Post a comment below and I will do my level best to include all helpful additions. Thanks!
Only 24 hours after this post was written, Prescott, Arizona set an all-time record high for the temperature of 105°F on June 20, 2016, according to the National Weather Service.
What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well.
– Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French writer, aristocrat, journalist, pioneering aviator, and poet.
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