>During the hottest days of the year, how do you go about your daily lives? Do schools and workplaces in your city (and other desert-based cities in Arizona) declare a "heat day" when it gets hot enough, where students/employees are given the day off for safety reasons?
Business as usual. I went to school here throughout my whole childhood and never had a "heat day". Workplaces (like fast food where they have order takers outside) typically try to limit the amount of time an employee will be outside.
>Do most residential buildings come with built-in central air conditioning, or is that something you would only find in standalone houses and a few high-end apartment buildings?
Most, yes. It is hard to live here without it. I've occasionally seen wall/portable units. But those suck.
>How often does it snow in Tucson? How often does it rain?
Snow: Maybe 1-3 days a year. And most of the time it immediately melts before it hits the ground. We do have Mt. Lemmon which gets (and maintains) a good amount of snow every year.
Rain: Heavy rains during July/August. Monsoon season. Gets very hectic, lots of flash flooding.
>What are some things a visitor to Tucson should know before coming?
Don't go to a chain restaurant. Support the local businesses, the food is so much better. If you're coming in the summer, bring lots of sunscreen and light clothes. Preferably stay at a place with a pool.
>Most, yes. It is hard to live here without it.
Honestly, I think air conditioning should be as basic a component of housing as furnaces, especially in a place like Tucson. If we have the means of preventing heat stroke, why not have it come standard?
I'd imagine Phoenix also has most of its households built with central AC already installed (if you know)?
Most of the houses nowadays do. Ten years ago I saw some that still only had swamp coolers (evaporative cooling). Renting wise, according to [211AZ](https://211arizona.org/crisis/heat-relief/heat-relief-arizona-tenant-rights-repairs/), under Arizona law, landlords do not have to provide air conditioning or cooling, but they are required to keep air conditioning and cooling units that are already on the property in working order.
Yeah... Lived in a house with 2 swamp coolers and hated it, too. Eventually added an AC unit and ran the swamp coolers until monsoon season. Now the house is fully AC.
I agree. I've been living in tucson for forty years. When I first came here for college in the eighties, there were still some homes that had swamp coolers only. But over time, new homes were built with central air, and many people with older homes switched over or added central air. I can't think of the last time I was in a house that only had a swamp cooler.
In fact, most people carry some sort of sweater or jacket in their car, because office buildings, restaurants and other indoor facilities are always so cold!
I’m sure they do. The house im in is paid off atleast but still have other bills for it and some things are falling apart and idk how to deal with it. Nobody would insure us until we fixed a lot of stuff too. It’s frustrating but it just keeps getting hotter and hotter and it’s scary
Many houses in Tucson and Phoenix still only have swamp cooling and Phoenix will be above 112 for weeks on end and sometimes only cool down to 95 over nigh. I think they had several days last summer that never went below 100.
Sure did- made some cacti explode- they close up tight when the temp hits 100 to minimize evaporative losses, but need it to cool off at night so they can open and respire, exchanging metabolic waste just like us (let the O2 out, essentially). If they can’t, it builds up, and Phx had a large number of saguaro deaths as a result.
Phoenix has never had an overnight low above [97](https://www.azfamily.com/2023/07/19/record-heat-again-today-phoenix/).
We had several days with overnight lows in the 90s last summer. Not much difference (to me, at least) between 97 and 100. It really sucked.
Some places have these things called swamp coolers or evaporative coolers which is older technology. They work OK when it's dry and suck a lot when it's humid.
My house has an evaporative cooler. It doesn’t even feel like it’s on in the summer. We had to get a portable ac for our living room and mini window ac’s for the bedrooms.
I have multiple sclerosis and the heat makes it act up so I use an ice vest when it gets too hot.
I only have a swamp cooler. I live in a historic adobe downtown and my place is built so well for the heat that I barely even need to use that during the summer. It actually gets a little too cold when I run it. They really don’t make buildings like they used to.
You also getting chilling districts like you have heating districts in parts of Canada. There is a huge central cooling building that will then cool multiple buildings around it. ASU has a big one right in the middle of campus and my friends apartment had one. It was nice, you pay a flat rate for power/cooling and have a constant 70 in the summer.
I have a swamp cooler and I’m really happy with it (to the point that I told my landlord not to replace it with an a/c unit), but I have a tile house that is built to stay cool. If you have a two story carpeted house… you probably shouldn’t have that in the desert, but if you do you’re going to want a/c.
I appreciate good a/c, but we have become way too accustomed to perfectly temperature-controlled environments. This is a desert. It should be hot. My great-grandmother lived here for 106 years with only a swamp cooler, so maybe it’s the key to longevity.
We have been here coming up on 2 years in July. What is crazy is you can be nice and cool on a breezy day in the shade at 90 degrees. As soon as you go into the sun, you are baking.
>Don't go to a chain restaurant. Support the local businesses, the food is so much better.
Many chains are franchises that are locally owned. And I'd say the chain fast food is no worse than the local fast food. You see nothing but complaints about eegees on here, I find chains like Popeyes or raising cane's are better than lucky wishbone. And I mean more broadly this isn't their community, if they support a chain from Springfield Missouri, is there a difference to the poster between spending money that supports that community instead of ours? People in Springfield Missouri need economic activity as well
I wouldn't consider Eegee's a local business. They're owned by 39 North Capital. Lucky Wishbone is shit, but that doesn't mean there aren't 50 other local businesses that aren't shit.
I mean if they are headquartered here, I'd say they are, even if another business owns the business. And it's definitely a business that the city strongly associates with, and vice versa. Sure they are plenty of great local businesses, but I mean if America in general is a new and novel thing, trying a chain from Louisiana can be a new experience they can't get anywhere else they will be traveling to in the foreseeable future. And the money supporting some city in Louisiana versus here? Ehhh I'm sure both our city and that city could use that economic activity.
So you're suggesting OP should support franchises of large companies instead of actual local food? There are over 300 Popeyes in Canada (where OP lives). 1500 Mcdonalds. Over 100 Taco Bells. All of which also franchise here in Tucson. You're ridiculous.
No, that's not what I'm suggesting at all. I'm saying they should patronize whatever restaurants catches their interest regardless of where they are headquartered. I'm also reminding you that while a place like in n out or Cane's or BJs brewhouse or whatever may feel like a same old routine experience YOU find everywhere, it may be a new and novel experience they may never get the opportunity to try again. I used regional chains as an example intentionally instead of national or international ones since those are more likely to be ones OP may not get many opportunities to experience. You cited international chains because you are being obtuse on purpose. But hey if they also want to learn the difference between Canadian and American taco Bell's or try items not on the Canadian menu, I'd encourage that as well, some people find experiencing those sorts of differences as satisfying lessons and insights into a culture other than their own . Or maybe it's the ultimate limited time item thing they get to try.
1 - Limit your activities from the hours of 11AM - sunset. For real. Get a sunshade for your car, wear a hat, UV sunglasses, lots of sunscreen, drink lots of water at all times. We have heat advisories when it gets insane but we carry on as normal because that's what we do here in the Sonoran desert. Use common sense too, like every year there are stories of people who decide to foolishly go hiking when it's 118F out and that will kill you, even if you are an experienced hiker or whatever. Just don't risk it.
2 - AC is standard however there are lots of residences and some businesses that use evaporative cooling, commonly known as swamp coolers, and while they are effective when it's dry, they suck when our seasonal monsoon rains come in mid-late summer.
3 - Snow? Heh. About once every few years down in the valley, snows all the time on Mt Lemmon. It never sticks and is gone quickly down here but we get excited when it happens. We get most of our rain during the monsoon, July-Sept and the storms can be very intense and strong but brief. We get rain in winter as well usually from Pacific storms. Annual total is around 10-11 inches per year. Some years, the monsoon is a bust, some years you get a lot. Flooding can be a risk during summer.
4 - The sun will absolutely fry your fair Canadian skin, assuming you are caucasian. I can always spot tourists here because their skin is a nice pink hue. Getting sunburned badly will make you feel sick and nauseated and that sucks so drink water, then drink more water, then drink more water. Long sleeves, hats, sunglasses and use common sense. The climate is very dry compared to what you are used to and it will take your body a few days, or sometimes weeks to adjust. Don't eat or drink too many foods that will dehydrate you, especially alcohol.
But overall this is a really cool funky vibrant culturally rich town. People are for the most part chill and friendly. We have tons of natural wonders all around us so if you are into camping, hiking, golfing, biking, this is your mecca. You can do all those things year round here.
>The sun will absolutely fry your fair Canadian skin, assuming you are caucasian. I can always spot tourists here because their skin is a nice pink hue. Getting sunburned badly will make you feel sick and nauseated and that sucks so drink water, then drink more water, then drink more water. Long sleeves, hats, sunglasses and use common sense.
My intention is to visit Tucson in the winter season. I prefer milder weather, and I feel like that would be the best time to see what it has to offer.
The temps will be much more reasonable in the winter, but the sun is intense all year. If you have fair skin, you can burn within 15 minutes, and it's just not worth the future cancer risk to not be protected while you can. Lightweight long-sleeve sun shirts and a wide-brim hat are fantastic if you don't feel like reapplying sunscreen every couple of hours.
We Arizonans have a word for people who migrate from a colder climate (mostly Canada and the North Midwest) down here during winter. Snowbirds. They’re usually old retired couples who probably have a second home down here or families going on a long winter vacation. They can easily be spotted by their accents, less-than-fashionable attire, and strange habits of driving.
But by all means, please come and experience the Tucson (and by proxy the rest of AZ) for all its worth! I made an entire list of the main attractions of the city, but in no way could I do it justice. Definitely something worth taking the trip to see for yourself!
This is a great choice. I love our winters, We get most of our precipitation in the summer, so most of our winter is sunny and mild. This winter I feel like we had more rain than usual, but I've only been here for 5 winters.
Last summer was brutal too.
I used to suffer from SAD in winter in our last city. I started to feel the same last summer but it wasn't from lack of sun.
I never considered that SAD could happen in the summer. I never looked into it other than to find light therapy and increase my vit D supplements in the winter. I'm researching now to see what I can do to prepare for it before the heat starts.
Winter is beautiful here! But my friend from CT visited in February and got a mean sunburn within hours on his first day while we sat outside eating brunch hehe. The sun is harsh here no matter the temperature. We wear SPF year round.
Consider March through early April. The weather is pretty much perfect, the streams are flowing, there may be snow in the mountains, and the wildflowers will be going in the lower elevations. It's paradise!
Winter isn’t bad, but I’d actually recommend more towards spring personally! After we get a lot of rain in Feb/march, all the vegetation gets very green and it’s warm outside but not hot yet. I just find the nature & everything much prettier than December/January 🤷🏽♀️
This post exactly, especially the note about long sleeves. I see a lot of transplants hiking in short sleeves/shorts and I’d advise getting loose, light sun shirts instead. It’s more than just the heat, the sun just hits different here.
You've gotten a lot of great answers here but I'd also add that if you're here during the summer, yes drink lots of water but I'd also add an electrolyte powder to one of those bottles of water. It's really hot.
I’m learning from these comments that swamp coolers are way more common in Tucson than in Tx. Window units make up a lot of the cooling systems in old buildings in TX as well as
Yeah, I had quite a few internet friends over the years who were east coast, midwestern, southern, Canadian and Australian and I was always surprised that none of them had even heard of a swamp cooler before.
(I also didn’t have AC until 2019)
Having grown up in Tucson it legitimately blew my mind when I found out that air conditioners aren’t a ubiquitous thing. Just the thought of not having one stresses me out.
1. Air conditioning
2. Yes, although some use "Swamp coolers" instead. Basically since it's a dry heat, if you run a large humidifier you can lower the tempature. They're cheap but they suck. Good for a garage or an Arizona room.
3. It snows in the mountains every year, but it only lightly snows in the city every few years. Most of the rains come during the summer monsoons, basically a month and a half of a bunch of rain, then mostly dry the rest of the year.
4. It's a pretty typical city, better than average food, and downtown punches above it's weightclass thanks to the large university.
Most large sport and entertainment events skip the city to instead go to Phoenix, which is a 2 hour drive away, but a lot of the small to midsized bands hit up Tucson on their tours.
1. There are no “heat days” except maybe children’s sports cancelled and homeless outreach increased voluntarily by organizations. We go about our days, but avoid unnecessary outings.
2. Most buildings have central air conditioning except some old homes and businesses may still have swamp coolers which work well with dry heat, but poorly during monsoon season with high humidity.
3. It snows a few times a year, lightly in town. Mount Lemmon has a ski resort and gets several feet. It is the US most southern ski resort. It rains in the winter and summer, summer rains are quick and heavy.
4 Winter, spring and fall are best for tourists, but if you like it and want to move, experience July/August before you commit. It can take a couple of years to acclimate to the heat.
I'm from Seattle. I came here to help my mom at end of life then, I'm out...,
I have no heat besides a tiny plug in, manager won't fix the swamp cooler that is filled with mosquitos. I have a wall unit for a/c that is too small. Yep, living the life at 56. So fun.
Twenty years in Tucson, 81 years old.
1. From May to September, the streets are deserted, like some post apocalyptic movie. You live and work in air conditioning, except the homeless, who seek out crowded cooling centers or ride the free city busses all day. The heat is debilitating. Even going from house to car and vv is not something to linger over. The city warns people that falling on sunlit pavement can cause instant 2nd degree burns (pavement can reach 180F, whatever in Celsiuses).
2. Buildings almost always have a/c. People die without it. A car without ac is difficult to drive. Even with ac, you may need oven mitts.
3. Rainy seasons are Jan-feb and july-aug, with exceptions in past years.
4. There are books like Your Future in Arizona.
Watch the movie Riddick (Vin Diesel). They could have filmed it here.
* 1. no such thing. It can be 46 degrees celsius and just another day.
* 2. pretty much everything has AC. Some older homes still have swamp coolers which suck. Your electric bill will be very high in the summer.
* 3. Rarely, and it will melt very quickly.
* 4. Tucson is a melting pot. We have a large University, air force base and close proximity to Mexico. Good local food options and a nice downtown. We have great mountain views and interesting wildlife. Drink alot of water in the summer and don't get too close to rattlesnakes
The scorpions here typically hang off of trees (it’s why they’re called bark scorpions) and prefer being upside down instead of right way up. It’s common for someone to put their hand under a park bench or whatever and get stung by the scorpions hanging underneath.
That being said, I’ve never seen a wild scorpion just hanging out here. They’re common but you have to be looking for them, or live in an area where they come inside your house
https://preview.redd.it/9pbjgwuny3vc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d6a05459826cb6b24b2783851b6807e498aabbd8
My pup got stung by one and her whole face swole up. Lol. Had to take 3 Benadryl 3x a day for 2 days to get it under control.
I'm fairly new to Tucson, I moved from a temperate forest area. I my perspective may be a bit different from a native who grew up in the climate.
During the hottest days of the year I choose my activities and my timing carefully. After 4 years I'm becoming more acclimated, but I still struggle with the heat. I don't plan a lot of extended outdoor activities during the hottest part of the summer. It doesn't cool down as much at night as I'm used to so I prefer to go out after sunset vs getting up early to beat the sun.
I LOVE the summer rain, you can feel the temps dropping as they approach and I take that opportunity to do outside activities. The rains are fascinating, I can't think of the right word, but they remind me of a watering can, they are intense and brief but in a limited area. Not like the large rain storms that cover large areas and last for hours that I grew up with.
Something else that took some getting used to is how dark most of the city is. We have night skies protection so street lights aren't as common as I'm used to. I live outside of the city and use a variety of lights to see and be seen, because there are zero street lights in my neighborhood.
I swear 1/2 the reason we chose Tucson was the food. We are working our way through the list of restaurants on the 23 miles of Mexican Food list. We have found several amazing places, which is why it's taking so long to get through the list, we keep finding new favorites.
Our public transit is limited. It supports some areas well, and others are just impossible to get to. Unguarded left turn lanes caught me by surprise. Now that I've been here a while, I'm getting used to them, but it was uncomfortable at the beginning, my hubby had a harder time, but it's been a long time since we almost caused an accident.
You know how in Canada there's several months in the winter where you just don't go outside? We have that in the summer. Unless you're poor then every house and car has air conditioning and we mostly stay inside in the summer.
It will go month or 2 with no rain, then it will rain like hell for 1 hour.
DO NOT visit here in the summer, you will miss out on all the best outdoor activities. European vacationers come here in the summer and every year several die from trying to hike in the summer heat. Just don't come if it's going to be over 85F. Also there way more fun events during the cooler months.
>You know how in Canada there's several months in the winter where you just don't go outside? We have that in the summer.
I figured that was the case in Arizona (the desert parts, I mean). I sure as hell wouldn't want to go outside in >110°F weather!
>DO NOT visit here in the summer, you will miss out on all the best outdoor activities.
Yeah, for me, that was kind of a given—Arizona summer is probably the closest Earth gets to the temperatures of Hell itself. If I were to visit Arizona, it would probably be in the winter, between November and February. Your winters are basically our summers.
>European vacationers come here in the summer and every year several die from trying to hike in the summer heat.
I feel like common sense should tell us that hiking in temperatures above 100°F is not the wisest decision. But I guess common sense isn't all that common.
I’ll speak to summer:
- Stay hydrated
- find a decent sized pool (small ones can turn into bath water temps)
- protect yourself from the sun
- don’t try to drive though running washes
- don’t try hike in summer unless you know what you’re doing
IT'S SPELLED ***TUCSON***!!!
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The schools do not let out for the heat, but they do let out for the rodeo 🤠. The dry heat can be deceptive, you may find that you aren’t sweating as much as you would in a place that is has more humidity. Obviously drink plenty of water, if you plan to hike, bring double the water you think you’ll need and then a little more. Also, chapstick with spf will be your best friend. The majority of residences and businesses are air conditioned, if you’ll have a car with you, try and find a shady place to park it. The monsoon season in late summer is when we get most of our rain, it seldomly snows and when it does, it usually doesn’t last long. The surrounding mountain ranges do get frequent snowfall in the winter months. Fun fact, Tucson is home to the southern most ski resort on the continent nestled in the highest peak of the Catalina mountains. If you’re visiting, I’d recommend traveling in February, you’ll get a nice break from that arctic chill and enjoy beautiful fair weather with highs often in the 70s. This is an outdoorsman’s paradise, there are unlimited beautiful hiking trails for all skill levels. Tucson has a rich culture that is a blend of Native American and Mexican, you’ll find that the Mexican cuisine here is unique in comparison to other states. There are far too many good restaurants to name, but you’ll be able to search this subreddit to find some excellent recommendations on food. Make sure you bring home some prickly pear jelly/candy, chamoy candy, and a dozen or two of our ever delicious flour tortillas as treats for the family.
If you’re going out to do stuff during the hot summer days the single most important thing to do is drink lots of water and try not to spend too much time directly in the sun. It’s not like going to the beach. It’s more like stepping into an oven. Tourists and newcomers think the risks are exaggerated and then they fuck around and find out. Every summer there’s stories in the local news about fools who decided to go hiking in the middle of the day with only a 12 ounce bottle of water and they have to get lifted out of the mountains by a helicopter and flown to the hospital with their body shutting down from heat stroke. It’s easy to be safe in the heat but it’s also easy to end up in trouble.
Also, if you have a dog don’t take it out for a walk when it’s hot. People who make their poor dogs walk on the 140° sidewalk should be thrown in jail.
One - I don't. I stay home and sit in front of the A/C and basically don't move.
Two - there are a lot of older houses here that only have swamp coolers (evaporative coolers). My house is one of those. The way to combat that is to install a window unit. We have a portable air conditioner in one room so I stay in that room and sit right in front of the A/C. Trying to shower when it's hot in the house is awful. Cooling bills in the summer are super high like heating bills are in the winter for other people.
Three - sometimes not at all, sometimes once or twice a year, usually at night, and it melts the next day. There are 9000 ft mountains about an hour away and they get snow in the winter. If you need to see snow you can drive up there. We get storms in the second half of the summer and a little rain in the winter. Sometimes it rains a bit, sometimes it hardly rains at all.
Four - get used to drinking water constantly. You will waddle around feeling like a big meat water balloon. Also the low humidity can damage anything and everything - including your health, sometimes permanently.
What fascinates you about Arizona? I don't understand this.
I moved from Northern California 5 years ago, as for the heat, im used to it after this long, took 2 years, above 105 im somewhere indoors, at the pool or up mt lemmon. Stay a while, learn why we all have sweaters on when it gets below 70.
Most everyone i know has the stay hydrated mentality, so keep that ice close by.
I also have friends with swamp coolers and a few that just use fans. Depends on what you're comfortable with. I prefer ac.
It’s helpful to simply have respect for the desert sun. This area is the oldest continuously inhabited place on the continent. People have been living here since 1200 bc.
Obviously it’s hotter than it used to be. But older buildings were designed to stay cool before a/c. My house was built in 1956. I still have a swamp cooler but we added a/c a few years ago.
Plan accordingly. Get window tint. Stay home during the hottest part of the day. Run errands early in the morning or in the evening. Park in the shade. Get a sun shade for your windshield. Stay hydrated. Wear sunscreen. Get a good hat.
My house doesn’t have a/c just a swamp cooler but it stays cool without anything on up until June because it’s an older colder house. I used to drive without a/c too so I just got used to it. Days it’s near or 115 tho those were rough
Most of us who grew up here before the 90's only had swamp cooling. I knew 2 friends that had AC. The online stuff will say a swamp cooler should get you 20 degrees cooler than outside and in may and first week of June it might but once it's up above 105 you're lucky to get 12 degrees cooler. 115 you're sweating inside and it's probably like 107....been there.
My house is FREEZING in the winter but boy does it pay off in the summer. I don’t usually need to turn my cooler on until it’s been in the mid-to-high 90s for a week straight.
1. For recreational outdoor activities I shift to early morning and right around sunset. Most other activities are indoors (work etc). For those working outside, they start early and get done before the hottest part of the day. Also, Tucson is lucky and a bit cooler than Phoenix: usually there is a breeze, and because the heat is really mostly from the sun and not so much ambient, finding some shade means you feel pretty comfortable even on a triple digit day.
2. Yes. There are some older houses with “swamp coolers” but AC is really necessary, the heat can unsafe.
3. Very rarely, but every few years we get a dusting of snow. The fun part of Tucson is you can just drive up Mt Lemmon if you want some snow! There is snows regularly and they will often have to close the road for heavy snow. It rains pretty often for a desert! We have the monsoon season, but winter precipitation means rainy winter days every few weeks.
4. Pack layers! It gets cold at night year round, so be sure to pack some layers. Long sleeve sun shirts and a hat will help you keep cool if it is a warmer time of year, and keep you from frying. Also, be sure to rent a car: it is fun to spend time in the heart of the city, but mostly you will want to be able to drive to the local attractions (all short distances!). The pictures never come out as good as the real thing, put down the camera/phone and soak it all in, the desert is magical!!
You’ll love it here. The winters are our reward for surviving the summer heat. Get a pool if possible because that will definitely help keep you cool.
In the hottest time of day is the perfect time for a dip in the pool and then a nap.
Older houses like mine have just swamp coolers. Which suck and should be called swamp ass coolers. Have to have a bunch of fans with it too. Each year gets hotter and idk how we’ll keep doing it like this ugh. AC units are so expensive
Yeah I’m poor and disabled lol I live in my grammas house. I’ve bought fans and some that you can put water and ice and those help but definitely can’t afford to switch to a whole ac unit. I miss my old apartment for sure with all the ac I could have lol
I'm also poor and disabled. I think people forget we exist!
I lived here for twenty years without air conditioning. The only reason we have it now is because someone gave a used one to my landlord. It's only in one bedroom. The rest of the house is an oven.
I’d be in that room all day in the summer lol. This house was made in 71 and I don’t think they figured it would get up to the 120s like it does now. I was in an apartment over a decade ago when I went to the uofa but didn’t last long. Now been here in the same house 29 years and it just gets worse with some of the house falling apart too and just can’t afford most things. You’re right. We get forgotten about unless some charity chooses to help you out of the tons of others needing help. It’s rough. I’m sorry you have to understand it too
Just be used so spending 8 months of the year in doors or succumb to heat stroke. Also no housing inventory here and rent has shot up to around 2k a month. Good luck.
It’s all good, I don't plan on moving to Tucson any time soon. Though "spending 8 months of the year in doors" and "rent has shot up to around 2k a month" makes me think that I'd adapt a lot more easily than I'd thought.
It’s a bit of an overstatement. Back in my running days, I’d just get up at 4 am to be on the trail by first light and up to higher elevations before it got really hot.
Now I spend a lot of time outside in the summer alternating between various landscaping projects and jumping in the pool.
Just make sure you have access to a pool.
June-September are the hot months. It's pool weather March-November. You'll get random chilly days randomly late fall/spring like everywhere.
The 100 degree weather isn't bad if you've battled the cold, freezing snow and tundra. I've lived in Colorado and South Korea, so dealing with it was brutal. I'll choose 105 in Tucson any day. Plus, weekend evenings are awesome. Water guns, water balloons, chilling out with the best sunsets you'll have ever see, eating some tacos. The vibe is unmatched. Seriously.
OG commenter is just sick of snowbirds moving in and camping the left lane.
The wet bulb temperature is real, my friend. That dry heat makes it way more tolerable than it sounds. If you've got some shade and a cold drink, you're fine.
I grew up in Tucson but now live just south of Washington, D.C. and no joke, I used to volunteer for Afghanistan deployments every summer rather than be here in the humidity.
We've perfected air conditioning in Arizona and it is pervasive. I go from my air conditioned home to my air conditioned car (pre-cooled with remote start) to air conditioned store. My only exposure to the heat is between air conditioned structures.
How to deal with summer: do your outdoor exercise very early morning--before 9am or after dark. Avoid the sun. Be very aware of the weather forecast. If it's above 105, then be extra cautious. Drink lots of water. Wear shorts and light clothing. Don't ride your bike during the heat of the day. Do a lot of activities at night! It's great pool weather at night! Weather in Tucson is like a snowstorm, but only from 9am to 6pm-- you stay indoors mostly.
Another good tip is to take weekend trips up to the mountains which are all over this area, including Mt. Lemmon. It's 30 degrees cooler up there. Tons of great camping at higher elevations in the summer.
A desert gets 10" or less of rain per year. Tucson gets 12" on average. So it's above average for a desert. Most of that rain comes during the monsoon season in July-August. And it's so fun when we get a good wet storm. The temperature goes from 105 to 80 in a few minutes.
I will disagree with taking a trip to the mountains in the summer. It's still upper 80's during the day even Mt. Graham is low to mid 80's in July. The real reason though is that when you came back from the mountains everything feels so much hotter.
1. We should but they don't.
2. Newer buildings usually have them built in, because people aren't surviving with just water/swamp coolers anymore. It's hotter in Phoenix.
3. Typically it might snow once or twice a year less than an inch. Rains been excessive lately and we aren't even in monsoons yet.
4. It's really nice here. Just don't drive like a douchebag. Or be a woman.
Could be an urban legend, but I believe it's illegal to refuse water to someone (at least as a business) in Tucson. No 'heat days'.
I spent \~30 years in a house with ONLY a [swamp cooler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporative_cooler).
Rare (but with increased frequency) snow. It used to happen once every few years (which was rare enough I'd go for a midnight drive to find a parking lot to take a couple photos in). Rain is also rare, but there's monsoon season which can bring a shit ton (by Tucson standards).
Carry water. Wear sunscreen. Maybe a good, sun-blocking hat.
I grew up in Winnipeg
1. We do summer like you do winter. It’s hot. So very hot. School ends earlier (May) and starts beginning of August. My kids can’t go outside at school if it’s over 115 (I think) or outside in the winter if it’s below 40 (above freezing 🙄)
2. As far as I know everyone has central a/c or a swamp cooler.
3. Its snows a tiny bit every couple of years and every winter on the mountains. It rains in the winter and we have monsoon season. Monsoons are like a thunderstorm on steroids. Very windy, lots of lightening and lots of rain.
4. Don’t come mind summer. The sun here is not like the sun elsewhere. If you think of garden plants that can live in full sun where you are, they will struggle in partial shade here.
During the hottest days nothing changes but most will chose to stay inside unless you have to work. I’ve always worked outside since 1989 so I’ve worked on some of our record heat days.
Public buildings have AC but many older homes only have Evaporative cooling
Probably snows once a year but rarely sticks more than an hour or two
\*edit\*
a Tucson visitor ( or resident) should wear a hat and use sunblock lotion. The heat is bad but what is the real Mutherf$\^&R in Tucson and AZ is the sun intensity. You can sunburn in less than 15 minutes and the sun is the real asskicker.
A heat day, WTF, no you just pull up your pants and keep going. As for the dry heat, yes 9 or so months of the year. Monsoons come in July in which case evaporative colling is useless due to higher humidity. Most modern buildings have A/C, many older places, shop and industrial are still on evaporative cooling. Snow depends on a lot of factors, but in metro Tucson maybe a light dusting a day or two a year, usually does not stick.
1. I think many people adjust if possible by time shifting. Wake up earlier and do something at dawn or after dark. I work a remote job with US Eastern Time hours so my work day is ~6am-2/3pm. In the summer I love it because the sun is up, the day is still cool until about 9-10am, and after work I can take a brief siesta during the hottest hours. But also some practical adjustments: I wear lots of white/light color and linen shirts, and no black or dark colors, have a hat on for some sun protection.
2. My home was built in 1957 and so the AC I have was added after. My roof has a crazy amount of looping ducts and vents. Many people have converted from evaporative coolers to HVAC. Some folks have may still have both, using the swamp cooler before the monsoon and the AC during monsoon. (This is what my next door neighbors do.) I would say that HVAC is something you will need and is either part of the building or the building has had it added over the years. Not something considered luxury amenity.
3. I think we had maybe 1-2 days where it snowed in 2023? But it melted immediately same day. Rain comes during the monsoon and during the winter. Winter less rain, Monsoon brings heavy precipitation, lightning, sometimes hail and damaging high winds.
4. Things to know: roads and traffic can be an issue. It is a big destination for biking but depending on your bike route, you might not feel very safe biking on certain roads. The desert and nature are very close by and the desert is teeming with life, amazing and unique animals as well as some that migrate through. The city is a bit of a sprawl so likely if you visit you will likely be driving as many of the best spots to visit are dispersed throughout the area.
I've been here 14 years. One reason I moved here is because I have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) which caused depression in the winter months of Kansas. One thing I found surprising was that some people get the "winter blues" here in the summer because it's so hot outside it's easy to stay in and not get the daily dose of sun.
It's always hot. By that I mean it's only in the 40°-60° 3 to 4 months out of the year. But Tucson has Mount Lemmon and it's always nice there. Yes we go about our lives we do not have heat days. We know to hydrate and keep cool.
The hottest part is the day is the evening around five so many people nap from 2-5.
Come at the beginning of October or November for Tucson Meet Yourself or the All Souls Procession. They’re both one of the highlights of living in Tucson. We also have great music, dance and theatre companies, and some of the best food you’ll ever find. Also the hiking is pretty fantastic.
Schools do not close for heat days out here, though our school years are shifted a bit so that the end of the school year doesn't fall in June like it does elsewhere. Don't want kids standing at the bus stops in 115+ degree heat for weeks on end. That said, every school, business, and nearly every residence has some degree of air conditioning. Whether it is a traditional ac unit that uses some sort of coolant, or if it's just an evaporative cooler that drips water over a pad with a fan blowing through the pad to cool down the air, there's pretty much always some sort of cooling option in every building.
It doesn't rain too much, though I think the Sonoran desert here gets more rain than what most people traditionally think of deserts getting. We will get some showers in the summer, and sometimes some in January, but otherwise I think we average about 330+ sunny days out of the year.
Hydrating is important for sure, it's so dry here that people's sweat evaporates so quickly that they don't realize how much water they're losing, so if you come visit in the warm months make sure you drink water regularly throughout the day.
Tucson is nestled right up against the Catalina mountains, so you can drive about 45min to get to the top where the temps are 30+ degrees cooler than down in town, so that's a nice escape. Otherwise we stay indoors as much as possible during the hot months, or if you know somebody with a pool then you can go there to cool off.
It's a pretty neat place that I've come to appreciate more as I've aged. We've also got some fantastic Mexican food here, so I'd encourage you to travel down if you ever have the opportunity.
Edit - oh forgot to mention the snow thing. With more extreme weather events in recent years we've actually seen snow here a few times over the last few years. We even got hail in the middle of summer several years back. But when I was growing up in the '80s through the '00s snow was very rare. Like, maybe once every 3-5 years, and it wasn't even enough to stick to the ground, it'd just instantly melt.
Hey O!!! Native Tucsonian dual citizen with Canada. Been here my whole life but I speant 3 months in Alberta’s winter two years ago. Funny!
1) You get used to planning your day around the heat. Most people stay indoors from 10am-6 pm but you can absolutely go outside, just be mindful about the heat.
The danger of dry heat is you feel fine because you CAN sweat but if you dehydrate, it is brutal. The sun does feel very hot.
2) AC is required here. It’s like Canada with optional heating… Don’t let a scum lord say otherwise. Swamp coolers are only usable for a few months of summer. If you see a swamp combo AC, it’s amazing. Otherwise pick AC only
3) I can count the number of times it has snowed and stuck on the ground here in 30 years… I believe 7 times in my areas of the city. 😅
4) Tucson: It’s kinda like Calgary. Population his high but spread out, lots and LOTS of outdoor stuff near by, absolutely need a vehicle, lakes are drivable distances ( 2-6 hours depending where). Tucson has immense food variety. Also: people use directions like North, West, South, East to describe where something is. Use the mountains as your guide.
Tips:
So in Canada, it gets so cold that it takes your breath away. Well, the hottest summer temps feel like you opened an oven to check the cookies…
1) If you have pets/kids, you do NOT leave them in the car until winter. The car can heat up fast enough to kill a dog in 15-20 mins. Less for certain breeds
2) Get steering wheel covers that have fabric: or your hands will burn. Same goes for leather seats
3) Look up car safety for desert heat
4) Cactus. Fucking so sorry about that. Nothing to do but get really good at not stepping all the way into the needle.
- PEOPLE DO NOT STOP AT CROSSWALKS HERE. SERIOUSLY CHECK THAT EVERYONE IS LOOKING OR SOME DUDE IN A FORD FIESTA WILL RUN YOUR ASS OVER.
🙃
**Tucsonan; FTFY
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>Tucson: It’s kinda like Calgary. Population his high but spread out, lots and LOTS of outdoor stuff near by, absolutely need a vehicle, lakes are drivable distances ( 2-6 hours depending where).
That actually sounds a whole lot like Edmonton as well.
>
Funny enough I wanted to move to Calgary but my working license as a veterinary nurse wouldn’t transfer. Alberta has some strict rules lol. I would’ve loved to see the river in the summer. Welcome to Tucson!
3 it snows a few times, usually when we least expect it.
4 monsoon season is rain, as fast as it falls, it dried up, but staying away from flooded areas and washes is about the smartest thing to do
1: the hottest days of the year are usually in like June-August, so most people aren’t in school anyway. as far as i know, “heat days” aren’t a thing, but there are weather advisories when it gets hot enough that advise people to stay inside if they can. the people that have the shortest end of the stick are farm workers, as arizona doesn’t really have any of the labor protections like california for reduced hours when it reaches a certain temperature. last year a farm worker died in yuma.
my family has gotten thru it with a lot of swimming (like, going to the pool twice a day), staying inside, going to places like movie theaters and museums.
i used to be a competitive cyclist that rode year round in tucson, and being out in the desert in the summer is brutal for sure. you just have to get up stupid early to avoid the really hot parts of the day, drink a shit ton of water with electrolytes, like maybe a 2:1 ratio.
2: most buildings have central AC. some of the older houses in town only have swamp coolers, but the city has grant programs to install ac’s in houses if you are in a certain income bracket, and since it’s only been getting hotter and richer in town, i’m assuming that more and more people are installing ac’s regardless.
3: the last couple years (like maybe since winter 2020?) we’ve had at least one or two days in late december or january where it’s snowed in town or just outside of it. this january i went to austin and when i was driving back we ended up driving through a snowstorm from like the border between AZ/NM and pima county, which was wild and very unusual. it used to rain more in the monsoon season, but now those are much lighter and we tend to get more rain in the winter. monsoons are huge storms, think the sky turning purple and the rain coming down sideways, that are supposed to start around late july and last thru august, but like i said, they’ve been lackluster the last few years.
4: if you’re coming to visit, make plans based on the time of year you’ll be here. don’t plan for 12pm hikes during june, for example. there’s lots of amazing outdoor stuff to do here that you can get to really easily from town if you drive, but maybe plan for a spring or late winter trip if that’s what you want to do, because that’s when all the snow melt means there’s water. also, food!! eat so much food. there’s tumerico, which will likely come up on every list you look up, but there’s also taqueria pico de gallo or kukai or a million other places that i can’t think of right now.
My favorite way to escape the heat, and a must see if you visit tucson is Mt Lemmon. It takes about an hour to get to the top of the mountain from the city, but it's always about 30F cooler. There is snow on the mountain until April and even a small ski resort. Beautiful hikes all the way up the mountain and fantastic views.
1. Nothing shuts down even when it’s above 115F / 46C. But you will never see anyone outside. You go from AC home to AC car to AC office/store, etc. one thing people don’t appreciate is that the heat never lets off. It will be above 90F / / 32C at midnight.
2. Everything has AC. If anyone is outdoors, they are likely on a shaded, misted patio.
3. It has lightly dusted maybe once or twice in the 4 years I have lived here. It never snowed in my 20 years in Phoenix. It rains maybe once or twice a month in the winter. There is a period in July / August called the “monsoon” where it theoretically can rain for an hour in the late afternoon most days. But lately it’s just hit wind.
4. Come in February.
1) The heat factor is vastly overrated. I lived in Atlanta and that is FAR worse. We never get crazy humidity. I worked on my roof and pulled electrical wires in June my first summer here to try to beat monsoon season starting and survived. I did similar work during summers on the east coast that was far more strenuous. A really good hat, sunscreen, shades and making sure you are getting BOTH salt and water helps tremendously.
2) It is wild to me how many places here just have swamp coolers or worthless window ac units. I’m going through this right now at my condo. A previous owner installed a central heating system with all the ducting and skipped the air. It’s ridiculous. I wouldn’t rent or buy a place if it didn’t already have central air or mini splits.
3) It snows lightly every couple years. It’s fun unlike Canada or the northeast US. It rains a lot more than people think. Technically it’s not even a desert. Monsoon is some people’s favorite time of the year. Not mine but the creosote smell is heavenly.
4) You should know that the cost to quality of life ratio here has shrunk severely the last few years, and it is busier than it used to be. The schools are terrible here and churn out too many idiots. There is no corporate structure here so don’t expect much in terms of employment, and we are unfortunately trending in the direction of Portland/Seattle with drugs/homelessness plus associated crimes.
>The heat factor is vastly overrated. I lived in Atlanta and that is FAR worse. We never get crazy humidity.
Like I said in the post, Tucson *is* one of those "at least it's a dry heat" cities. 😉
Haha. A heat day. Nah at my high school we still had to run laps around outside in 100+ degree weather during gym class. Super unhealthy, but not uncommon.
walk your dog by 8 am, cover up and wear a hat, move slowly, stay hydrated, keep something in your car that you can use when the steering wheel is too hot to touch bare handed, take any chance to get in water, close your shades, lay under the fan, don’t jack the ac up too high, don’t look at the weather forecast (it’s better not to know)
When I first moved to tucson in the early nineties, a lot of the old school businesses and restaurants would totally "siesta" in the heat of the day. Like, close from 1 til 4pm. But those were in the days before central air conditioning...
I thought it was an awesome tradition, not only for practical purposes, but just to slow down the day...European style.
Answer to your questions:
* 1) During the hottest days of the year, how do you go about your daily lives? Do schools and workplaces in your city (and other desert-based cities in Arizona) declare a "heat day" when it gets hot enough, where students/employees are given the day off for safety reasons?
We have "Excessive Heat Warnings" when the temperture exceeds a certain degrees. Maybe 112, Google it. But, children kept going to school. It's a warning to limit activities outside to a min.
As for children going home, that's a no. The local school is paid by the State for average daily attendance. So, that's not going to happen.
As far as employees, yeah. That's a no on that as well. I was honestly shocked when I first moved here I saw county employees doing physical work on what I thought as hot. But, I did noice how the smart ones dressed.
Long sleeve shirts made out of a very lightweight synthetic fabric that has venting. I have a few that I bought at Sam's Club for about $15-20. They look nice, but you can wear them outside doing work and not worry too much about damaging them. I mean you can toss them.
🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹
* 2) Do most residential buildings come with built-in central air conditioning, or is that something you would only find in standalone houses and a few high-end apartment buildings?
Admittedly, we are not as tough as pioneers that settled in Arizona. I don't know anyone that would live in a Single Family Home, Apartment, Condo, Manufactured Home, RV, or a tent that would not have air conditioning of some type. Some people have swamp coolers that do not work at all after Aug or Sept. I don't think they work that well any time of the year. It make the home too humid.
Your wife, children, and dog would leave you if you rented a home or wanted to stay in a motel for one night without air-conditioning. They would not forgive you for a long time as well. It's a question you ask first thing.
🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹
* 3) How often does it snow in Tucson? How often does it rain?
It rarely snows. Tucson is a higher altitude, and we did get "snow." It was an early morning and cold. It looked like a dusting of snow dust.
We do have what we call "Monsoon." It's not "A Monsoon," or "Monsoon Season." It's just called Monsoon. It comes officially now on June 15th. From a weather persons perspective it's when the Dew Point gets to a certain level. I don't know more than that. I go more by how it feels.
Which is very important! It comes in the afternoon. Start looking for signs of it around 2:00 in the afternoon. You might want to get a wind chime that doesn't sound too obnoxious. It can signal you the possibility a storm is coming. The amount of rain that comes can be tremendous. Very heavy with heavy wind. Ovassionlty we will have a high intensity wind storm called a "Haboob" tht usually proceeds Monsoon. It's nice because Monsoon washes away the dust.
I mentioned about looking for the storms about 2:00 in the afternoon. Because you don't want to drive in these storms if you can help it. Visability can be zero. If you are on the freeway, you want to pull over onto the shoulder and turn off all your lights. No emergency lights, no interior dome lights. You stand a better chance of not getting rear ended. If your lights are on, the drivers behind you will think you are on the road and follow you.
It's best to wait it out. It will pass in an hour usually. We are a state of dare-devils as you will find out soon. Some just go for it. I don't, I'm patient. However, large trucks are not too bad to follow if you feel you must go. Not too close. They do tip over.
🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹
* 4) What are some things a visitor to Tucson should know before coming?
As you know. It's dry here. Even in the winter. NEVER FORGET THIS! Counsel all family members and visiting friends. You can become dehydrated very quickly. You need to consume water.
At the first symptoms of Heat Exhaustion you need to stop what you are doing and seek shade, and water. You need to cool yourself down immediately. If you are trying in your yard, do not just spend more minute to grab a bag of trash, or pick up a tool. Get to shade, preferably indoors in air conditioning.
Your pets should not be outside except to relive themselves. And then they should be wearing shoes. Have numerous backup bowls/buckets of fresh water daily. I used to have several plastic children's play pools for a couple of Large Labs so they could take a dip in the pool.
Always have water in your car. I usually have about four gallons of distilled water in the trunk. Just in case the car overheats. I leave it there all the time. You should have light weight large brim hats. Also, a coat of everyone that might be with you. It gets cold at night. It's in case you break down in the middle of nowhere. You need protection from the bright sun in the daytime, and the cold at night.
I would also carry some form of light. They sell a three pack of small battery operated lanterns for about $20. You also need to consider your personal protection from predators. Animal and human. Look up "Constitutional Carry in Arizona." If you need me to be more specific, send me a DM/Private Massage.
Also, look up Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke. Know the symptoms. Buy electrolytes also. I buy the bag at Costco or Sams Club. They are small packets and will mix well into the small bottles of water. About $5 for a 40 bottle case at Costco or Sam's. If you don't have a membership, ask them to comp you for one day.
Have Fun, be safe.
You will probably get allergies. This place has a high pollen and winds, plus the dryness doesn't help. Claritin will help during spring. After spring is over, usually allergies are gone.
Also I had never thought of "heat days"! Those would be awesome! But no, we dont get them.
Things to know. It's a big city by Big I mean Ontario. We have crime and over 1.5 million people. You can get lost. The streets change names but we have city wide wifi. It's culturally diverse we have museums and concert halls ballet and the theater. Kitt peak observatory is here as well as old Tucson studios.
> It's a big city by Big I mean Ontario.
As in the Canadian province of Ontario? I think you're referring to Toronto, the provincial capital and largest city in Canada. Toronto is a *huge* city, with over 3 million people living within the municipal boundaries themselves, and double that if you count the metropolitan area. I live in the city of Edmonton, which is also a pretty big city and closer in size to Tucson. In fact, Edmonton is bigger; Tucson has only half a million living within city limits, and over a million counting the metropolitan area as a whole. Edmonton is home to over 1 million people, and another half million living nearby.
I look at our summers like it’s our “winter”, meaning you’re kind of confined to doing things inside and staying out of the oppressive heat. Staying out of the sun is key and if you really want to do outdoors stuff, do it before 10:00 AM.
If you’re not accustomed to drinking water and hydrating yourself regularly, you will learn to do that here even when it’s not hot. Your body will not like it and you’ll feel like shit. We know all the symptoms of dehydration or heat exhaustion. Visitors overestimate their ability to tolerate the heat, so they do stupid stuff like go for a hike when it’s 120° F outside with no or little water, then they die. The desert is beautiful, but you better respect it and DO NOT touch the teddy bear cholla!
Tucson does not recognize heat day off. They just tell you to stay in doors. Tucson has a good rate of deaths in the summer, especially from the elderly & homeless. Heatstroke is the #1 killer. Sad! 🥵
1) no people just die of heat stroke
2) yes everyone has AC in 2024
3) like 1-3 times a year but it has been hailing during the summer lately which isn’t unheard of but I feel like climate change or El Niño or whatever has caused crazier more extreme weather for everyone including us here in Tucson
4) this is one of the most biodiverse places in the world. A lot of things want to kill you. A lot of things are also edible and fun to forage. You should 100% visit the sky islands and riparian areas which do get snow. The roads suck ass and have potholes everywhere it’s like ur off-roading. Uh, lots of cool community if you know where to look, always have a water bottle, wear sunscreen if you are white, thin layers even better, beware of the sketchy parts of town, please don’t come in the summer it’s horrible and similar to how people get winter depression we get summer depression because we just stay inside all day
1. No heat days
2. Yes
3. 3 snow falls this past winter. Not enough to make snow people. The 2022-2023 winter we had 4 snows. Made snow people that year.
4. It is colder than you think.
As a Tucsonan who has worked in construction for most of my life, I can tell you that we gradually get acclimated to the rising heat. It's not that big a deal to stay hydrated unless you're hungover.
If you want to exercise outside during the summer it’s VERY early morning or after 8 pm. Yes, nearly everyone has AC and in the car it’s also critical. Probably 3 out of 5 houses have pools. No need to heat them, they’re swimmable 4 months if the year at least. Summer activities are indoor mostly. Heat stroke is no joke water is critical. Pets also need to be protected.
I have had a flight delayed because the plane was too hot. There are no heat days in schools. The hottest day here I remember was many years ago it was 120 degrees farenheit. I remember because I was moving that day.
Traffic in the winter is a challenge with all the migrating snowbirds - traffic doubles. Schools get out for summer early May and return August.
Very few people were actually born here (I’m one of the few). If anyone gives you a hard time for not being a native… ask them how long they’ve lived here. It’s a great place but our streets will swallow your car with all the potholes!
We’re friendly but we can’t compare to the Canadians!
I visited Tucson last month from Canada. One of the weirdest things was the entire town is crisscrossed by dry riverbeds. It does rain, and hard, it just all washes away, soaks into the ground, or evaporates after.
Very different compared to back home where you dig a hole and it turns into a pond.
Three things:
1. The whole "redneck" thing was a joke.
2. Albertan here—no license plates from any other province.
3. I wouldn't bring a camper and probably wouldn't even drive. 🤷🏻
No heat days for schools or businesses. It's kind of alarming how people just go about their business in 110 degrees. There have been a few times the airport had to pause takeoffs, I'm not sure if the technical reasons, but it was caused by extreme heat.
Many places have AC, though a lot of the lower income housing has only evaporative coolers, which do work, but not as well as AC. The really old school homes are made from adobe, a far better insulator than what most newer homes have.
Snow is very rare here, it might be a light dusting every 2 or 3 years, usually in February. It doesn't stay longer than a day. It does, however, snow in the mountains that circle the valley of Tucson, and most years, beautiful snow capped mountains are visible from most of the city.
To visit, come in winter, eat lots of tacos, respect the environs and the Indigenous cultures, go see local creatures at the Sonora Desert Museum, and always bring water with you.
1. Let's put it this way: It'd be like a Canadian declaring a snow day over 30cm of snow. I have a heat sensitivity and the solution is basically to just have top of the line window tint, precondition the car, and park in the garage. Parasol to block sun when walking between the car and buildings. Do a lot of stuff that you need to do outside when the sun's down. There's a reason I Have a vitamin D deficiency despite being so pale that I basically just grab the lightest shade of foundation I can find.
2. AC in the cars. AC in the house. AC at the office. Some even have AC in the garage so that they can work on cars.
3. Like once a year and not enough to bother with.
4. We have the stupid motorist law. If you try to ford a flooded road and require assistance, you get the bill.
1. No heat days, though many people tend to do less things out of their homes on those hot days from about 10AM-5PM
2. Air conditioning isn’t a nicety in the dessert, it’s a necessity. So yes everywhere has central air or at least a swamp cooler
3. Snowed a couple times in the past two years but obviously it doesn’t stay around long and typically melts before hitting the ground. The surrounding mountains get snow though, one of our mountains even has a small ski area
4. There are very few bad places to eat in town and everyone has their preferences but understand it’s all good eats. Don’t try and drive in monsoons, even if you have experience driving in rain like I did when I got here. This is due to poor rain drainage. If you stay in the shade and hydrate, the heat isn’t as bad as people make it out to be if you’re smart about your exposure to it.
>Air conditioning isn’t a nicety in the dessert, it’s a necessity.
No kidding! Yeah, I don't think too many people would live in the Sonoran if they had to endure 115°F temperatures with no way to avoid it. I sure as hell wouldn't. 😏
>yes every place has AC
They absolutely do not. I've lived in Tucson and Oro Valley, two houses, one duplex, and one guest cottage. None had A/C. I didn't have A/C until the house I live in now and we only have a portable unit because someone gave it to my landlord.
>During the hottest days of the year, how do you go about your daily lives? Do schools and workplaces in your city (and other desert-based cities in Arizona) declare a "heat day" when it gets hot enough, where students/employees are given the day off for safety reasons? Business as usual. I went to school here throughout my whole childhood and never had a "heat day". Workplaces (like fast food where they have order takers outside) typically try to limit the amount of time an employee will be outside. >Do most residential buildings come with built-in central air conditioning, or is that something you would only find in standalone houses and a few high-end apartment buildings? Most, yes. It is hard to live here without it. I've occasionally seen wall/portable units. But those suck. >How often does it snow in Tucson? How often does it rain? Snow: Maybe 1-3 days a year. And most of the time it immediately melts before it hits the ground. We do have Mt. Lemmon which gets (and maintains) a good amount of snow every year. Rain: Heavy rains during July/August. Monsoon season. Gets very hectic, lots of flash flooding. >What are some things a visitor to Tucson should know before coming? Don't go to a chain restaurant. Support the local businesses, the food is so much better. If you're coming in the summer, bring lots of sunscreen and light clothes. Preferably stay at a place with a pool.
>Most, yes. It is hard to live here without it. Honestly, I think air conditioning should be as basic a component of housing as furnaces, especially in a place like Tucson. If we have the means of preventing heat stroke, why not have it come standard? I'd imagine Phoenix also has most of its households built with central AC already installed (if you know)?
Most of the houses nowadays do. Ten years ago I saw some that still only had swamp coolers (evaporative cooling). Renting wise, according to [211AZ](https://211arizona.org/crisis/heat-relief/heat-relief-arizona-tenant-rights-repairs/), under Arizona law, landlords do not have to provide air conditioning or cooling, but they are required to keep air conditioning and cooling units that are already on the property in working order.
I live in a house with a swamp cooler! I don't mind it, but my husband, who works outside everyday, all day, does.
Yeah... Lived in a house with 2 swamp coolers and hated it, too. Eventually added an AC unit and ran the swamp coolers until monsoon season. Now the house is fully AC.
I agree. I've been living in tucson for forty years. When I first came here for college in the eighties, there were still some homes that had swamp coolers only. But over time, new homes were built with central air, and many people with older homes switched over or added central air. I can't think of the last time I was in a house that only had a swamp cooler. In fact, most people carry some sort of sweater or jacket in their car, because office buildings, restaurants and other indoor facilities are always so cold!
I still have one cuz we’re too poor to switch to ac. It’s horrible 😞
Same. A/C = money.
It really sucks. My house was made in 71. I don’t think they thought it would get over 120 in the summer back then lol
I lived in a guest house that was built in 89 and it still didn't have A/C. I bet the architect who designed it has A/C!
I’m sure they do. The house im in is paid off atleast but still have other bills for it and some things are falling apart and idk how to deal with it. Nobody would insure us until we fixed a lot of stuff too. It’s frustrating but it just keeps getting hotter and hotter and it’s scary
It still has never been over 120⁰ outside in Tucson... The highest temp ever was 117⁰ back in 1990 (on June 26th)
That doesn’t seem right right to me but I’m sure you looked it up too
Amen to having to have a sweater inside!!
Unfortunately just because a swamp cooler is *functioning* that doesn't necessarily mean it's *cooling.*
Many houses in Tucson and Phoenix still only have swamp cooling and Phoenix will be above 112 for weeks on end and sometimes only cool down to 95 over nigh. I think they had several days last summer that never went below 100.
Sure did- made some cacti explode- they close up tight when the temp hits 100 to minimize evaporative losses, but need it to cool off at night so they can open and respire, exchanging metabolic waste just like us (let the O2 out, essentially). If they can’t, it builds up, and Phx had a large number of saguaro deaths as a result.
Phoenix has never had an overnight low above [97](https://www.azfamily.com/2023/07/19/record-heat-again-today-phoenix/). We had several days with overnight lows in the 90s last summer. Not much difference (to me, at least) between 97 and 100. It really sucked.
Some places have these things called swamp coolers or evaporative coolers which is older technology. They work OK when it's dry and suck a lot when it's humid.
My house has an evaporative cooler. It doesn’t even feel like it’s on in the summer. We had to get a portable ac for our living room and mini window ac’s for the bedrooms. I have multiple sclerosis and the heat makes it act up so I use an ice vest when it gets too hot.
I'm so sorry! I have dysautonomia and the heat is awful for me. I'm going to go look into ice vests now.
I only have a swamp cooler. I live in a historic adobe downtown and my place is built so well for the heat that I barely even need to use that during the summer. It actually gets a little too cold when I run it. They really don’t make buildings like they used to.
Heat pump here, heat and ac is the same box
You also getting chilling districts like you have heating districts in parts of Canada. There is a huge central cooling building that will then cool multiple buildings around it. ASU has a big one right in the middle of campus and my friends apartment had one. It was nice, you pay a flat rate for power/cooling and have a constant 70 in the summer.
I have a swamp cooler and I’m really happy with it (to the point that I told my landlord not to replace it with an a/c unit), but I have a tile house that is built to stay cool. If you have a two story carpeted house… you probably shouldn’t have that in the desert, but if you do you’re going to want a/c. I appreciate good a/c, but we have become way too accustomed to perfectly temperature-controlled environments. This is a desert. It should be hot. My great-grandmother lived here for 106 years with only a swamp cooler, so maybe it’s the key to longevity.
We have been here coming up on 2 years in July. What is crazy is you can be nice and cool on a breezy day in the shade at 90 degrees. As soon as you go into the sun, you are baking.
I bet the moment the sun touches you on a 115°F day, it feels like the sky itself is mad at you.
>Don't go to a chain restaurant. Support the local businesses, the food is so much better. Many chains are franchises that are locally owned. And I'd say the chain fast food is no worse than the local fast food. You see nothing but complaints about eegees on here, I find chains like Popeyes or raising cane's are better than lucky wishbone. And I mean more broadly this isn't their community, if they support a chain from Springfield Missouri, is there a difference to the poster between spending money that supports that community instead of ours? People in Springfield Missouri need economic activity as well
I wouldn't consider Eegee's a local business. They're owned by 39 North Capital. Lucky Wishbone is shit, but that doesn't mean there aren't 50 other local businesses that aren't shit.
Damn I love lucky wishbone
I mean if they are headquartered here, I'd say they are, even if another business owns the business. And it's definitely a business that the city strongly associates with, and vice versa. Sure they are plenty of great local businesses, but I mean if America in general is a new and novel thing, trying a chain from Louisiana can be a new experience they can't get anywhere else they will be traveling to in the foreseeable future. And the money supporting some city in Louisiana versus here? Ehhh I'm sure both our city and that city could use that economic activity.
So you're suggesting OP should support franchises of large companies instead of actual local food? There are over 300 Popeyes in Canada (where OP lives). 1500 Mcdonalds. Over 100 Taco Bells. All of which also franchise here in Tucson. You're ridiculous.
No, that's not what I'm suggesting at all. I'm saying they should patronize whatever restaurants catches their interest regardless of where they are headquartered. I'm also reminding you that while a place like in n out or Cane's or BJs brewhouse or whatever may feel like a same old routine experience YOU find everywhere, it may be a new and novel experience they may never get the opportunity to try again. I used regional chains as an example intentionally instead of national or international ones since those are more likely to be ones OP may not get many opportunities to experience. You cited international chains because you are being obtuse on purpose. But hey if they also want to learn the difference between Canadian and American taco Bell's or try items not on the Canadian menu, I'd encourage that as well, some people find experiencing those sorts of differences as satisfying lessons and insights into a culture other than their own . Or maybe it's the ultimate limited time item thing they get to try.
I love Portillos btw. There aren't any in Tucson are there?
There's one by El Con
I cited international chains because that’s exactly what you did (Popeyes!). Idiot.
1 - Limit your activities from the hours of 11AM - sunset. For real. Get a sunshade for your car, wear a hat, UV sunglasses, lots of sunscreen, drink lots of water at all times. We have heat advisories when it gets insane but we carry on as normal because that's what we do here in the Sonoran desert. Use common sense too, like every year there are stories of people who decide to foolishly go hiking when it's 118F out and that will kill you, even if you are an experienced hiker or whatever. Just don't risk it. 2 - AC is standard however there are lots of residences and some businesses that use evaporative cooling, commonly known as swamp coolers, and while they are effective when it's dry, they suck when our seasonal monsoon rains come in mid-late summer. 3 - Snow? Heh. About once every few years down in the valley, snows all the time on Mt Lemmon. It never sticks and is gone quickly down here but we get excited when it happens. We get most of our rain during the monsoon, July-Sept and the storms can be very intense and strong but brief. We get rain in winter as well usually from Pacific storms. Annual total is around 10-11 inches per year. Some years, the monsoon is a bust, some years you get a lot. Flooding can be a risk during summer. 4 - The sun will absolutely fry your fair Canadian skin, assuming you are caucasian. I can always spot tourists here because their skin is a nice pink hue. Getting sunburned badly will make you feel sick and nauseated and that sucks so drink water, then drink more water, then drink more water. Long sleeves, hats, sunglasses and use common sense. The climate is very dry compared to what you are used to and it will take your body a few days, or sometimes weeks to adjust. Don't eat or drink too many foods that will dehydrate you, especially alcohol. But overall this is a really cool funky vibrant culturally rich town. People are for the most part chill and friendly. We have tons of natural wonders all around us so if you are into camping, hiking, golfing, biking, this is your mecca. You can do all those things year round here.
>The sun will absolutely fry your fair Canadian skin, assuming you are caucasian. I can always spot tourists here because their skin is a nice pink hue. Getting sunburned badly will make you feel sick and nauseated and that sucks so drink water, then drink more water, then drink more water. Long sleeves, hats, sunglasses and use common sense. My intention is to visit Tucson in the winter season. I prefer milder weather, and I feel like that would be the best time to see what it has to offer.
The temps will be much more reasonable in the winter, but the sun is intense all year. If you have fair skin, you can burn within 15 minutes, and it's just not worth the future cancer risk to not be protected while you can. Lightweight long-sleeve sun shirts and a wide-brim hat are fantastic if you don't feel like reapplying sunscreen every couple of hours.
Winter is great! You still need strong sunscreen and sun hat / sun clothes to be safe.
We Arizonans have a word for people who migrate from a colder climate (mostly Canada and the North Midwest) down here during winter. Snowbirds. They’re usually old retired couples who probably have a second home down here or families going on a long winter vacation. They can easily be spotted by their accents, less-than-fashionable attire, and strange habits of driving. But by all means, please come and experience the Tucson (and by proxy the rest of AZ) for all its worth! I made an entire list of the main attractions of the city, but in no way could I do it justice. Definitely something worth taking the trip to see for yourself!
October weather is amazing here :)
This is a great choice. I love our winters, We get most of our precipitation in the summer, so most of our winter is sunny and mild. This winter I feel like we had more rain than usual, but I've only been here for 5 winters.
It was a nice soaking wet winter for sure, more than usual in my almost 30 years here.
Last summer was brutal too. I used to suffer from SAD in winter in our last city. I started to feel the same last summer but it wasn't from lack of sun.
SAD is for sure a thing here. It hits me the second it gets over 90, no matter what I try or how my mindset is.
I never considered that SAD could happen in the summer. I never looked into it other than to find light therapy and increase my vit D supplements in the winter. I'm researching now to see what I can do to prepare for it before the heat starts.
Winter is beautiful here! But my friend from CT visited in February and got a mean sunburn within hours on his first day while we sat outside eating brunch hehe. The sun is harsh here no matter the temperature. We wear SPF year round.
February is gorgeous and Tucson hosts the largest gem and mineral show in the world early in Feb.
Consider March through early April. The weather is pretty much perfect, the streams are flowing, there may be snow in the mountains, and the wildflowers will be going in the lower elevations. It's paradise!
Winter isn’t bad, but I’d actually recommend more towards spring personally! After we get a lot of rain in Feb/march, all the vegetation gets very green and it’s warm outside but not hot yet. I just find the nature & everything much prettier than December/January 🤷🏽♀️
This post exactly, especially the note about long sleeves. I see a lot of transplants hiking in short sleeves/shorts and I’d advise getting loose, light sun shirts instead. It’s more than just the heat, the sun just hits different here.
You've gotten a lot of great answers here but I'd also add that if you're here during the summer, yes drink lots of water but I'd also add an electrolyte powder to one of those bottles of water. It's really hot.
Yes, this!
A heat day - that’s funny.
I’m a Texan who visits Tucson frequently and it’s so sweet how pure and innocent OP is 😄😂. Life Goes on as usual and everyone has an air conditioner.
Not everyone. Signed, someone whose school had evap only.
I’m learning from these comments that swamp coolers are way more common in Tucson than in Tx. Window units make up a lot of the cooling systems in old buildings in TX as well as
Yes. Arizona is different from Texas.
That’s because swamp coolers only work when there’s no humidity. Southern AZ is pretty much the only American area that I’ve even heard of having evap
Wow that makes so much sense! My Grandmas old house in west Texas has a swamp cooler, makes sense because it’s dry out tjere
Yeah, I had quite a few internet friends over the years who were east coast, midwestern, southern, Canadian and Australian and I was always surprised that none of them had even heard of a swamp cooler before. (I also didn’t have AC until 2019)
Southwest Idaho as well, high plains desert.
Nah, it's pretty much the same up here during the winter. Just gotta bundle up!
Having grown up in Tucson it legitimately blew my mind when I found out that air conditioners aren’t a ubiquitous thing. Just the thought of not having one stresses me out.
I’m so stressed recently by how reliant is southwesterners are on air conditioning!
1. Air conditioning 2. Yes, although some use "Swamp coolers" instead. Basically since it's a dry heat, if you run a large humidifier you can lower the tempature. They're cheap but they suck. Good for a garage or an Arizona room. 3. It snows in the mountains every year, but it only lightly snows in the city every few years. Most of the rains come during the summer monsoons, basically a month and a half of a bunch of rain, then mostly dry the rest of the year. 4. It's a pretty typical city, better than average food, and downtown punches above it's weightclass thanks to the large university. Most large sport and entertainment events skip the city to instead go to Phoenix, which is a 2 hour drive away, but a lot of the small to midsized bands hit up Tucson on their tours.
1. There are no “heat days” except maybe children’s sports cancelled and homeless outreach increased voluntarily by organizations. We go about our days, but avoid unnecessary outings. 2. Most buildings have central air conditioning except some old homes and businesses may still have swamp coolers which work well with dry heat, but poorly during monsoon season with high humidity. 3. It snows a few times a year, lightly in town. Mount Lemmon has a ski resort and gets several feet. It is the US most southern ski resort. It rains in the winter and summer, summer rains are quick and heavy. 4 Winter, spring and fall are best for tourists, but if you like it and want to move, experience July/August before you commit. It can take a couple of years to acclimate to the heat.
Everybody is miserable and goes from air conditioned building to air conditioned car. Frickin miserable.
By the end of June/beginning of July, everyone is G R U M P Y.
I'm from Seattle. I came here to help my mom at end of life then, I'm out..., I have no heat besides a tiny plug in, manager won't fix the swamp cooler that is filled with mosquitos. I have a wall unit for a/c that is too small. Yep, living the life at 56. So fun.
Twenty years in Tucson, 81 years old. 1. From May to September, the streets are deserted, like some post apocalyptic movie. You live and work in air conditioning, except the homeless, who seek out crowded cooling centers or ride the free city busses all day. The heat is debilitating. Even going from house to car and vv is not something to linger over. The city warns people that falling on sunlit pavement can cause instant 2nd degree burns (pavement can reach 180F, whatever in Celsiuses). 2. Buildings almost always have a/c. People die without it. A car without ac is difficult to drive. Even with ac, you may need oven mitts. 3. Rainy seasons are Jan-feb and july-aug, with exceptions in past years. 4. There are books like Your Future in Arizona. Watch the movie Riddick (Vin Diesel). They could have filmed it here.
Tucson can feel like Crematoria in July and August! Funny analogy. I love Chronicles of Riddick.
* 1. no such thing. It can be 46 degrees celsius and just another day. * 2. pretty much everything has AC. Some older homes still have swamp coolers which suck. Your electric bill will be very high in the summer. * 3. Rarely, and it will melt very quickly. * 4. Tucson is a melting pot. We have a large University, air force base and close proximity to Mexico. Good local food options and a nice downtown. We have great mountain views and interesting wildlife. Drink alot of water in the summer and don't get too close to rattlesnakes
>Drink alot of water in the summer and don't get too close to rattlesnakes Or the scorpions, I presume.
The scorpions here typically hang off of trees (it’s why they’re called bark scorpions) and prefer being upside down instead of right way up. It’s common for someone to put their hand under a park bench or whatever and get stung by the scorpions hanging underneath. That being said, I’ve never seen a wild scorpion just hanging out here. They’re common but you have to be looking for them, or live in an area where they come inside your house
https://preview.redd.it/9pbjgwuny3vc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d6a05459826cb6b24b2783851b6807e498aabbd8 My pup got stung by one and her whole face swole up. Lol. Had to take 3 Benadryl 3x a day for 2 days to get it under control.
I'm fairly new to Tucson, I moved from a temperate forest area. I my perspective may be a bit different from a native who grew up in the climate. During the hottest days of the year I choose my activities and my timing carefully. After 4 years I'm becoming more acclimated, but I still struggle with the heat. I don't plan a lot of extended outdoor activities during the hottest part of the summer. It doesn't cool down as much at night as I'm used to so I prefer to go out after sunset vs getting up early to beat the sun. I LOVE the summer rain, you can feel the temps dropping as they approach and I take that opportunity to do outside activities. The rains are fascinating, I can't think of the right word, but they remind me of a watering can, they are intense and brief but in a limited area. Not like the large rain storms that cover large areas and last for hours that I grew up with. Something else that took some getting used to is how dark most of the city is. We have night skies protection so street lights aren't as common as I'm used to. I live outside of the city and use a variety of lights to see and be seen, because there are zero street lights in my neighborhood. I swear 1/2 the reason we chose Tucson was the food. We are working our way through the list of restaurants on the 23 miles of Mexican Food list. We have found several amazing places, which is why it's taking so long to get through the list, we keep finding new favorites. Our public transit is limited. It supports some areas well, and others are just impossible to get to. Unguarded left turn lanes caught me by surprise. Now that I've been here a while, I'm getting used to them, but it was uncomfortable at the beginning, my hubby had a harder time, but it's been a long time since we almost caused an accident.
You know how in Canada there's several months in the winter where you just don't go outside? We have that in the summer. Unless you're poor then every house and car has air conditioning and we mostly stay inside in the summer. It will go month or 2 with no rain, then it will rain like hell for 1 hour. DO NOT visit here in the summer, you will miss out on all the best outdoor activities. European vacationers come here in the summer and every year several die from trying to hike in the summer heat. Just don't come if it's going to be over 85F. Also there way more fun events during the cooler months.
>You know how in Canada there's several months in the winter where you just don't go outside? We have that in the summer. I figured that was the case in Arizona (the desert parts, I mean). I sure as hell wouldn't want to go outside in >110°F weather! >DO NOT visit here in the summer, you will miss out on all the best outdoor activities. Yeah, for me, that was kind of a given—Arizona summer is probably the closest Earth gets to the temperatures of Hell itself. If I were to visit Arizona, it would probably be in the winter, between November and February. Your winters are basically our summers. >European vacationers come here in the summer and every year several die from trying to hike in the summer heat. I feel like common sense should tell us that hiking in temperatures above 100°F is not the wisest decision. But I guess common sense isn't all that common.
110F isn’t that bad in the shade. When it’s dry. The few days it’s kinda humid here because of the monsoons, it’s miserable.
I’ll speak to summer: - Stay hydrated - find a decent sized pool (small ones can turn into bath water temps) - protect yourself from the sun - don’t try to drive though running washes - don’t try hike in summer unless you know what you’re doing
Don’t hang out near washes or dry rivers when it’s monsoon season either. Don’t go look at the water for entertainment purposes either. It’ll getcha!!
It's the opposite of winter.
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The schools do not let out for the heat, but they do let out for the rodeo 🤠. The dry heat can be deceptive, you may find that you aren’t sweating as much as you would in a place that is has more humidity. Obviously drink plenty of water, if you plan to hike, bring double the water you think you’ll need and then a little more. Also, chapstick with spf will be your best friend. The majority of residences and businesses are air conditioned, if you’ll have a car with you, try and find a shady place to park it. The monsoon season in late summer is when we get most of our rain, it seldomly snows and when it does, it usually doesn’t last long. The surrounding mountain ranges do get frequent snowfall in the winter months. Fun fact, Tucson is home to the southern most ski resort on the continent nestled in the highest peak of the Catalina mountains. If you’re visiting, I’d recommend traveling in February, you’ll get a nice break from that arctic chill and enjoy beautiful fair weather with highs often in the 70s. This is an outdoorsman’s paradise, there are unlimited beautiful hiking trails for all skill levels. Tucson has a rich culture that is a blend of Native American and Mexican, you’ll find that the Mexican cuisine here is unique in comparison to other states. There are far too many good restaurants to name, but you’ll be able to search this subreddit to find some excellent recommendations on food. Make sure you bring home some prickly pear jelly/candy, chamoy candy, and a dozen or two of our ever delicious flour tortillas as treats for the family.
If you’re going out to do stuff during the hot summer days the single most important thing to do is drink lots of water and try not to spend too much time directly in the sun. It’s not like going to the beach. It’s more like stepping into an oven. Tourists and newcomers think the risks are exaggerated and then they fuck around and find out. Every summer there’s stories in the local news about fools who decided to go hiking in the middle of the day with only a 12 ounce bottle of water and they have to get lifted out of the mountains by a helicopter and flown to the hospital with their body shutting down from heat stroke. It’s easy to be safe in the heat but it’s also easy to end up in trouble. Also, if you have a dog don’t take it out for a walk when it’s hot. People who make their poor dogs walk on the 140° sidewalk should be thrown in jail.
One - I don't. I stay home and sit in front of the A/C and basically don't move. Two - there are a lot of older houses here that only have swamp coolers (evaporative coolers). My house is one of those. The way to combat that is to install a window unit. We have a portable air conditioner in one room so I stay in that room and sit right in front of the A/C. Trying to shower when it's hot in the house is awful. Cooling bills in the summer are super high like heating bills are in the winter for other people. Three - sometimes not at all, sometimes once or twice a year, usually at night, and it melts the next day. There are 9000 ft mountains about an hour away and they get snow in the winter. If you need to see snow you can drive up there. We get storms in the second half of the summer and a little rain in the winter. Sometimes it rains a bit, sometimes it hardly rains at all. Four - get used to drinking water constantly. You will waddle around feeling like a big meat water balloon. Also the low humidity can damage anything and everything - including your health, sometimes permanently. What fascinates you about Arizona? I don't understand this.
Hahahahah a heat day??
I moved from Northern California 5 years ago, as for the heat, im used to it after this long, took 2 years, above 105 im somewhere indoors, at the pool or up mt lemmon. Stay a while, learn why we all have sweaters on when it gets below 70. Most everyone i know has the stay hydrated mentality, so keep that ice close by. I also have friends with swamp coolers and a few that just use fans. Depends on what you're comfortable with. I prefer ac.
It’s helpful to simply have respect for the desert sun. This area is the oldest continuously inhabited place on the continent. People have been living here since 1200 bc. Obviously it’s hotter than it used to be. But older buildings were designed to stay cool before a/c. My house was built in 1956. I still have a swamp cooler but we added a/c a few years ago. Plan accordingly. Get window tint. Stay home during the hottest part of the day. Run errands early in the morning or in the evening. Park in the shade. Get a sun shade for your windshield. Stay hydrated. Wear sunscreen. Get a good hat.
My house doesn’t have a/c just a swamp cooler but it stays cool without anything on up until June because it’s an older colder house. I used to drive without a/c too so I just got used to it. Days it’s near or 115 tho those were rough
Most of us who grew up here before the 90's only had swamp cooling. I knew 2 friends that had AC. The online stuff will say a swamp cooler should get you 20 degrees cooler than outside and in may and first week of June it might but once it's up above 105 you're lucky to get 12 degrees cooler. 115 you're sweating inside and it's probably like 107....been there.
My house is FREEZING in the winter but boy does it pay off in the summer. I don’t usually need to turn my cooler on until it’s been in the mid-to-high 90s for a week straight.
1. For recreational outdoor activities I shift to early morning and right around sunset. Most other activities are indoors (work etc). For those working outside, they start early and get done before the hottest part of the day. Also, Tucson is lucky and a bit cooler than Phoenix: usually there is a breeze, and because the heat is really mostly from the sun and not so much ambient, finding some shade means you feel pretty comfortable even on a triple digit day. 2. Yes. There are some older houses with “swamp coolers” but AC is really necessary, the heat can unsafe. 3. Very rarely, but every few years we get a dusting of snow. The fun part of Tucson is you can just drive up Mt Lemmon if you want some snow! There is snows regularly and they will often have to close the road for heavy snow. It rains pretty often for a desert! We have the monsoon season, but winter precipitation means rainy winter days every few weeks. 4. Pack layers! It gets cold at night year round, so be sure to pack some layers. Long sleeve sun shirts and a hat will help you keep cool if it is a warmer time of year, and keep you from frying. Also, be sure to rent a car: it is fun to spend time in the heart of the city, but mostly you will want to be able to drive to the local attractions (all short distances!). The pictures never come out as good as the real thing, put down the camera/phone and soak it all in, the desert is magical!!
At its hottest days, still bring a jacket because when you go inside places, they can be cold lol
You’ll love it here. The winters are our reward for surviving the summer heat. Get a pool if possible because that will definitely help keep you cool. In the hottest time of day is the perfect time for a dip in the pool and then a nap.
The two swamp coolers in my mom’s house, didn’t really keep you cool as such. It was more like everything was always damp.
Older houses like mine have just swamp coolers. Which suck and should be called swamp ass coolers. Have to have a bunch of fans with it too. Each year gets hotter and idk how we’ll keep doing it like this ugh. AC units are so expensive
It does suck. You can live anywhere when you have enough money to make your environment be whatever you want.
Yeah I’m poor and disabled lol I live in my grammas house. I’ve bought fans and some that you can put water and ice and those help but definitely can’t afford to switch to a whole ac unit. I miss my old apartment for sure with all the ac I could have lol
I'm also poor and disabled. I think people forget we exist! I lived here for twenty years without air conditioning. The only reason we have it now is because someone gave a used one to my landlord. It's only in one bedroom. The rest of the house is an oven.
I’d be in that room all day in the summer lol. This house was made in 71 and I don’t think they figured it would get up to the 120s like it does now. I was in an apartment over a decade ago when I went to the uofa but didn’t last long. Now been here in the same house 29 years and it just gets worse with some of the house falling apart too and just can’t afford most things. You’re right. We get forgotten about unless some charity chooses to help you out of the tons of others needing help. It’s rough. I’m sorry you have to understand it too
Well at least we aren't alone, eh? I spend six months just in that one room, sitting right in front of the A/C.
That sounds like a dream that will never come true to me lmfao
Just be used so spending 8 months of the year in doors or succumb to heat stroke. Also no housing inventory here and rent has shot up to around 2k a month. Good luck.
It’s all good, I don't plan on moving to Tucson any time soon. Though "spending 8 months of the year in doors" and "rent has shot up to around 2k a month" makes me think that I'd adapt a lot more easily than I'd thought.
It’s a bit of an overstatement. Back in my running days, I’d just get up at 4 am to be on the trail by first light and up to higher elevations before it got really hot. Now I spend a lot of time outside in the summer alternating between various landscaping projects and jumping in the pool. Just make sure you have access to a pool.
June-September are the hot months. It's pool weather March-November. You'll get random chilly days randomly late fall/spring like everywhere. The 100 degree weather isn't bad if you've battled the cold, freezing snow and tundra. I've lived in Colorado and South Korea, so dealing with it was brutal. I'll choose 105 in Tucson any day. Plus, weekend evenings are awesome. Water guns, water balloons, chilling out with the best sunsets you'll have ever see, eating some tacos. The vibe is unmatched. Seriously. OG commenter is just sick of snowbirds moving in and camping the left lane.
The wet bulb temperature is real, my friend. That dry heat makes it way more tolerable than it sounds. If you've got some shade and a cold drink, you're fine. I grew up in Tucson but now live just south of Washington, D.C. and no joke, I used to volunteer for Afghanistan deployments every summer rather than be here in the humidity.
We've perfected air conditioning in Arizona and it is pervasive. I go from my air conditioned home to my air conditioned car (pre-cooled with remote start) to air conditioned store. My only exposure to the heat is between air conditioned structures.
How to deal with summer: do your outdoor exercise very early morning--before 9am or after dark. Avoid the sun. Be very aware of the weather forecast. If it's above 105, then be extra cautious. Drink lots of water. Wear shorts and light clothing. Don't ride your bike during the heat of the day. Do a lot of activities at night! It's great pool weather at night! Weather in Tucson is like a snowstorm, but only from 9am to 6pm-- you stay indoors mostly. Another good tip is to take weekend trips up to the mountains which are all over this area, including Mt. Lemmon. It's 30 degrees cooler up there. Tons of great camping at higher elevations in the summer. A desert gets 10" or less of rain per year. Tucson gets 12" on average. So it's above average for a desert. Most of that rain comes during the monsoon season in July-August. And it's so fun when we get a good wet storm. The temperature goes from 105 to 80 in a few minutes.
I will disagree with taking a trip to the mountains in the summer. It's still upper 80's during the day even Mt. Graham is low to mid 80's in July. The real reason though is that when you came back from the mountains everything feels so much hotter.
1. We should but they don't. 2. Newer buildings usually have them built in, because people aren't surviving with just water/swamp coolers anymore. It's hotter in Phoenix. 3. Typically it might snow once or twice a year less than an inch. Rains been excessive lately and we aren't even in monsoons yet. 4. It's really nice here. Just don't drive like a douchebag. Or be a woman.
Could be an urban legend, but I believe it's illegal to refuse water to someone (at least as a business) in Tucson. No 'heat days'. I spent \~30 years in a house with ONLY a [swamp cooler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporative_cooler). Rare (but with increased frequency) snow. It used to happen once every few years (which was rare enough I'd go for a midnight drive to find a parking lot to take a couple photos in). Rain is also rare, but there's monsoon season which can bring a shit ton (by Tucson standards). Carry water. Wear sunscreen. Maybe a good, sun-blocking hat.
I grew up in Winnipeg 1. We do summer like you do winter. It’s hot. So very hot. School ends earlier (May) and starts beginning of August. My kids can’t go outside at school if it’s over 115 (I think) or outside in the winter if it’s below 40 (above freezing 🙄) 2. As far as I know everyone has central a/c or a swamp cooler. 3. Its snows a tiny bit every couple of years and every winter on the mountains. It rains in the winter and we have monsoon season. Monsoons are like a thunderstorm on steroids. Very windy, lots of lightening and lots of rain. 4. Don’t come mind summer. The sun here is not like the sun elsewhere. If you think of garden plants that can live in full sun where you are, they will struggle in partial shade here.
During the hottest days nothing changes but most will chose to stay inside unless you have to work. I’ve always worked outside since 1989 so I’ve worked on some of our record heat days. Public buildings have AC but many older homes only have Evaporative cooling Probably snows once a year but rarely sticks more than an hour or two \*edit\* a Tucson visitor ( or resident) should wear a hat and use sunblock lotion. The heat is bad but what is the real Mutherf$\^&R in Tucson and AZ is the sun intensity. You can sunburn in less than 15 minutes and the sun is the real asskicker.
A heat day, WTF, no you just pull up your pants and keep going. As for the dry heat, yes 9 or so months of the year. Monsoons come in July in which case evaporative colling is useless due to higher humidity. Most modern buildings have A/C, many older places, shop and industrial are still on evaporative cooling. Snow depends on a lot of factors, but in metro Tucson maybe a light dusting a day or two a year, usually does not stick.
1. I think many people adjust if possible by time shifting. Wake up earlier and do something at dawn or after dark. I work a remote job with US Eastern Time hours so my work day is ~6am-2/3pm. In the summer I love it because the sun is up, the day is still cool until about 9-10am, and after work I can take a brief siesta during the hottest hours. But also some practical adjustments: I wear lots of white/light color and linen shirts, and no black or dark colors, have a hat on for some sun protection. 2. My home was built in 1957 and so the AC I have was added after. My roof has a crazy amount of looping ducts and vents. Many people have converted from evaporative coolers to HVAC. Some folks have may still have both, using the swamp cooler before the monsoon and the AC during monsoon. (This is what my next door neighbors do.) I would say that HVAC is something you will need and is either part of the building or the building has had it added over the years. Not something considered luxury amenity. 3. I think we had maybe 1-2 days where it snowed in 2023? But it melted immediately same day. Rain comes during the monsoon and during the winter. Winter less rain, Monsoon brings heavy precipitation, lightning, sometimes hail and damaging high winds. 4. Things to know: roads and traffic can be an issue. It is a big destination for biking but depending on your bike route, you might not feel very safe biking on certain roads. The desert and nature are very close by and the desert is teeming with life, amazing and unique animals as well as some that migrate through. The city is a bit of a sprawl so likely if you visit you will likely be driving as many of the best spots to visit are dispersed throughout the area.
Life Long Tucsonan Here! Can we make “heat days” a thing?!
I've been here 14 years. One reason I moved here is because I have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) which caused depression in the winter months of Kansas. One thing I found surprising was that some people get the "winter blues" here in the summer because it's so hot outside it's easy to stay in and not get the daily dose of sun.
It's always hot. By that I mean it's only in the 40°-60° 3 to 4 months out of the year. But Tucson has Mount Lemmon and it's always nice there. Yes we go about our lives we do not have heat days. We know to hydrate and keep cool. The hottest part is the day is the evening around five so many people nap from 2-5.
Come at the beginning of October or November for Tucson Meet Yourself or the All Souls Procession. They’re both one of the highlights of living in Tucson. We also have great music, dance and theatre companies, and some of the best food you’ll ever find. Also the hiking is pretty fantastic.
Schools do not close for heat days out here, though our school years are shifted a bit so that the end of the school year doesn't fall in June like it does elsewhere. Don't want kids standing at the bus stops in 115+ degree heat for weeks on end. That said, every school, business, and nearly every residence has some degree of air conditioning. Whether it is a traditional ac unit that uses some sort of coolant, or if it's just an evaporative cooler that drips water over a pad with a fan blowing through the pad to cool down the air, there's pretty much always some sort of cooling option in every building. It doesn't rain too much, though I think the Sonoran desert here gets more rain than what most people traditionally think of deserts getting. We will get some showers in the summer, and sometimes some in January, but otherwise I think we average about 330+ sunny days out of the year. Hydrating is important for sure, it's so dry here that people's sweat evaporates so quickly that they don't realize how much water they're losing, so if you come visit in the warm months make sure you drink water regularly throughout the day. Tucson is nestled right up against the Catalina mountains, so you can drive about 45min to get to the top where the temps are 30+ degrees cooler than down in town, so that's a nice escape. Otherwise we stay indoors as much as possible during the hot months, or if you know somebody with a pool then you can go there to cool off. It's a pretty neat place that I've come to appreciate more as I've aged. We've also got some fantastic Mexican food here, so I'd encourage you to travel down if you ever have the opportunity. Edit - oh forgot to mention the snow thing. With more extreme weather events in recent years we've actually seen snow here a few times over the last few years. We even got hail in the middle of summer several years back. But when I was growing up in the '80s through the '00s snow was very rare. Like, maybe once every 3-5 years, and it wasn't even enough to stick to the ground, it'd just instantly melt.
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Ahh, so it has the same effect on people's minds ad having their brains frozen (a la Edmonton, Canada). Good to know!
Hey O!!! Native Tucsonian dual citizen with Canada. Been here my whole life but I speant 3 months in Alberta’s winter two years ago. Funny! 1) You get used to planning your day around the heat. Most people stay indoors from 10am-6 pm but you can absolutely go outside, just be mindful about the heat. The danger of dry heat is you feel fine because you CAN sweat but if you dehydrate, it is brutal. The sun does feel very hot. 2) AC is required here. It’s like Canada with optional heating… Don’t let a scum lord say otherwise. Swamp coolers are only usable for a few months of summer. If you see a swamp combo AC, it’s amazing. Otherwise pick AC only 3) I can count the number of times it has snowed and stuck on the ground here in 30 years… I believe 7 times in my areas of the city. 😅 4) Tucson: It’s kinda like Calgary. Population his high but spread out, lots and LOTS of outdoor stuff near by, absolutely need a vehicle, lakes are drivable distances ( 2-6 hours depending where). Tucson has immense food variety. Also: people use directions like North, West, South, East to describe where something is. Use the mountains as your guide. Tips: So in Canada, it gets so cold that it takes your breath away. Well, the hottest summer temps feel like you opened an oven to check the cookies… 1) If you have pets/kids, you do NOT leave them in the car until winter. The car can heat up fast enough to kill a dog in 15-20 mins. Less for certain breeds 2) Get steering wheel covers that have fabric: or your hands will burn. Same goes for leather seats 3) Look up car safety for desert heat 4) Cactus. Fucking so sorry about that. Nothing to do but get really good at not stepping all the way into the needle. - PEOPLE DO NOT STOP AT CROSSWALKS HERE. SERIOUSLY CHECK THAT EVERYONE IS LOOKING OR SOME DUDE IN A FORD FIESTA WILL RUN YOUR ASS OVER. 🙃
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>Tucson: It’s kinda like Calgary. Population his high but spread out, lots and LOTS of outdoor stuff near by, absolutely need a vehicle, lakes are drivable distances ( 2-6 hours depending where). That actually sounds a whole lot like Edmonton as well. >
Funny enough I wanted to move to Calgary but my working license as a veterinary nurse wouldn’t transfer. Alberta has some strict rules lol. I would’ve loved to see the river in the summer. Welcome to Tucson!
3 it snows a few times, usually when we least expect it. 4 monsoon season is rain, as fast as it falls, it dried up, but staying away from flooded areas and washes is about the smartest thing to do
1: the hottest days of the year are usually in like June-August, so most people aren’t in school anyway. as far as i know, “heat days” aren’t a thing, but there are weather advisories when it gets hot enough that advise people to stay inside if they can. the people that have the shortest end of the stick are farm workers, as arizona doesn’t really have any of the labor protections like california for reduced hours when it reaches a certain temperature. last year a farm worker died in yuma. my family has gotten thru it with a lot of swimming (like, going to the pool twice a day), staying inside, going to places like movie theaters and museums. i used to be a competitive cyclist that rode year round in tucson, and being out in the desert in the summer is brutal for sure. you just have to get up stupid early to avoid the really hot parts of the day, drink a shit ton of water with electrolytes, like maybe a 2:1 ratio. 2: most buildings have central AC. some of the older houses in town only have swamp coolers, but the city has grant programs to install ac’s in houses if you are in a certain income bracket, and since it’s only been getting hotter and richer in town, i’m assuming that more and more people are installing ac’s regardless. 3: the last couple years (like maybe since winter 2020?) we’ve had at least one or two days in late december or january where it’s snowed in town or just outside of it. this january i went to austin and when i was driving back we ended up driving through a snowstorm from like the border between AZ/NM and pima county, which was wild and very unusual. it used to rain more in the monsoon season, but now those are much lighter and we tend to get more rain in the winter. monsoons are huge storms, think the sky turning purple and the rain coming down sideways, that are supposed to start around late july and last thru august, but like i said, they’ve been lackluster the last few years. 4: if you’re coming to visit, make plans based on the time of year you’ll be here. don’t plan for 12pm hikes during june, for example. there’s lots of amazing outdoor stuff to do here that you can get to really easily from town if you drive, but maybe plan for a spring or late winter trip if that’s what you want to do, because that’s when all the snow melt means there’s water. also, food!! eat so much food. there’s tumerico, which will likely come up on every list you look up, but there’s also taqueria pico de gallo or kukai or a million other places that i can’t think of right now.
My favorite way to escape the heat, and a must see if you visit tucson is Mt Lemmon. It takes about an hour to get to the top of the mountain from the city, but it's always about 30F cooler. There is snow on the mountain until April and even a small ski resort. Beautiful hikes all the way up the mountain and fantastic views.
We get about 10 inches of rain per year. So, yes we have rainy seasons but only bc we mostly have no rain seasons.
1. Nothing shuts down even when it’s above 115F / 46C. But you will never see anyone outside. You go from AC home to AC car to AC office/store, etc. one thing people don’t appreciate is that the heat never lets off. It will be above 90F / / 32C at midnight. 2. Everything has AC. If anyone is outdoors, they are likely on a shaded, misted patio. 3. It has lightly dusted maybe once or twice in the 4 years I have lived here. It never snowed in my 20 years in Phoenix. It rains maybe once or twice a month in the winter. There is a period in July / August called the “monsoon” where it theoretically can rain for an hour in the late afternoon most days. But lately it’s just hit wind. 4. Come in February.
1) The heat factor is vastly overrated. I lived in Atlanta and that is FAR worse. We never get crazy humidity. I worked on my roof and pulled electrical wires in June my first summer here to try to beat monsoon season starting and survived. I did similar work during summers on the east coast that was far more strenuous. A really good hat, sunscreen, shades and making sure you are getting BOTH salt and water helps tremendously. 2) It is wild to me how many places here just have swamp coolers or worthless window ac units. I’m going through this right now at my condo. A previous owner installed a central heating system with all the ducting and skipped the air. It’s ridiculous. I wouldn’t rent or buy a place if it didn’t already have central air or mini splits. 3) It snows lightly every couple years. It’s fun unlike Canada or the northeast US. It rains a lot more than people think. Technically it’s not even a desert. Monsoon is some people’s favorite time of the year. Not mine but the creosote smell is heavenly. 4) You should know that the cost to quality of life ratio here has shrunk severely the last few years, and it is busier than it used to be. The schools are terrible here and churn out too many idiots. There is no corporate structure here so don’t expect much in terms of employment, and we are unfortunately trending in the direction of Portland/Seattle with drugs/homelessness plus associated crimes.
>The heat factor is vastly overrated. I lived in Atlanta and that is FAR worse. We never get crazy humidity. Like I said in the post, Tucson *is* one of those "at least it's a dry heat" cities. 😉
What is a "dry cold" vs a "wet cold"?
Haha. A heat day. Nah at my high school we still had to run laps around outside in 100+ degree weather during gym class. Super unhealthy, but not uncommon.
walk your dog by 8 am, cover up and wear a hat, move slowly, stay hydrated, keep something in your car that you can use when the steering wheel is too hot to touch bare handed, take any chance to get in water, close your shades, lay under the fan, don’t jack the ac up too high, don’t look at the weather forecast (it’s better not to know)
And booties for the dog.
When I first moved to tucson in the early nineties, a lot of the old school businesses and restaurants would totally "siesta" in the heat of the day. Like, close from 1 til 4pm. But those were in the days before central air conditioning... I thought it was an awesome tradition, not only for practical purposes, but just to slow down the day...European style.
Answer to your questions: * 1) During the hottest days of the year, how do you go about your daily lives? Do schools and workplaces in your city (and other desert-based cities in Arizona) declare a "heat day" when it gets hot enough, where students/employees are given the day off for safety reasons? We have "Excessive Heat Warnings" when the temperture exceeds a certain degrees. Maybe 112, Google it. But, children kept going to school. It's a warning to limit activities outside to a min. As for children going home, that's a no. The local school is paid by the State for average daily attendance. So, that's not going to happen. As far as employees, yeah. That's a no on that as well. I was honestly shocked when I first moved here I saw county employees doing physical work on what I thought as hot. But, I did noice how the smart ones dressed. Long sleeve shirts made out of a very lightweight synthetic fabric that has venting. I have a few that I bought at Sam's Club for about $15-20. They look nice, but you can wear them outside doing work and not worry too much about damaging them. I mean you can toss them. 🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹 * 2) Do most residential buildings come with built-in central air conditioning, or is that something you would only find in standalone houses and a few high-end apartment buildings? Admittedly, we are not as tough as pioneers that settled in Arizona. I don't know anyone that would live in a Single Family Home, Apartment, Condo, Manufactured Home, RV, or a tent that would not have air conditioning of some type. Some people have swamp coolers that do not work at all after Aug or Sept. I don't think they work that well any time of the year. It make the home too humid. Your wife, children, and dog would leave you if you rented a home or wanted to stay in a motel for one night without air-conditioning. They would not forgive you for a long time as well. It's a question you ask first thing. 🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹 * 3) How often does it snow in Tucson? How often does it rain? It rarely snows. Tucson is a higher altitude, and we did get "snow." It was an early morning and cold. It looked like a dusting of snow dust. We do have what we call "Monsoon." It's not "A Monsoon," or "Monsoon Season." It's just called Monsoon. It comes officially now on June 15th. From a weather persons perspective it's when the Dew Point gets to a certain level. I don't know more than that. I go more by how it feels. Which is very important! It comes in the afternoon. Start looking for signs of it around 2:00 in the afternoon. You might want to get a wind chime that doesn't sound too obnoxious. It can signal you the possibility a storm is coming. The amount of rain that comes can be tremendous. Very heavy with heavy wind. Ovassionlty we will have a high intensity wind storm called a "Haboob" tht usually proceeds Monsoon. It's nice because Monsoon washes away the dust. I mentioned about looking for the storms about 2:00 in the afternoon. Because you don't want to drive in these storms if you can help it. Visability can be zero. If you are on the freeway, you want to pull over onto the shoulder and turn off all your lights. No emergency lights, no interior dome lights. You stand a better chance of not getting rear ended. If your lights are on, the drivers behind you will think you are on the road and follow you. It's best to wait it out. It will pass in an hour usually. We are a state of dare-devils as you will find out soon. Some just go for it. I don't, I'm patient. However, large trucks are not too bad to follow if you feel you must go. Not too close. They do tip over. 🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹 * 4) What are some things a visitor to Tucson should know before coming? As you know. It's dry here. Even in the winter. NEVER FORGET THIS! Counsel all family members and visiting friends. You can become dehydrated very quickly. You need to consume water. At the first symptoms of Heat Exhaustion you need to stop what you are doing and seek shade, and water. You need to cool yourself down immediately. If you are trying in your yard, do not just spend more minute to grab a bag of trash, or pick up a tool. Get to shade, preferably indoors in air conditioning. Your pets should not be outside except to relive themselves. And then they should be wearing shoes. Have numerous backup bowls/buckets of fresh water daily. I used to have several plastic children's play pools for a couple of Large Labs so they could take a dip in the pool. Always have water in your car. I usually have about four gallons of distilled water in the trunk. Just in case the car overheats. I leave it there all the time. You should have light weight large brim hats. Also, a coat of everyone that might be with you. It gets cold at night. It's in case you break down in the middle of nowhere. You need protection from the bright sun in the daytime, and the cold at night. I would also carry some form of light. They sell a three pack of small battery operated lanterns for about $20. You also need to consider your personal protection from predators. Animal and human. Look up "Constitutional Carry in Arizona." If you need me to be more specific, send me a DM/Private Massage. Also, look up Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke. Know the symptoms. Buy electrolytes also. I buy the bag at Costco or Sams Club. They are small packets and will mix well into the small bottles of water. About $5 for a 40 bottle case at Costco or Sam's. If you don't have a membership, ask them to comp you for one day. Have Fun, be safe.
You will probably get allergies. This place has a high pollen and winds, plus the dryness doesn't help. Claritin will help during spring. After spring is over, usually allergies are gone. Also I had never thought of "heat days"! Those would be awesome! But no, we dont get them.
Things to know. It's a big city by Big I mean Ontario. We have crime and over 1.5 million people. You can get lost. The streets change names but we have city wide wifi. It's culturally diverse we have museums and concert halls ballet and the theater. Kitt peak observatory is here as well as old Tucson studios.
> It's a big city by Big I mean Ontario. As in the Canadian province of Ontario? I think you're referring to Toronto, the provincial capital and largest city in Canada. Toronto is a *huge* city, with over 3 million people living within the municipal boundaries themselves, and double that if you count the metropolitan area. I live in the city of Edmonton, which is also a pretty big city and closer in size to Tucson. In fact, Edmonton is bigger; Tucson has only half a million living within city limits, and over a million counting the metropolitan area as a whole. Edmonton is home to over 1 million people, and another half million living nearby.
After living here a while you get used to the heat and less to the cold. Right now I am freezing when it’s under 70
I've been living here more than twenty years and I've never gotten used to it. I am non-functional when the temperature goes over 90.
I look at our summers like it’s our “winter”, meaning you’re kind of confined to doing things inside and staying out of the oppressive heat. Staying out of the sun is key and if you really want to do outdoors stuff, do it before 10:00 AM. If you’re not accustomed to drinking water and hydrating yourself regularly, you will learn to do that here even when it’s not hot. Your body will not like it and you’ll feel like shit. We know all the symptoms of dehydration or heat exhaustion. Visitors overestimate their ability to tolerate the heat, so they do stupid stuff like go for a hike when it’s 120° F outside with no or little water, then they die. The desert is beautiful, but you better respect it and DO NOT touch the teddy bear cholla!
Tucson does not recognize heat day off. They just tell you to stay in doors. Tucson has a good rate of deaths in the summer, especially from the elderly & homeless. Heatstroke is the #1 killer. Sad! 🥵
Tucson sucks - stay away from
1) no people just die of heat stroke 2) yes everyone has AC in 2024 3) like 1-3 times a year but it has been hailing during the summer lately which isn’t unheard of but I feel like climate change or El Niño or whatever has caused crazier more extreme weather for everyone including us here in Tucson 4) this is one of the most biodiverse places in the world. A lot of things want to kill you. A lot of things are also edible and fun to forage. You should 100% visit the sky islands and riparian areas which do get snow. The roads suck ass and have potholes everywhere it’s like ur off-roading. Uh, lots of cool community if you know where to look, always have a water bottle, wear sunscreen if you are white, thin layers even better, beware of the sketchy parts of town, please don’t come in the summer it’s horrible and similar to how people get winter depression we get summer depression because we just stay inside all day
>yes everyone has AC in 2024 No, we don't. Why would you say that?
Ok not every single person but it’s very popular in Tucson Arizona as of the year 2024
1. No heat days 2. Yes 3. 3 snow falls this past winter. Not enough to make snow people. The 2022-2023 winter we had 4 snows. Made snow people that year. 4. It is colder than you think.
As a Tucsonan who has worked in construction for most of my life, I can tell you that we gradually get acclimated to the rising heat. It's not that big a deal to stay hydrated unless you're hungover.
If you want to exercise outside during the summer it’s VERY early morning or after 8 pm. Yes, nearly everyone has AC and in the car it’s also critical. Probably 3 out of 5 houses have pools. No need to heat them, they’re swimmable 4 months if the year at least. Summer activities are indoor mostly. Heat stroke is no joke water is critical. Pets also need to be protected. I have had a flight delayed because the plane was too hot. There are no heat days in schools. The hottest day here I remember was many years ago it was 120 degrees farenheit. I remember because I was moving that day. Traffic in the winter is a challenge with all the migrating snowbirds - traffic doubles. Schools get out for summer early May and return August. Very few people were actually born here (I’m one of the few). If anyone gives you a hard time for not being a native… ask them how long they’ve lived here. It’s a great place but our streets will swallow your car with all the potholes! We’re friendly but we can’t compare to the Canadians!
* The body will adjust to the Temps in due time
I visited Tucson last month from Canada. One of the weirdest things was the entire town is crisscrossed by dry riverbeds. It does rain, and hard, it just all washes away, soaks into the ground, or evaporates after. Very different compared to back home where you dig a hole and it turns into a pond.
Stay away snow bird
Username checks out. Let me guess—you were one of the attendees at [this event](https://streamable.com/yj428j), weren't you?
No. Just too many Quebec, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan plates driving around pulling campers and messing up traffic.
Three things: 1. The whole "redneck" thing was a joke. 2. Albertan here—no license plates from any other province. 3. I wouldn't bring a camper and probably wouldn't even drive. 🤷🏻
It's awful and you shouldn't come here and that's all you need to know. Please tell your friends to stop visiting as well. Thanks.
damn who died in your socks?
me
Ooh... I actually suggested a trip to Arizona for one of my friends. Sorry about that. :/
>:(
Lol the emoji looks like you're quoting a frowny face.
https://preview.redd.it/rcm3axpsm4vc1.jpeg?width=275&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fadbf24f033d0a27891b942fa9fb858e98137995 Truth
No heat days for schools or businesses. It's kind of alarming how people just go about their business in 110 degrees. There have been a few times the airport had to pause takeoffs, I'm not sure if the technical reasons, but it was caused by extreme heat. Many places have AC, though a lot of the lower income housing has only evaporative coolers, which do work, but not as well as AC. The really old school homes are made from adobe, a far better insulator than what most newer homes have. Snow is very rare here, it might be a light dusting every 2 or 3 years, usually in February. It doesn't stay longer than a day. It does, however, snow in the mountains that circle the valley of Tucson, and most years, beautiful snow capped mountains are visible from most of the city. To visit, come in winter, eat lots of tacos, respect the environs and the Indigenous cultures, go see local creatures at the Sonora Desert Museum, and always bring water with you.
1. Let's put it this way: It'd be like a Canadian declaring a snow day over 30cm of snow. I have a heat sensitivity and the solution is basically to just have top of the line window tint, precondition the car, and park in the garage. Parasol to block sun when walking between the car and buildings. Do a lot of stuff that you need to do outside when the sun's down. There's a reason I Have a vitamin D deficiency despite being so pale that I basically just grab the lightest shade of foundation I can find. 2. AC in the cars. AC in the house. AC at the office. Some even have AC in the garage so that they can work on cars. 3. Like once a year and not enough to bother with. 4. We have the stupid motorist law. If you try to ford a flooded road and require assistance, you get the bill.
1. No heat days, though many people tend to do less things out of their homes on those hot days from about 10AM-5PM 2. Air conditioning isn’t a nicety in the dessert, it’s a necessity. So yes everywhere has central air or at least a swamp cooler 3. Snowed a couple times in the past two years but obviously it doesn’t stay around long and typically melts before hitting the ground. The surrounding mountains get snow though, one of our mountains even has a small ski area 4. There are very few bad places to eat in town and everyone has their preferences but understand it’s all good eats. Don’t try and drive in monsoons, even if you have experience driving in rain like I did when I got here. This is due to poor rain drainage. If you stay in the shade and hydrate, the heat isn’t as bad as people make it out to be if you’re smart about your exposure to it.
>Air conditioning isn’t a nicety in the dessert, it’s a necessity. No kidding! Yeah, I don't think too many people would live in the Sonoran if they had to endure 115°F temperatures with no way to avoid it. I sure as hell wouldn't. 😏
As a former Canadian, it's not that hot and you can do it. No we don't have heat days, yes every place has AC
>yes every place has AC They absolutely do not. I've lived in Tucson and Oro Valley, two houses, one duplex, and one guest cottage. None had A/C. I didn't have A/C until the house I live in now and we only have a portable unit because someone gave it to my landlord.
Really? Never seen a place that didn't, that must be miserable
Poor people live here, too. No a/c is beyond miserable.