Our outside temperature on the 19th showed 116 at 5:41 PM
We expect hot weather in the Phoenix area. It is a given. However, we usually get the extreme heat in May or June rather than July or August, and July and August are usually marked with monsoon weather. Those months are a little cooler and we usually have more rain. This July, however, instead of the typical 2" of rain we only had 0.4".
As the saying goes, "But it's a dry heat." And that is true. During those hot days the relative humidity only got up into the 30s at the highest. With the more typical monsoon July the humidity would be into the 40s. The start of the monsoon season used to be measured by having three consecutive days with the dew point at 54° or higher, but this year the National Weather Service decided to change the definition to a specific calendar date. It doesn't make sense tome, and it takes away the fun speculation of when the monsoon season will officially start.
Kerby's pattern has always been to take his duty walk in the early evening, and his constitution seems to be organized that way. That means, of course, that we are out walking at almost the hottest time of the day. I don't see how he can stand to walk on the concrete walks with that heat, but it does not seem to bother him. We have shortened our walks in the hot weather for human reasons. On many evenings the heat was accompanied with a breeze, but the breeze was hardly cooling. Air coming at you that is 115° or so does not provide relief!
We had gotten out of touch with the summer heat, having been traveling away from Phoenix for the last three summers. But we sure got in touch with it fast! We still say, however, that we would rather have three or four months of hot weather than the five months of cold weather in Wyoming. At least when it is hot we can still go swimming!
Speaking of swimming, our pool also reacted to the high temperatures. Most days in July the water temperature was around 94°. And, the top four inches or so in late afternoon was even hotter from being heated by the sun without mixing. Getting in the pool was almost like getting in the spa, or a bathtub!
As of the date of this writing, however, temperatures have cooled somewhat for a day or so. This morning the temp was 76°, and the high temp was around 102°. The pool temp had dropped to 89° and it felt nice to get in the pool. However, temps are expected back up around 108° later this week.