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mike_tyler58@reddit

First time in over 100 years it’s rained 5 days in a row in Phoenix

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unknowingbiped@reddit

To be fair, everywhere else from the Rockies east get far more horrific rain, but its less of a problem.

A guy from work is an arizona native and did a whiskey circuit though the south and went through some mid country rainstorms and confirmed the arizona monsoons arent that bad.

As other people may confirm if the sky starts to turn black but also turns green or purple, you better get inside.

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NWYthesearelocalboys@reddit

My wife and I were in New Orleans worried about a hurricane in AZ. If we got our original forecast of 9" our whole town would have washed away. Thats half our annual rainfall in one storm. Thank God it was way wrong.

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Particular_Bet_5466@reddit

I guess that’s because the ground is unable to absorb all that water as well? The ground here is very hard.

PositiveAtmosphere13@reddit

Cookies, chips, crackers, boxes of Cap'n Crunch. Once opened if you don't reseal them up right away. They turn soft.

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DBL_NDRSCR@reddit

that sounds so bad. stale chips just taste kinda weird here but besides that they're fine unless they're old enough to get moldy which has never happened to me

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Nerisrath@reddit

people highly under estimate the i ncreased need for water both in arrid climates and higher elevations. you did both at once. kudos on not getting sick.

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lantana98@reddit

Your hair doesn’t get frizzy and puffy!

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GenXer76@reddit

Scrappy_The_Crow@reddit

Xeriscaping does, indeed, use native vegetation along with rock and gravel.

To clarify, I understood xeriscaping uses native vegetation. Read my above statement as:

I knew of xeriscaping, but had never heard the term that is used for completely non-vegetated landscaping.

At best, people would sometimes run a hose to a temporary sprinkler when needed.

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SplitOpenAndMelt420@reddit

Interesting! I'm also from New York, but Long Island and there were sprinklers everywhere

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cool_chrissie@reddit

I live in Georgia and no one I know has sprinklers. I’m Denver if you don’t water everything will be dead in a few days.

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xx-rapunzel-xx@reddit

lots of people do on the east coast! i do not. i only have the sprinkler that hooks up to the hose.

Temperature extremes. It can go from 100 F at midday to 40 F at midnight. Temperature sucks out of you quicker if you are laying on the ground.

I guessing desert people don't have dehumidifiers in their basements.

I was once caught in one in the Middle East.

In an open bed truck with guys in the back. We in the cab stripped off our shirts for them to cover their heads.

The first year I moved to Arizona no matter the temp above 70⁰f 19 I just dripped sweat even though I didn't feel hot. Now 70⁰ 19 is chilly, and I can like sit outside in the shade at 100⁰f 37 and enjoy it, maybe a little damp.

I was born in a high desert and have lived most of my life here.

Nose bleeds are prettymuch daily for me.

I drink 2 or 3 gallons of water a day when I'm not outside, and I can still get so dehydrated that my bottom line splits open, and I have a scar there. And I also make sure to stay on top of my electrolytes.

It's common for the nights to be 30 degrees F colder than the days, it was 80 today, and tonight is gonna get down to about 45.

Snow is possible in the desert during winter, especially in high deserts (deserts at high elevation). So it is possible to die from heat stroke during the day, and hypothermia at night.

The desert still gets rain, but it's usually in short bursts, and the ground basically has no clue what to do with it, so you get flash floods that can push vehicles off the road, knock over buildings, and easily cost you your life. Plus for some reason the power companies never seem to protect their equipment from rain, so probably 80% of the time when it rains, you're gonna lose power for at least a few minutes, if not a few hours, or a day. And that can even happen with a light sprinkling for 2 minutes.

You MUST keep water and some type of electrolytes in your vehicle all year long, because getting stranded between 2 cities for a few hours can end you if you don't have a good way to stay hydrated. Too many people don't do this, and they are just asking to die. When I was a kid we got stranded on an old highway than no one uses anymore, with a busted car, no water, no way to call for help, and miles from the nearest anything. The only reason we survived was because a trucker that had gotten lost saw us and stopped to help and gave us a ride to the nearest gas station, many miles away. So always take at least 3x the amount of water you think you will need for at least 2 days. It seems ridiculous,but it could 100% save your life. I take a minimum of 7 gallons of water in a large container, 1 or 2 bottles plus whatever I'm currently drinking, and a case of sports drinks, plus some extra electrolyte powder. That way I have myself covered for about a week, or if I have a couple passengers I can take care of us for about 3 days.

Also, sleeping bags and/or blankets are important. If you've ever slept, or even just been stranded in a vehicle in the snow for a few hours, or days, you know how cold it can get. I always have more than enough blankets and sleeping bags for 4 people to bundle up together.

And snacks. Keep snacks in your vehicle. Blankets are great, but you need calories for your body to generate heat, and you need calories to keep your strength and keep your mind clear so you can make the right decisions and take the correct actions to survive a bad situation.

I go a bit overboard on some things, because I like having the freedom to be able to be going to the store, or coming back from a family dinner, and just be like screw it, I'm going on a roadtrip, or I'm going camping. And I'll call my brother and tell him where I'm thinking about going while I'm driving, and I'll just go and not have to stop anywhere before I leave. But I would at bare minimum keep 5 gallons of water, some electrolyte powder, a few blankets, and a basic survival kit in your vehicle, regardless of where you live.

The area east of the cascades is considered a desert because of lacking moisture.

Something you need yo lear and understand is wildfires. Anywhere in the west can get these.

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fir_meit@reddit

Snow can sublimate. The air is so dry the snow turns into a vapor before it can melt. You can wake up to everything covered in snow and by 11:00, it’s gone and the ground isn’t even damp.

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Due_Classic_4090@reddit

I love the dry desert. It’ll dry your clothes fast after washing. When I visit other places, it makes so so grateful for the dry heat.

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Apocalyptic0n3@reddit

It did absolutely incredible things for my sinuses. I went from 5+ sinus infections a year to 1 in nearly 15 years.

Everything is always covered in a thin layer of dust. You only really notice it when you look at your windshield, though.

There isn't much shade from trees, as you might imagine. There's a lot of trees, they're just short.

During the summer, there is no such thing as a "cool breeze" to cool you down like there is in humid places. No, any sort of wind feels like a freaking oven door opening up.

We don't get much rain, but when we do it's intense. We've had 2 microbursts in the last month and even the non-microbursts are crazy. Rain so thick you can't see 50 yards away. Wind so strong it'll prevent you from opening a door or make you worry your car is going to get thrown off the freeway. And things flood so much more quickly when the ground is dry.

Oh and we have haboobs, I guess. That was an interesting revelation when I moved here.

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MiniFancyVan@reddit

Rodents moving into your vehicle engine and destroying it.

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Honeybee3674@reddit

I was a kid, but here is what I remember about Phoenix, AZ:

Everything was hot: sidewalks, slides, cars, seat buckles, everything hot to the touch.

I have had curly hair all my life, except for the years we lived in the desert.

My skin was dry and peely. I legit thought I was a starchild, like the half lizard girl from the miniseries V, and all my skin would peel off and I would turn into a 16 year old overnight.

Bugs were no longer my friends. I had to learn to stay away from tiny fire ants that hurt badly, giant ants, black widow spiders, and biting black flies.

If your brother catches a lizard by the tail, the tail will break off, and the lizard will run away.

Stay out of people's yards. Cacti are not fun to step on.

I missed grass badly.

It's very hard to find shade.

You can't play outside during the summer, so you get scared shitless watching Poltergeist at the babysitter's house instead.

You have to go to school in the winter when the weather is actually nice out.

You never see the horizon because of the mountains.

I don't miss the desert at all. I was happy when we moved back to the Midwest.

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Maurice_Foot@reddit

I grew up in Florida and the only horizon was at Gulf. The rest of the time everything was obscured by trees.

Popcorn and chips and other things that need to stay dry to stay crispy don't really ever go stale. And on the other hand, a piece of bread or donut will start noticeably drying out on a sliced surface in like 10 minutes.

Your towel is always dry in the morning, even if you showered before bed, and you never discover that it got mildewy unexpectedly.

You have to drink more water even if you aren't doing anything to get sweaty.

The shade can be 10-15 degrees cooler than direct sun, since there's no humidity in the air holding heat. (This depends on location.)

Dust is everywhere.

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Unusual_Form3267@reddit

You can make miniature lightning storms in your bed!

It gets so dry that it raises that static electricity in the air. The first night after moving to a dry climate, I was laying in bed in the dark, and I ran my hands over the blankets. I saw the miniature flashes of baby lightning bolts. It freaked me out the first time!

Also, sometimes, I get shocked touching doorknobs. I hate it.

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Sledgehammer925@reddit

No_Foundation7308@reddit

Moving from Florida to Las Vegas I went through about a year of semi-frequent nose bleeds and sinus issues from the dry air. Took a while to acclimate. On the other hand, my curly hair can actually hold nicely styled curls instead of just being a frizzy lions mane.

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Ok-Understanding9244@reddit

Absolutely guitars suffer from the dryness...and anything else that is wood, like real wood furniture can crack and deform, sometimes very badly...

Nosebleeds are more common in arid climates, so if that's a problem for you now, it'll get worse...

Head hair can feel limp or dead in arid climates, for some people with curly or frizzy hair it can be great or terrible.. my sister hated it..

Doing anything outside will make you thirsty within like 30-60 minutes..

GSilky@reddit

It's dusty AF. Shit gets in everything.

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notrealtoday92@reddit

Tumbleweeds and wind blowing sand and dirt everywhere!

I've lived in one of the street dryest states at around 4,300 feet (1,300 meters) above sea level for the past 8 years it so.

The first thing I noticed is the sun is INTENSE. You know that feeling when you're sitting in the sun and your skin gets uncomfortable after a while? That happens much more quickly here, partly from elevation but also from dryness. The risk of getting dark patches on the skin is higher bc of it too.

The pores on your skin adjust to being dry so much that visiting a more humid place feels sticky at first. Trying to breathe outside when it's so dry can make your lungs ache, especially in winter. Humidifiers in winter are essential.

Watering plants needs to happen twice as often especially in summer. You can water outside, walk 15 feet, and the area where you started will be dry to the touch within a few minutes.

The rain is different - it's so dry, it may not reach the ground. If it does, it may just be a few speckles on the sidewalk. Then occasionally you get a deluge that causes a risk of landslides or flooding.

You have to drink a LOT of water. Start drinking before you feel thirsty. Monitor your urine, and if the color is dark, you're not drinking enough water.

If you're not generating urine, that's even worse.

I had a few days in the Sahara Desert at an oil field. Every day, they would put a two liter bottle of water AND a two liter bottle of orange soda in the room. You were expected to drink both of them every day.

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tibearius1123@reddit

Eyes are dry, skin is dry, hard to hydrate.

Cars don't rust.

Dust storms will cause you to sneeze mud boogers.

The shade is actually significantly cooler than it is in humid climates.

Wind is murder, like a blow dryer to the face.

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xx-rapunzel-xx@reddit

the farthest west i’ve ever been was las vegas and part of me is always like “wooooo red f-ing rocks!” b/c there’s nothing like that at home. i think it’s a cool atmosphere and i’m envious of my friend who lives in scottsdale who sees it all the time.

honestly, they always say it’s dry heat but i just don’t feel much of a difference. hot is hot. i like warm weather a lot, but dang, i wonder how people live in the southwest with these temps.

other than that, not really sure.

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defective_toaster@reddit

When getting out of a pool, you can get very very cold quickly if there is a slight breeze.

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Thund3rCh1k3n@reddit

Might have changed, but homes don't have air conditioners like humid climates. Instead, they have swamp coolers. Also you need more water. Sand gets in everything. Air filters need to be changed more often, and seals around doors and windows need to be cleaned more often. As sand will build up until it starts getting in the house. More ground based spiders, brown recluse spiders seem toove the desert. Keep black light handy if you walk outside at night, scorpions glow under them. Deserts get a lot colder at night. In a normal environment, the day/night cycle might see 20-25 degree temp shift, but in the desert, 40-degree shifts are not uncommon. Zeroscaping is a thing. Yards are just rocks instead of grass. Roadrunner birds love standing on roofs.

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CollectionStraight2@reddit (OP)

Lots of good info there, thank you! We don't really have AC here either tbh (Ireland).

Thund3rCh1k3n@reddit

Yeah I lived in ABQ for 4.5 years, new builds were getting central heat and air, but older houses were all swamp coolers.

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Chica3@reddit

Some of the older PHX houses have both. They run the swamp cooler for as long as it's effective, and then switch to A/C.

Also here in AZ, when monsoon season hits, the humidity rises a lot, making swamp coolers very unhelpful.

Need dry breadcrumbs? Leave bread slices out one night.

Car tires, hoses, etc get dry rot.