David Millward Says Arizona’s Summers Are Hot–Shock News!
By Paul Homewood
Let’s check another of David Millward’s specific claims:
In Arizona, another solidly Republican state, records are being shattered as temperatures soar. Last month it was so hot that airlines cancelled dozens of flights to and from Phoenix. Motorists started carrying ice packs in their cars along with oven mitts so they can grasp the steering wheel
This is one claim that has been well circulated this summer as proof of global warming. But what do the facts say?
Prescott, AZ is the nearest USHCN station to Phoenix, just 132 km away.
Using the CLIMOD2 website, we can see that the highest temperature recorded this summer was 99F.
The record high at Prescott is 105F, set in 1925 and matched last year.
Since 1898, 31 years have seen temperatures in excess of 100F.
Temperatures in Prescott are invariably lower than Phoenix, because of its higher altitude of 5368 ft, compared to 1086 ft for the latter.
Nevertheless, it is clear that this summer in that part of Arizona was pretty run of the mill.
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NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
Having visited Arizona a couple of times it is the scale and pace of urban development and the vast sprawl of the cities that is noticeable (although there is plenty of space to sprawl!). Go back to 1950 and Phoenix had a population of just over 100,000 – now it is 1.6 million and the metro area has a population of 4.1 million. Tuscon has increased from 45,000 people in 1950 to over half a million now and the metro area has a million people. Even Prescott has increased in size from under 7,000 people to over 40,000. So In Arizona the urban heat island effect MUST make a big difference.
Yet, despite this Phoenix’s record temperature of 120F was recorded back in 1990 when the city was half its present size. Tuscon’s record of 115F was recorded in 1960(!) and 1995. Incidentally the brutal heat of Arizona in the lowland parts is always bad – Phoenix typically notches up 18 days a year of 110F or more!
And just to note in passing Chris, the rise in population tells us that people seem to like the heat. No doubt many have moved there to lead pleasanter lives and for their health.
Well observed, and a rather salient point, people who suffer from pulmonary conditions, doctors tell it the dry air and its quality is greatly beneficial to patients and I don’t doubt it for a minute.
In fact though I love Oregon, it would be a tough decision, if I had the opportunity to move to the States between, OR and AZ.
That “Daily Temperature Data” graph is an absolute peach – simple but highly informative. It just blows away the Telegraph’s stupid article. I’d like to see a lot more temperature data (not modelling) graphs plotted in this way – they would show similar results for the short- and long-term, results that would be easy to use to get the point across to the ignorant.
+1
Usual green panic BS. Nothing new in hot summers in Arizona.
I cycled across the USA just north of the Mexican border. Standard advice when starting from the west coast is no later than March. Because after that the low desert areas are dangerously hot for cycling all day. This is nothing new. As the headline puts it low desert hot in summer shocker!
Nothing to with global warming.
Local cyclists in Phoenix typically do their riding in the summer early morning for the same reason.
Next, they will discover that Death Valley is dry for some recent global warming reason.
Let’s get ahead of the game with this mental wizard. Not only is Arizona hot and dry in the summer, so are many parts on New Mexico and Nevada. The plains of eastern Colorado are not cool either.
Now, move east and you find that hot and dry are replaced by hot and humid. Not only that, but the farther south you go, the humidity increases. I was colder in Chapel Hill, NC at 26 degrees in winters of the late 1960’s than at home in Morgantown, WV at 16 degrees. The difference is the humidity.
There are perfectly reasonable explanations for these climates and man-caused global warming are not among them.
Just wonder whether David Millward will attempt to answer the questions raised here. His editor should call him to task on this.
Won’t hold my breath!
David Millward, with a 2:1 in History and a Masters in ‘international relations’ – whatever the F that is – and no experience whatsoever in weather, climate, meteorology, etc. having been a journalist specializing in transport. Hmm, hard choice – Joe Bastardi or Millward for example. Nice work, Paul, showing what journalism used to be about – research – and is now a rarity.
Whenever anybody claims ” it was so hot that…” you know it’s BS. If the data proves the claims, they would use the data, as in “this summer was one degree above the hottest ever recorded in Phoenix” or something similar.
No empirical data, no sale.
Honestly, never heard of people using oven mitts to drive in Arizona and my sibling lives in Yuma. Some Arizonans do take the windshield wipers off and carry them in the car or trunk to avoid sun damage. My sibling had the soles of his tennis shoes get soft and squishy on the hot asphalt. However, said individual still drove a car without air conditioning much of the summer. I was there 7 weeks once (Yuma) and the temperature never dropped below 100. This is all 100% normal and the media is apparently inventing stories to fit their idea of how things are.
The pathetic, disgraceful, dishonest refuse-to-do-their-own-research & scientifically purblind Meeja “correspondents” need a big wake up call. I just wonder if Trump + Homewood + Australia’s latest moves et al will wake up these dozey so-and-so’s to a wee spot of reality ? Some hope ! But am looking forward to witnessing their embarrassment when, finally, the shameful nam made global warming scam disintegrates.
That’s why I am going to Phoenix in February next year, who would have thought it got hot in the desert in the middle of summer……………..
surprise!
or not.
I live in TX , there is nothing unusual about being branded by a seat belt buckle
good grief and, very painful, mind you even over here (UK) the interior of a car can become pretty hot in direct sunlight, though I guess not as hot as Texas – indeed.
Interesting factoid, in NYC, during the tennis, Temps in low to mid nineties but the ‘feel’ was in the low 100’s because of the humidity, I guess there’s less chance of that in AZ – I don’t really know about TX.
The average morning humidity for Houston,Tx is 90%.
https://www.cityrating.com/cityhumidity.asp?City=Houston
90%!
Blimey.
Warren Meyer makes some good points here:
Media Extrapolating a Trend From A Single Data Point: 2018 Heat Wave Edition
The implicit plea in this post goes beyond climate — if you are claiming a trend, show me the trend data. I can be convinced.
http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2018/09/media-extrapolating-a-trend-from-a-single-data-point-2018-heat-wave-edition.html
Never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Sadly there is a stark and ever opening intellectual chasm between the SALARIED promoters of infantile #metio fashion alarmism and the poor unpaid folk who after doing meticulous research and analysis of real data are labled “deniers” for daring to expose the shoddy depths of their baseless claims. And when they do, where are news article to question the real motives of the prophets of doom? This is propaganda of the worst kind because it pretends to have its basis in science and fact. Here is the product and result of trillions of dollars of money obtained by deception.
The local radio station has consistently been repeating all summer: record heat was for the most part set in the 1930’s….which is not surprising. Temps in the 100’s frequently back then.