Just amazing!
/sarc
Posted on 07/29/2023 7:01:33 AM PDT by dennisw
Locals bake cookies in CARS and complain of melting roads Searing heatwave is forecast to bring 110F temps to Phoenix for 30th day today Even Arizona's hardy Saguaro cactuses are dying in the blistering heat Temps are hot enough to melt dog toys, bake cookies in cars, and soften roads
A searing heat wave that continues to blister much of the US is so hot that even Arizona's iconic cactuses are dying off.
In Phoenix, Saturday is forecast to be the 30th consecutive day with high temperatures above 110F, a streak that has shattered all records for the city, with fatal results.
At the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, saguaro cactuses, a symbol of the US West, are drooping, shriveling and in some cases toppling over during the record streak of extreme heat.
Residents of the area have taken to TikTok to highlight the staggering effects of the intense heat, showing cookies baking on car dashboards, rubber dog toys melting in the sun, and roads soft enough to leave footprints.
The heat wave has had deadly consequences as well, with at least 25 confirmed heat-related deaths and 249 more pending investigation in Maricopa County, the area surrounding Phoenix, so far this summer.
At the Desert Botanical Garden, plant physiologists are studying just how much heat cactuses can take.
The garden has specimens representing has over two-thirds of all cactus species, including saguaros which can grow to over 40 feet.
Until recently many, thought the plants were perfectly adapted to extreme high temperatures and drought. Arizona's heat wave is testing those assumptions.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
The pasty faced yobs of the Mail didn’t say anything when Arizona had a cool spring/early summer this year like the rest of the West.
And PHX being over 110 for weeks is one of the main reasons I left that state even though I was born and raised in it. Seen lots summers just like this one.
The implication is that it’s due to “climate change” but I don’t recall them being hysterical about the heavy snow up on the Mogollon just a coupla months ago. Was that “climate change”?
Get’s really hot in “the valley of the sun”. Sometimes sticks around a bit longer. Usually cools down from heat provoked monsoon rain - like last year when that was really heavy. Just whut it’s like in the desert.
Have you been through the desert on a horse with no name?
As long as the Weber Blue Agave* isn’t keeling over, we should all be fine.
*Tequila! :)
Ok but it was 45 years ago that I first discussed with a guy from Phoenix, that in Summer Phoenix is 120 degrees in the shade.
They say it’s a dry heat but he said believe me when it’s 120 it’s hot.
Just amazing!
/sarc
This heat is something else though. I don't really mind it, just makes me nervous my AC units will go down. You can't really have anyone come out to do any work for you right now. The price gouging is off the charts.
Hopefully this thins the herd and makes people think twice about relocating here. Let them go to Florida.
I hiked in Saguaro National Park a couple days ago. Didn’t see any issues. I have 5 on my property. No issues. But that’s Pima County (Tucson area).
“melting roads”
I never understood the logic of using asphalt in desert states (except perhaps higher elevations).
Dang beasts.
All Arizonas have to do to combat climate change is turn off their air conditioning and stop driving their cars. Aren’t you willing to do that?
A few fell in the wild area behind our house in North Phoenix last summer. I told my kid, when we were hiking over to one, that I was glad we were not around when it toppled over. They are enormous!
30 years ago I lived in Az. where the temp never got below 110 degrees for a month and no one or thing had any problems. Just stay hydrated and if you don’t know what that means, you deserve a trip to the hospital.
See above link....nothing new under the sun...
see post 33...
Yes, the big saguaros weigh tons. I remember back in the ‘80s hearing about some yahoo who was shooting at one, somewhere near Lake Pleasant, I think. When he walked up to inspect his target, a limb fell on him and killed him.
Well, apparently not in the desert.
Just put hats on them.
Don’t worry. They will all be back in 400-500 years.
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