Had to happen.
Always does. Not as predictably as Christmas on Dec. 25. Still, from media to bar folks, it’s had everyone talkin’.
Today it happened.
Phoenix officially hit the triple digits — 100 degrees (37.77 C) — for the first time this year. At 2:10 p.m. and a week earlier than last year.
Records are kept on Phoenix weather, you betcha! From summer monsoons to heatstroke to air-quality warnings, seldom’s a dull moment in Arizona’s Valley of the Sun.
Speaking of air quality, Phoenix just made a nationwide list again. Ranks No. 7 as the most ozone-polluted metro area. Up from 8 last year.
Ugh.
No bragging rights there.
And rather contrary to a widespread perception that this desert Phoenix air’s great for health and respiratory issues. Retirees relocate here from all over the country for health. Car emissions are chiefly to blame for the shitty smog in this city of 5+ million, where drivers crowd narrow roads and sit daily in standstills.
Ugh.
Not that anybody’s dissuaded by this and other local unpleasantries. Phoenix’s largest county (Maricopa) also made the list of the fastest-growing county in the country for like the 4th year in a row.
Ugh ugh and ugh.
My relief lies in having no plan to stay. Even 6 months ago when I officially became a resident, I knew my stay would be short-lived … 1-1/2 years perhaps, time necessary to figure out the next move.
Anyhow, the Triple Digits arrived early. In no time, today’s high of 100 (37.77 C) will be the low at midnight.
Ugh.
It was 95 degrees (35 C) in my studio apartment today. I’m not happy. Neither are the blooms I bought just a few days ago.
They seem appropriate to mark the day’s occasion.
April 26, 2019. Happy Heating, Phoenix, Arizona
Allelujah, Arizona! 