We’re defining Tucson in 100 objects. The daily series began April 20. Follow along at: azstarnet.com/100objects
As our temperatures reach and surpass 100 degrees each summer, we repeat the mantra “but it’s a dry heat.”
We joke about lizards carrying canteens.
As much as we like to laugh off our summer discomfort, the numbers gathered by the Arizona Department of Health Services tell a more somber tale.
Heat killed 139 people in Arizona in 2013, according to state health officials in a recent report, “The Trend in Morbidity and Mortality from Exposure to Excessive Natural Heat in Arizona.”
People are also reading…
On average, 118 Arizonans have died each year from the heat since 2000, according to the state report.
The average start date for 100-degree temperatures in Tucson is May 26, according to the National Weather Service.
The average for reaching 105 degrees is June 12.
We average 62 days above 100 each summer. In 1994, we recorded 99 days above 100 degrees.
The record high in Tucson was 117 degrees on June 26, 1990.
Give up yet?
In 2013, 526 people were hospitalized for heat-related problems in Arizona.
We make fun of our winter snowbirds but, by this time of year, we’d really like to join them in some cooler place.
In lieu of that, you know the drill. Dress in loose clothing that covers you completely. Stay out of the midday sun. Pray for rain.
Drink fluids, and regardless of what medical professionals may tell you, beer counts.
