First Alert Weather In-Depth: There’s hot, and then there’s really hot

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — What is your perspective when it comes to hot weather? Or a better question: What is your criteria or benchmark for it to be considered a hot day in Rochester?

You can factor in the humidity, but for a lot of us, it’s usually a temperature of 90 degrees or higher. On average, through the summer season, the folks in Rochester will get about 10 days of 90 degrees, and last year we had nine days of 90 degrees weather.

But we know this season has been much, much different. Tuesday is really a good example as we could only muster a temperature of 73 degrees.

This is really the tale of two seasons between Rochester and some of the southern cities – such as Phoenix, Arizonia. They have seen a tremendous amount of heat this year, which is not unusual.  But consider that Tuesday Phoenix has measured a temperature near 107 degrees. For a population of 1.5 million people, this extreme heat is really off the chart especially when you hear how often this has occurred this season.

As a result, this is just one of many days with an excessive heat warning in effect.

How does the summer season compare between Phoenix and Rochester? Again, when analyzing the summer of 2023 there is really no comparison. For Rochesterians, we have measured just one day of 90 degrees. For Phoenicians, they don’t even bother with the 90 degree criteria. For Phoenix it is 100 degrees or higher as the official benchmark. Would it surprise you to know that Phoenix has had 82 days of 100 degrees this season?

We can all agree that comfortable weather is a matter different perspectives, but at least right for now Rochester is probably considered a “garden spot” for pleasant weather.