# Why is hot weather so popular? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 24, 2014, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528 "2014-06-24T13:03:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GovernmentMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@GovernmentMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GovernmentMan)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528/41 "2014-06-24T21:10:24Z")
Los Angeles has the perfect weather outside of summers ---
**Author:** ![Earth001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a6a055/32.png) [@Earth001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earth001)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528/42 "2014-06-24T21:28:18Z")
I don’t like hot weather. I live in Las Vegas and I just cant stand the heat. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528/43 "2014-06-24T21:48:47Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Eh, I’ve lived in Atlanta and San Antonio for decades and yet have had a day of no electricity because of the heat. People in hurricane-hit areas beg to differ, true, but hell, you don’t need a hot day to get a hurricane - just ask people who were hit by Hurricane Sandy in late October 2012. > > Tornado season is from March-June, btw, and is more of a spring time issue. If you never lost power in Atlanta during or after a thunderstorm, you’re an extremely lucky person. And you’re splitting hairs on the rest of it. I could just as easily claim that huge snowstorms can often happen when it’s just a little bit below freezing., or that cold weather doesn’t have to mean show shoveling or power outages. Like I said, it isn’t as much of a hassle as a blizzard, but hot weather brings it’s own set of problems, including many heat and dehydration-related deaths. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528/44 "2014-06-24T22:51:53Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Where I live, mid-80s in summer is called a cool day. Our summers are typically longer, the average temperature is close to 10 degrees higher, with 92% humidity. Oof. Yeah, can’t do that. I think I belong in the Pacific Northwest. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528/45 "2014-06-24T23:28:18Z")
I will choose cold over hot any time (and note that I live in SE Michigan and have since 2000 and I love winter - it does get wicked cold here.) And I lost power for six days during last winter’s polar vortex, and that’s still OK. Until menopause I was pretty much OK with being out in any sort of weather. But menopause changed my thermostat, it really did. I am seriously and genuinely unhappy when it’s much over 80F when accompanied by humidity. I hate it with the heat of a thousand suns. It’s only June and I am looking forward to October and snow. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528/46 "2014-06-24T23:46:25Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > If you lived in Canada like I do, where it’s cold 9 months of the year, you’d like hot weather. You would think so, but I know people here not so far south of that who **hate** summer. I think they’re nuts. Best thing about summer is you never have to shovel a summer storm. As for power failures, a three day summer power failure, even without fans, after a hurricane (that barely brushed us!) beat the hell out of five days without power in December when it was a struggle to keep the house about 50F with just the fireplace. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528/47 "2014-06-25T00:02:36Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > You would think so, but I know people here not so far south of that who **hate** summer. I think they’re nuts. Best thing about summer is you never have to shovel a summer storm. > > As for power failures, a three day summer power failure, even without fans, after a hurricane (that barely brushed us!) beat the hell out of five days without power in December when it was a struggle to keep the house about 50F with just the fireplace. Shoveling snow is not a big deal. I n summer you mow, water, weed and whatever - in winter your only outdoor task is occasional shoveling. Not a biggie. When my power went out for six days last winter (right into Christmas day actually) I didn’t have to worry about losing hundreds of dollars worth of food in my freezer like I did when a summer storm took out a tree two years ago. I guess there’s “love winter” folks and “love summer” folks and there won’t be much common ground between them! ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528/48 "2014-06-25T00:07:23Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > You would think so, but I know people here not so far south of that who **hate** summer. I think they’re nuts. Best thing about summer is you never have to shovel a summer storm. > > As for power failures, a three day summer power failure, even without fans, after a hurricane (that barely brushed us!) beat the hell out of five days without power in December when it was a struggle to keep the house about 50F with just the fireplace. Ugh, I’m the opposite. If the power goes out here in the summer for any length of time, we get a hotel or bunk with a friend. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528/49 "2014-06-25T00:23:04Z")
I grew up in Louisiana where it gets shockingly hot and humid during the summer but I loved the weather in general (except for the tornadoes, anyone that says they aren’t terrified of them is a goddamn liar). We didn’t even have air conditioning in school even though it got well into the 90’s by the time school let out in May. Shorts were prohibited except in the gym because of modesty concerns and about 1/3rd of the school was so religious that they couldn’t even wear short-sleeved shirts in public under any conditions. All of our textbooks that weren’t brand new were ruined through sweat from former students. You just hoped you got some without too many pages stuck together. We just carefully separated the rest at the start of every new school year. I had jobs that forced me to wear everything from a full suit and tie to multi-layer tuxedos with undershirt and jacket even in 100F+ weather and 98% humidity while doing manual labor. I got true heat exhaustion twice while working as a teenager and had to be packed in ice for an hour so that I could get back to work. It was great and I mean that because it adjusted my personal thermostat up so I that I could move to any hellish place on earth and be happy for the climate alone. I live in New England now and it is way too cold even in July. Sure, it gets hot during the day sometimes but it cools off at night because the humidity isn’t nearly as high as they like to claim. Give me that warm sauna feeling just after the naked old person next to you has just dumped another cup of water on the coals without any warning. That is what humans were made for. If I ever see another snowflake in my life, I will…probably kick something and deal with it but I won’t be happy. My primeval calling tells me that I should be back in Africa swinging from trees in a steamy rainforest. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528/50 "2014-06-25T01:49:40Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > If you never lost power in Atlanta during or after a thunderstorm, you’re an extremely lucky person. > > And you’re splitting hairs on the rest of it. I could just as easily claim that huge snowstorms can often happen when it’s just a little bit below freezing., or that cold weather doesn’t have to mean show shoveling or power outages. Like I said, it isn’t as much of a hassle as a blizzard, but hot weather brings it’s own set of problems, including many heat and dehydration-related deaths. I lived in the ATL for 28 years (1971-1999) and lost electricity for 1+ day only twice - during the 1972 and 1992 ice storms. Yes, you can lose power for a few hours after a thunderstorm, but please note that I originally said “for days or weeks at a time”. And while “heat related deaths” is a recognizable category, there is no doubt that incidences of illness dramatically spike in winter. According to the EPA, [8,000](http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/indicators/health-society/heat-deaths.html) heat-related deaths occurred in the US between 1979 and 2010. However, cold weather increases the incidence of illness, so much so that there is an appreciable difference between the number of people [who die in cold months than in warm months](http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Science/story?id=990641). ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528/51 "2014-06-25T02:01:41Z")
Sweating is healthy. It removes impurities from your skin and promotes a feeling of general wellness. Of all the people in Northern climates, only the Fins seem to understand that. It is why they have a ridiculous number of saunas (with tons of the aforementioned naked people; there is 1 sauna for every three people in Finland; Where is yours other snowpeople?). Humans are a tropical species in general that evolved live in that environment. Sure, we are smart enough to make ridiculous scarves and leggings to survive in previously inhospitable environments but why would you want to? The people in New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro have a great party every year in February while people in Canada are begging for even a brief burst of sunshine. Why would you choose to do that to yourself? ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528/52 "2014-06-25T02:02:55Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I lived in the ATL for 28 years (1971-1999) and lost electricity for 1+ day only twice - during the 1972 and 1992 ice storms. Yes, you can lose power for a few hours after a thunderstorm, but please note that I originally said “for days or weeks at a time”. > > And while “heat related deaths” is a recognizable category, there is no doubt that incidences of illness dramatically spike in winter. According to the EPA, [8,000](http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/indicators/health-society/heat-deaths.html) heat-related deaths occurred in the US between 1979 and 2010. However, cold weather increases the incidence of illness, so much so that there is an appreciable difference between the number of people [who die in cold months than in warm months](http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Science/story?id=990641). This is getting absurd. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528/53 "2014-06-25T02:04:37Z")
Well, yes. It’s obvious that the cold sucks the life out of you. And why is it absurd to note that power outages occur more frequently in the areas I lived in during winter weather than summer? ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528/54 "2014-06-25T02:14:13Z")
The second half of your post was what I was referring to. Leaving aside the fact that you are drawing conclusions about flu season not supported by facts, your attempts to quantify cold vs hot have reached the level of logic gymnastics. The top half was a nice anecdote, though. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528/55 "2014-06-25T03:02:42Z")
Guy, this is a simple opinion thread. Why you’re bothering to argue with me about my opinion is completely beyond me. Get over it. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528/56 "2014-06-25T03:16:49Z")
Brit here. To me, good weather means you can sit on the grass without getting too cold / too wet / too sucked into a marshy oblivion. Secondly – though there’s no way to say this without sounding sinister – nighttime becomes useable time too. After dinner, sure let’s walk to the next place, maybe get a table outside where we can hear each other instead of the bar’s friggin music etc. Finally everything just looks better. Compare a photo of anywhere in bright sunshine and a blue sky, to overcast and/or raining. ---
**Author:** ![Shaggy\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Shaggy\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shaggy_Z)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528/57 "2014-06-25T04:36:33Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > If you lived in Canada like I do, where it’s cold 9 months of the year, you’d like hot weather. I live in Canada and I hate hot weather. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528/58 "2014-06-25T04:52:35Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > The answer must lie in the old Romanian proverb: “'Tis easier to take clothes off than to put clothes on.” Which is, of course, ridiculous. When it’s cold you can always put on more and warmer clothes. When it’s hot you can’t get any more naked than naked. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528/59 "2014-06-25T05:05:32Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > I’m still giggling at the thought of those “hot humid Montreal summers”. The first few responders were talking about the 70s as “hot”… that was in F, right? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528/60 "2014-06-25T09:36:50Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I > If I ever see another snowflake in my life, I will…probably kick something and deal with it but I won’t be happy. My primeval calling tells me that I should be back in Africa swinging from trees in a steamy rainforest. Shagnasty said it better then I could. I grew up in the South, and I love love love the heat. I’ve never looked at snow with anything but disgust, and I start to grouse when the temps fall below 85. My perfect day is in July, on the boat, beer in hand, and occasionally diving into the water to get wet and let the breeze cool me. Boats, Bikinis, Barbecue, Beer and lots of Sunshine. It doesn’t get any better than summer in the south. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hot-weather-so-popular/691528.md?page=4)