It’s not exactly a dry heat these days: Triple-digit temps plus the added humidity means it's not only hot out there, it’s sticky. And for those who exercise or work outdoors, the effects of that kind of heat can feel different.
Hayley Root is an assistant professor with Northern Arizona University's athletic training program.
"It only has to be right around 60% or 70% humidity when the body really struggles to cool itself," she said.
And since that’s not our norm because the Valley is typically dry.
"If it is higher humidity and whatnot; if you're going to be exercising outdoors or when I think of these hikers who go out on trails, like it's not the best time to be by yourself," Root says.
Root says staying hydrated and going out early — between 6 and 9 a.m. — or later in the day, between 6 and 9 p.m., are optimal workout times.
"It's always on those weird off days where it just happens to be way higher in humidity or there's just some kind of exception to the weather that makes it a little bit more physiologically straining for people. And that's typically when we'll see like higher heat illnesses," she says.
Root says symptoms of heat illness can include dizziness, fatigue, headache and confusion, even irritability.
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