Charby, during the summer in Arizona, the heat will kick in your door and knock you over the head. The most uncomfortable I have been has been at Gunsite in August. I've had the hotel AC at 55 and slept without my shirt.
In deep winter where we are you can add clothing, go exercise, throw a log on the fire or turn up the heat. There is no escape from that kind of heat.
Yup. I lived in Nevada for the first 18 years of my life. Still go down to visit the folks every once in a while.
The summers don't get quite as bad as down in Arizona, but it's close. Walking outside during the sumer feels like walking into a furnace. I remember mowing the lawn once in 111 degree heat; damn near got heat exhaustion (which wouldn't have been the first time, actually -- I had previously succumbed to heat exhaustion while playing baseball in little league).
I've seen outdoor plastic thermometers melt in that kind of heat.
Every May or so we'd put a very large air conditioner unit in the upstairs and downstairs windows. Then we'd run them damn near nonstop until late September. It was the only way to escape the heat.
Recently, my folks had a vent-less central A/C unit installed, so they didn't have to install the window units every year (they're getting old, and those window units are not light).