Summer storms making hot conditions even hotter

Visitors of the Coachella Valley usually expect a dry heat when visiting the desert, but instead they were bombarded with the “muggies”.

“A lot more heat than I’ve ever experienced,” said Nathan Perley from Portland, Oregon. “It’s definitely something new.”

Nathan and his wife Ashley have been in town since the early part of the week and have noticed the wetness in the air because of the higher humidity.

“I was expecting it to be this hot, because I was here last year,” said Ashley. “But we’ve heard this is actually the coolest summer you guys have had in a while. But hot is hot to us.”

“It’s a different kind of dry heat, for sure. And part of the experience I guess,” added Nathan.

The extra moisture in the air put a damper on any outside eating in downtown Palm Springs early Thursday afternoon. Businesses had misting systems on to try and alleviate the wetness, however misters that are less than high-pressure systems can actually contribute more to the wet air because the humidity doesn’t let that moisture evaporate quickly enough.

However, some business owners expected a bit more business, like Bill Feist, owner of Coldstone Creamery in Palm Springs. He said summer season is usually slow for the ice cream store because of the lack of tourists and snowbirds, but hot days definitely help.

“Just think of the people in Houston and in the south and up the east coast. They live like this every day. We’re blessed to only have [humid conditions] a month or two a year.”