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US's Most Sweaty Cities
OK, it's a kinda lame marketing gimmick...but you gotta admit it's pretty clever, too. Old Spice, the company/brand famous for those old after shave commercials, but who has now branched more successfully into deodorant, launched a ranking for the United States most sweaty city. Now they haven't gone so far as to say the smelliest city, but that's implied, eh? Anyhow, as you'd expect, the sweatiest cities are those beset by high levels of heat and humidity. But wait, the number one ranking this year went to Phoenix, which is a relatively dry city, no? Doesn't make sense. But the Old Spice folks say that the average resident there loses nearly 0.9 liters per hour during a typical summer day. But the stuff leaves the body more quickly than, say Orlando, which ranked 13th. So I guess the distinction is one between quantity of sweat and overall sweatiness. Because Orlando and even New York would get damn high ranks otherwise. Filed under: Business, Festivals and Events
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Fred Klein Jun 24th 2006 7:11PM
I just happened upon the site & think it's GREAT
Felecia Holly Jul 1st 2006 6:10PM
Sweaty, at the point of time when God said, 'At the End of Days, I, Nebuchadnezzer, (prophetic book so look for I, Schwarzenegger, Daniel 4: 34. Sweaty, right, where the Global issue is of the elements being unstable at the Lanthanum, Actinium chamber of scientific studies. One of which ws did discover the last five elements within six of the 666 years. Nasi, (clouds), is also given one time to the address of governor, 2 Chr. 1: 2. So, the variables are stacking up on top of the thermometer, each cloud filled day that they don't leave my life alone, Mt. 12: 42. Love you, all!
Ben Harper Jul 1st 2006 6:28PM
I grew up in New Orleans. Went to Las Vegas in 1998, stayed one week, NEVER broke into a sweat at all. Landed back in New Orlenas at 10:00 PM, 10 minutes later while waiting for luggage I was WRINGING WET.
Your guys are crazy, New Orleans is NUMBER ONE IN this category.
Nicole Jul 1st 2006 6:40PM
The difference is not in the sweat but in the arid or humidity of the city. For example, on the east coast (e.g., Atlanta), it is very humid. We sweat and stay wet. But on the west in the more arid parts of the country, people may sweat, but they dry faster because of the dry air. Hello....
Nona Jul 1st 2006 6:44PM
Houston, the bayou city, wins the prize for 'sweatiest city'. With water all around and an average humidity of 70%, we at least win SOMETHING.
Mike Jul 1st 2006 6:49PM
I wasnt able to find the complete list...but if New Orleans and Memphis didnt both rank in the top 10 you shouldnt lend the list any credibility.
Patricia Perri Jul 1st 2006 6:52PM
I DON'T SWEAT !!!! ;)
Patricia Perri Jul 1st 2006 6:53PM
I DON'T SWEAT!!! ;)
JEFF Jul 1st 2006 7:14PM
80 DEGREES IN THE HUMID MIDWEST IS WORSE THAN 110 IN PHOENIX.. I'VE BEEN IN PHOENIX WHEN IT WAS 110 AND IT DIDN'T EVEN FEEL HOT.. TRY A MIWEST DAY AT 95 WITH 95% HUMIDITY.. NO COMPARISON..
Kim Jul 1st 2006 7:19PM
"It's not the heat, it's the humidity" - but all that means is how much sweat gets evaporated within a given amount of time. You'll pretty much sweat the same amount in a given temperature, but if the air is already saturated with moisture (humidity), your sweat will evaporate more slowly. So in a humid environment, you'll feel warmer than the temperature says, plus you'll feel wet & sticky on top of it.
Phoenix is getting more humidified from all the snowbirds who moved there for the weather but didn't think it was a home without Kentucky blue grass & a backyard swimming pool. They imported all these rain-sucking plants for their yards & gardens, but Phoenix doesn't get much rain so they have to suck tons of water from the reservoirs to keep those foreign plants watered. I've heard from old-timers who said when they used to fly over Phoenix it was a desert, now they fly over and see green patches where people planted water-sucking grasses so they can have lawns to mow just like they did back home. They say every year there's more green - individual lawns are running together and the city is sprawling. Those old-timers tell me that the lawns and swimming pools have made Phoenix much more humid than it was even back in the 1970s and 80s. I've only been there once, on a trip from my native Great Lakes, in 1996. We don't get as much humidity as Florida or the rest of the Southeast, but we do get much more than New York City. To me, Phoenix felt about as humid as East Texas - Bayou Country, a.k.a. swampland. A lot more humid than anywhere I've lived in the Great Lakes States. I don't know if that's just because it was something like 115F degrees in Phoenix, so any little bit of humidity felt more oppressive. All I know is it FELT more humid than I feel right now sitting between two swamps in the Northeast. We have 80F degrees, with winds SSW @ 14mph, and relative humidity of 45%, so it feels like all of 81F degrees. The weather report for Phoenix says it's 107F degrees with winds W @ 8 mph and 15% relative humidity, so it feels like 104F degrees. That's still a lot hotter than our humid 81F, so I'm betting those people are sweating a lot more than I am.
Suzy Jul 1st 2006 7:36PM
This is the funniest thing I've ever seen on the net.
If you really want to sweat, come to Southcentral PA.
The sunshine is awesome but the humidity is unreal. I have to run my central air all the time...summer thru fall. This has been a gorgeous day but I truly need a shower to wash the sweat and the stink down the drain! OH, THE SWEET SMELL OF SWEAT!!! Visit and find out for yourself.
Suzy Jul 1st 2006 7:36PM
This is the funniest thing I've ever seen on the net.
If you really want to sweat, come to Southcentral PA.
The sunshine is awesome but the humidity is unreal. I have to run my central air all the time...summer thru fall. This has been a gorgeous day but I truly need a shower to wash the sweat and the stink down the drain! OH, THE SWEET SMELL OF SWEAT!!! Visit and find out for yourself.
Sharon Luna Jul 1st 2006 7:43PM
I live in a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona and it is hot and dry and I never sweat. Don't comment unless you have lived here for twenty years plus.
Sharon Luna Jul 1st 2006 7:45PM
I have lived in a suburb of Phoenix , Arizona for over twenty years and it is hot and dry and I never sweat. Don't commment usless you have lived here for twenty years plus.
wayne Jul 1st 2006 7:48PM
My only comment is that it really %#$#%# pi&&es me off when the link says "Check out the list of the 100 sweatiest cities."
I click it (since I'm in Indiana & it's 93 degrees today with 87% humidity).
Then, after waiting for all of the ads to load, I get a total of 7 cities' rankings, all in Florida, Arizona & Nevada.
Have the link say ... "See what Florida cities made the list," or ... "See a partial list."
Otherwise, don't waste my time!
Kimberly Jul 1st 2006 7:48PM
I live in Phoenix and the heat doesn't bother me at all. I spent most of my life in Missouri, and I hated the humidity. That muggy feeling was terrible, along with the mosquitos. There is no doubt, in the summer here it is very hot and dry, but it just doesn't feel as uncomfortable to me. You can eat outside year round (with misters in the summer) and you are not bothered by mosquitos or other bugs. It's not for everyone, but if you hate sweating in the humidity and don't mind a dry heat, Phoenix is the place to be!
Ben Jul 1st 2006 7:50PM
To Kim, I am in Phoenix, here five years now and to my astonishment, it gets hot, but an extremely comfortable hot. I had a preconception like you did about it being humid due to grass and pools. Turns out not to be the case. I'm here electively, it's July 1, and my Cape Cod home which is on the water is "too hot" for me now. (humid there.)I am dreading going though I "summer" there to escape the heat, supposedly. But in Phoenix, unlike the east, I never break a sweat unless I'm at the gym working hard at it. When you hear "it's a dry heat" --- that's literal. I find Phoenix weather to be a dream all but the monsoon season late July - August. Then all bets are off.
Jefiner Jul 1st 2006 7:53PM
I live in Phoenix, so I know of what I speak. Normally, the relative humidity here is between five and ten percent--that is why it feels so dry, and the sweat just flashes off you and you stay cool. But come July, we go through a shift in the seasonal wind patterns (we call it a monsoon, but I have been told it really isn't the same as the monsoons of southeast Asia) when the relative humidity shoots up to thirty five percent or higher. The critical value seems to be a dewpoint of fifty five degrees fahrenheit. Once we are above that for three days running, then we are in a monsoon, and no antipersperant seems to work then. That is the reason for all the swimming pool, which is where I am headed to now!
donn Jul 1st 2006 7:54PM
TUCSON IS DEFINITLY SWEATIER-EST THAN PHOENIX. I'VE LIVED IN BOTH CITIES FOR QUITE AWHILE.
Wayne Uptagrafft Jul 1st 2006 7:58PM
I wintered in Mesa arizona for 15 years, it has gotten so bad with dust,crime,no rain, hot, I would take Minnesota any day with the four seasons,asthmas is bad in arizona,great in Minnesota.You can have arizona.