North Dakotans in Arizona feeling the record-setting heat

ARIZONA (KFYR) – A lot of North Dakotans dream of moving away to warmer states once winter hits, and some of us make those dreams a reality. North Dakotans who moved to Arizona to escape the brutal northern winters now find themselves dealing with a harsh summer.

The Arizona heat wave is a hot topic, especially for residents of the desert southwest. Thousands of North Dakotans annually flee cold weather for the warmth of the south, but now, those transplants are having to figure out how to deal with a new extreme.

“I would say never, ever walk outside without your shoes on in the summertime. My kids will always take off and forget that when you’re out of the shade you’ll burn your feet,” Kirsten Adrion said.

Adrion moved from North Dakota several years ago. She said it took her a while to adjust to the extreme heat.

“It was very hard the first couple summers here, but over time, I’ve kind of gotten more used to it. I’ll never say that I’m fully used to it because once it gets to June, July, you’re like, ‘This is really hot,’” Adrion said.

Arizonans have suffered through 19 straight days of triple-digit heat, breaking numerous weather records. Mindi Willert, another North Dakotan-turned Arizonan, was unlucky enough to have her air conditioning unit break down during the heat wave.

“All of my shampoo bottles in the shower sprayed everywhere. They just blew up… I know! I mean, you would expect candles melting, but honestly, my iPad didn’t want to turn on,” Willert said.

North Dakotans in Arizona will have to wait a while to experience colder weather. The 39-day heat wave could last into August and has already smashed 2,300 weather records in the southwest.

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