Look at List of Top Cities with Best Weather
LOU WATERS, CNN ANCHOR: That's all that we know for sure. Now about the cities with the best weather.</s>NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Right, and the one that you were surprised about -- do we let Orelon Sidney give us this little winner? Go ahead, Orelon.</s>WATERS: She's going to break the news. Break the news, Orelon.</s>ORELON SIDNEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, "The Farmer's Almanac" came out with their 2002 edition. and they live in Maine, so that may be why they picked Yuma, Arizona as the place with the best weather across the nation. In fact, we're going to take a look at the list of all the top cities with the best weather, all in the Southwest. Right now, it's 98 in Phoenix. Yuma, Arizona has 175 days above 100 degrees. And I don't know, maybe that's best weather for some folks. Yuma, Arizona is number one, followed by Las Vegas, Phoenix, El Paso, Texas; Reno, Albequerqe, Winslow, Arizona -- I just heard that evil song today -- Bishop, California; Bakersfield, in San Diego. Do you notice a pattern? Everything is out in the desert. I'm looking at precipitation and the number of days with sunshine for their top 10 list. So there you go. Number one, Yuma, Arizona. It's got to be one of the hottest spots in the nation, except for Death Valley. KTVK has a pretty good meteorologist out. He's in Phoenix. That's Royal Norman. How are you doing: Are you not in the shade, Royal?</s>ROYAL NORMAN, KTVK METEOROLOGIST: We were in the shade until a few minutes ago, and we figured we had to get out in the sunshine so we could talk to you. That was a weird list, wasn't it?</s>SIDNEY: I found it quite strange. Royal, I know that you used to learn out here in Atlanta. So here does that compare out there to here in Atlanta?</s>NORMAN: I've got to tell folks, and I tell folks here in Phoenix all the time that, you know, we talk about the dry heat here, but the humidity levels have been increasing in recent years in the Valley of the Sun. But the other thing is, in Atlanta and back east, on the hottest, most muggiest days, you can still go outside and play softball or tennis, as long as you keep hydrated and you have another extra shirt or two. But out here, this past week, Orelon, it was 114. You don't go outside. It's like a snow day; you stay in.</s>SIDNEY: No kidding. That's really hot. I grew up in central Texas, and I remember Dallas, Texas, you have to hold your steering wheel with your pinkies to try to drive, because it gets so hot outside and gets so hot in your car.</s>NORMAN: Yes, it's amazing. In fact, you can't even drive very well because the wheel gets so hot when you are driving around town, and you know, the other thing about that list, we should point out, that was the "Farmer's Almanac," as opposed to "The Old Farmer's Almanac," which I think is the almanac that people are familiar with. So I think you were right, I think they were zeroing in on sunshine days. Phoenix has 85 percent, you know, of the possible sunshine it can get, and I think that people here in Phoenix will tell, we do have pretty great weather from October through May. But maybe June through September, San Diego's got us beat.</s>SIDNEY: Yes, I think so. I'll tell you what, I was in Tucson in May, it was beautiful. I was hiking in the mountains. It was great. But it did get hot in the afternoon, I have to tell you.</s>NORMAN: The good thing, though, is if you come at this time of year, and you can handle it, and you like the heat, it is a drier heat, then you know what you can handle the desert.</s>SIDNEY: All right. Thank you very much, Royal. Get into the shade. Get into the air conditioning. How's that.</s>NORMAN: You bet.</s>SIDNEY: Thanks much.