Having lived in West Richland before (in the Tri-cities, on Red Mountain, scrub and all), I don't think thats really true. Well, it is definitely sunnier than Seattle, but nowhere near Phoenix. It is more normal than special.
Barring that, 80%+ of the people in the PNW live near the coast.
Tourism board proudly advertises the 300 days of sun on big bill boards at the airport in Pasco, and the hot summers are honestly worse than Phoenix, as there's humidity
Phoenix can stay hot at night in the summer. Tonight is a good example. It's 90 all night and won't hit the low of 80 until 7am. This is borderline uninhabitable for many.
If you want the worst of both worlds with that kind of oppressive heat 24/7 and high humidity, take a look at Houston.
PNW isn't anywhere close to that.
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