[dredmorbius]

Absent heatwaves and water shortages, generally, yes.

Pros: Cheap land, generally predictable weather, few severe storms, little seismic activity, reasonably close to population centres (Phoenix, Tuscon, Las Vegas).

Cons: Little water, wildfire hazard, heat, sand and dust storms.

Inland northern locations (Dakotas, say) might also work. Moderate tornado risk, cooler weather (particularly in winter). Subject to winter storms, but generally more water availability. Technical populations might be difficult to recruit.

[ghaff]

Water is definitely an issue--I thought it and didn't write it down. The heat, yes, but also a dry heat :-) so some evaporative cooking; I think Intel has at least one fab plant in Arizona. As I say, no longer really in the space, but areas of the northern Midwest not subject to flooding are possibilities. For datacenters, onsite technical staff is not really an issue as datacenters have very little of that after initial construction.

[dredmorbius]

Evaporator-cooking: good for preparing server / GPU jerky.

Midwest has tornado hazard, and that's both getting worse and spreading well outside traditional high-risk zones. Michigan and Illinois in particular have seen a large increase in recent incidents, though intensity has been lower.

Tornadoes are still relatively low-risk overall given their small footprint. But it's a bad day when one reaches out to touch you.

Flood risk patterns are also changing. Chicago's TARP project aka the Chicago Deep Tunnel, one of the largest, longest-in-construction, and most successful major urban civil engineering projects, recently hit > 96% capacity after one weekend's worth of rains. Begun in the 1970s, full build-out is anticipated in 2032. It's never previously been at more than about half its capacity (55% in June 2019). Draining it will take a month.

"Tunnel and Reservoir Plan": <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_and_Reservoir_Plan>

"Deep Tunnel has never reached its limit. After weekend's heavy rains, it’s almost full. Here's what that means." (Jul 6, 2026): <https://chicago.suntimes.com/environment/2026/07/06/chicago-...>

"Deep Tunnel reservoir will take at least a month to drain" (Jul 11, 2026) : <https://chicago.suntimes.com/environment/2026/07/11/chicago-...>