eli5 Why do sunny summer days often times vary so much in how hot it gets that day although the sun and clouds seem very similar?

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Like the last three days “sunny” meant scorching hot, but then after a thunderstorm, the next days, “sunny” does not heat up as much as before.
At a first glance it seems like it is as cloudy – more the lack of clouds – like the days before.
How can this be?

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Most of the heat (or lack of heat) you feel is the air around you, which can vary a lot based on wind currents, atmospheric layer mixing, and direction. And especially after a rain the next few days can feel cold because the air is cooled as the water [evaporates](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enthalpy_of_vaporization).