It's time to have an honest discussion about Atlanta's weather (home, activity)

[residinghere2007]

I think most of the people who think Atlanta weather is great all year are from the south or a hotter place or they just really detest a traditional winter.

I am from Ohio and in the area I'm from they do not get lake effect snow like in Cleveland or Chicago so our winters are pretty mild usually (there have been some overly cold winters the past two years that are unusual and they have not occurred for 40 years).

I felt that summer in Atlanta was ubearably hot. In the Midwest it does get to 90 degrees and above, but usually for only 2-3 weeks all year max. This past summer we had 3-4 days of 90 degrees or above. The average summer temp is the low 80s. You can do much more outside in the mid 80s than you can in the mid 90s like in Atlanta.

Also, the weather issues I didn't like dealt with the bugs. In the Midwest where I'm from the city sprays for mosquitoes because like Atlanta, the area has a swampy, humid, past and to keep the occurrences of west nile disease down, the city sprays, so you don't deal with mosquitoes here like you do in Atlanta and the south in general in regards to bugs. Some will say get OFF, try various other insecticide products, I tried everything and just had to accept the fact that between April and October I was going to get swarmed with mosquitoes if I went outside.

Allergy issues in Atlanta are not the same for people as in other parts of the country. I broke out in hives for the first 4 years I lived in Atlanta just by walking around outside in all the pollen. I had never actually "seen" pollen until I moved there. You don't see pollen in the north or Midwest and the pollen counts never get as high as they do in the south and in Atlanta. So that weather issue was one that I was just sick of dealing with and it seemed it started sometimes in February and would last until May-June.

I at one point in time also did not like winters. I detested snow in particular. And I do think Atlanta has very mild winters and I don't think it gets very cold. Maybe for 1-2 weeks, but like the opposites in regards to summers up north, that is do-able to me for the cold.

As stated, most people IMO who don't think it is hot are from hotter places or are exaggerating about northern summers. It does not get hot in the north until June or July in most areas, where I'm from not really until August and then we'll have 1-2 weeks of 85 degrees or above weather. It does get humid but I'm from the Great Lakes so there is a lot of water and a lot of breezes. It was hot in April in Atlanta and you have to start dealing with the bugs and allergies before that.

That said, I do think the summers have been mild in Atlanta that past couple years but before that there was a drought and I remember when it was 98 degrees or above for 5-6 weeks straight and feeling like I was living literally in hell. That was when I realized that I'd rather be cold than hot. When you're cold you can put on gloves and a hat and coat and boots. When you're hot there is only so much you can take off and I actually do like to do things outside in the summer so I don't want to spend every day indoors in the AC.

[ElleKaye]

I'm ok with the weather in Atlanta. I'm from further south on the coast so I don't really find it that hot or humid here. I like that there is some semblance of four seasons here even if it's not consistent from year to year.

Considering it snowed only about once a decade where I'm from, I was pretty excited the first time or two it snowed. Needless to say that gets old pretty quickly if you are over the age of 10.

While there have been times when I was uncomfortable, I cannot really complain.
I could stand it a little cooler, but overall the weather is fine.

[testa50]

Originally Posted by residinghere2007

As stated, most people IMO who don't think it is hot are from hotter places or are exaggerating about northern summers. It does not get hot in the north until June or July in most areas, where I'm from not really until August and then we'll have 1-2 weeks of 85 degrees or above weather. It does get humid but I'm from the Great Lakes so there is a lot of water and a lot of breezes. It was hot in April in Atlanta and you have to start dealing with the bugs and allergies before that.

Why go on anecdotes and personal experiences? The data are all readily available.

Comparing Atlanta with Philly, for instance:

Summer Avg High/Relative Humidity

Atlanta
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta
May 79.9 / 67.2
June 86.4 / 69.8
July 89.1 / 74.4
August 88.1 / 74.8
September 82.2 / 73.3

Philly
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia
May 73.8 / 65.4
June 82.7 / 67.8
July 87.1 / 69.6
August 85.3 / 70.4
September 78.0 / 71.6

Atlanta tends to be 3-5 degrees hotter on average with slightly higher relative humidity.

Compare it with the winter, when Philly is on average 10+ degrees colder throughout the entire winter.

The tradeoff to me is pretty clear. Especially once you consider we have ~250 more sunshine hours per year.

[DJDeadParrot]

About 2 years ago, when the Sochi winter Olympics were coming up, I did a comparison of winter climates between Atlanta and Sochi, and found that our daytime highs were about the same, but the nighttime lows here were a few degrees cooler.

TL;DR - if Sochi could host the Winter Olympics, so could Altanta! [/snark]

[residinghere2007]

Originally Posted by testa50

Why go on anecdotes and personal experiences? The data are all readily available.

Comparing Atlanta with Philly, for instance:

Summer Avg High/Relative Humidity

Atlanta
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta
May 79.9 / 67.2
June 86.4 / 69.8
July 89.1 / 74.4
August 88.1 / 74.8
September 82.2 / 73.3

Philly
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia
May 73.8 / 65.4
June 82.7 / 67.8
July 87.1 / 69.6
August 85.3 / 70.4
September 78.0 / 71.6

Atlanta tends to be 3-5 degrees hotter on average with slightly higher relative humidity.

Compare it with the winter, when Philly is on average 10+ degrees colder throughout the entire winter.

The tradeoff to me is pretty clear. Especially once you consider we have ~250 more sunshine hours per year.

I'm not from Philly. I am from NW OH according to Wikipedia our average July temperature is 73.5 degrees, which is what I stated, summers are usually in the 70s or low 80s. We get about 2-3 weeks per year of 85 degree temps and above, that's it.

I also mentioned about the allergy issues in Atlanta for me personally, which was a huge issue IMO and most people I knew in Atlanta had issues dealing with allergies. The climate in Atlanta is what makes pollen and the allergies associated with it much higher than other parts of the country. Also, the bugs are just ridiculous and mosquitoes and other bugs are also affected by climate.

But on the whole, many people prefer a hotter climate. I figured I am just not one who does. I like to have 4 seasons and after dealing with such heat, I am happy to have cold weather again. We'll see if that will change in the future, I'm sure it will but if so, I wouldn't move back to the southeast primarily due to the pollen counts in spring, summer, and fall.

[bu2]

I've never heard any particular complaints about allergies here. It all depends on what triggers you. Colorado is bad for some people. Kentucky is bad for others. Obviously Atlanta is bad for some.

[afdinatl]

I love it. Not that cold during the winter so I get to get off from work with pay for "snow threat" days. The spring is beautiful with all the greens trees. Fall is pretty when the leaves change colors. In the summer its only really hot between 2pm-6pm and Im at work mostly during those hours so it doesn't really matter. Plus the summer heat makes the day parties and pool parties even better. I just hate cold weather so having only really one cold month (generally speaking) is good to me

[ATLTJL]

I came here from Florida.

Although I really like the deciduous forest and the spring is awesome, I've got to say that I think central Florida has nicer weather. That's not the part of Florida I came from, but I think Orlando has nicer weather than Atlanta.

The reason is because although the summer there is ridiculously hot, I just don't find it significantly hotter than Atlanta. So I think summers both places are typically fairly miserable, but the trade-off is that Atlanta can get below freezing and have very cold winters. It doesn't always, sometimes winters are mild, but it CAN, and often does. Orlando is below the frost line, so pretty much from December through February, they get weather like what we would call spring and/or fall. Only they get it quite reliably for 3 months, whereas sometimes we get totally screwed. Often, we get a month or two of nice transitional weather. But sometimes, it just snaps from cold to hot and vice versa.

So for that reason, I think central Florida has a better climate than Atlanta. They both have the same minuses, I just think they have more of an up side.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

I came here from Florida.

Although I really like the deciduous forest and the spring is awesome, I've got to say that I think central Florida has nicer weather. That's not the part of Florida I came from, but I think Orlando has nicer weather than Atlanta.

The reason is because although the summer there is ridiculously hot, I just don't find it significantly hotter than Atlanta. So I think summers both places are typically fairly miserable, but the trade-off is that Atlanta can get below freezing and have very cold winters. It doesn't always, sometimes winters are mild, but it CAN, and often does. Orlando is below the frost line, so pretty much from December through February, they get weather like what we would call spring and/or fall. Only they get it quite reliably for 3 months, whereas sometimes we get totally screwed. Often, we get a month or two of nice transitional weather. But sometimes, it just snaps from cold to hot and vice versa.

So for that reason, I think central Florida has a better climate than Atlanta. They both have the same minuses, I just think they have more of an up side.

Less of a winter is always a plus. Grew up in WPB.

[afdinatl]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

I came here from Florida.

Although I really like the deciduous forest and the spring is awesome, I've got to say that I think central Florida has nicer weather. That's not the part of Florida I came from, but I think Orlando has nicer weather than Atlanta.

The reason is because although the summer there is ridiculously hot, I just don't find it significantly hotter than Atlanta. So I think summers both places are typically fairly miserable, but the trade-off is that Atlanta can get below freezing and have very cold winters. It doesn't always, sometimes winters are mild, but it CAN, and often does. Orlando is below the frost line, so pretty much from December through February, they get weather like what we would call spring and/or fall. Only they get it quite reliably for 3 months, whereas sometimes we get totally screwed. Often, we get a month or two of nice transitional weather. But sometimes, it just snaps from cold to hot and vice versa.

So for that reason, I think central Florida has a better climate than Atlanta. They both have the same minuses, I just think they have more of an up side.

California weather>>>>>everywhere else