Humidity Question???? (Austin, El Paso, Corpus Christi: move, suburbs, area) - Texas (TX) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

deeptrance · 10-19-2006, 12:09 PM

I'm late to this thread but had to comment on the original post.

I once camped on the beach near Corpus, it was late November and it was still hellish. I will NEVER go to the Texas coast again --- it's table-top flat, barren, and hyper-humid. But I have friends who make the trip regularly. So everyone has a different take on it. One thing's for sure, Corpus is NOT the same as Austin! Wow... so close, yet so far away...

lpfan921 · 07-08-2009, 10:03 PM

I don't think any city could be more humid than New Orleans. Oh my goodness, I was down there volunteering and it was so hot, in May!! I can't imagine what it is like in July. And this is coming from someone who hates winter and usually likes the summer, but that humidity was a bit too much. Its a great city otherwise tho.

Anyway I have never been to Austin but it sounds like a great place. I would love to go sometime.

BentBow · 07-09-2009, 06:33 AM

The mornings are the most humid and can be 80-90%, unless it is raining.
Afternoons, it is 40-50%, unless it is raining.

Pfhtex · 07-09-2009, 08:21 AM

Wait, now. Depending on what part of FL you were in, Austin can be just as bad or WORSE. I lived in the Pensacola area, and in Tampa as well, and Austin for ten years.

The air is always moving in parts of FL, and you also get the daily drenching of sideways green skied rain. In Austin, quite a lot of the time, the air is just dead and motionless.

I prefer FL humidity over Austin due to the breezes that keep the air moving in FL.

eepstein · 07-09-2009, 11:35 AM

Austin is bone dry most of the year. The humidity is very low during the hottest parts of the day. Although not quite as low as Phoenix or Denver, you will never experience a heat index during the hottest part of the day. Austin is a very unique island within TX as far as humidity is concerned. Every city east, north and south is more humid. It seems like the daytime humidity literally skips over the austin metro area and heads in other directions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenrph

OK here is my first post and it is about nothing exciting, just humidity.

I was wondering just how humid is it there? We live in Ohio and it is pretty humid here. Last year we went down to Corpus Christie in July/Aug and it was horrible. We camped and we had to actually sleep with wet towels on top of us! It was crazy. So is it that humid in Austin? Is it as bad as Florida?

Thanks!

jread · 07-12-2009, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eepstein

Austin is bone dry most of the year. The humidity is very low during the hottest parts of the day. Although not quite as low as Phoenix or Denver, you will never experience a heat index during the hottest part of the day. Austin is a very unique island within TX as far as humidity is concerned. Every city east, north and south is more humid. It seems like the daytime humidity literally skips over the austin metro area and heads in other directions.

I have noticed this as well and it is very strange. You can even see it happening before you if you've watched any of the rain recently: storms come in, split in half, go around Austin entirely, and drench everything N, S and E of us. It's infuriating in a way since we REALLY need the rain, but it also does spare us from the humidity.

I have argued with people on this forum for years that Austin is not a "humid" city, and I will continue to argue that. I have a home weather station at my house and regularly see sub-20% humidity readings during the hottest part of the day. That, people, is *not* humid.

Zzyzx · 07-13-2009, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jread

I have noticed this as well and it is very strange. You can even see it happening before you if you've watched any of the rain recently: storms come in, split in half, go around Austin entirely, and drench everything N, S and E of us. It's infuriating in a way since we REALLY need the rain, but it also does spare us from the humidity.

That drives me crazy!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jread

I have argued with people on this forum for years that Austin is not a "humid" city, and I will continue to argue that. I have a home weather station at my house and regularly see sub-20% humidity readings during the hottest part of the day. That, people, is *not* humid.

Austin has humid days once in a while, but in general it seems to be just about right. Not to dry or humid.

jread · 07-13-2009, 06:07 PM

Just wanted to add to this thread an explanation of how humidity/dew point works that I found to be very good:

Quote:

Humidity is a misunderstood measurement of how humid it is outside. The higher the temperature, the higher the "capacity" for moisture. This is why in Seattle in the winter when it's 40° outside, even if the humidity reads 100%, the dew point will be 40°. If the humidity is less than 100%, the dew point would be lower than 40°. Nobody complains about sweating in Seattle in the winter. Since 40° weather has a very low capacity for moisture, it's very easy for the humidity percentage to rise quickly. Meanwhile the average person doesn't even notice it.

High humidity is what prevents the ultra hot temperatures in FL. It rarely breaks 100° in Florida. The heat has to dry out the moisture before it can make the temp rise. Now in AZ/NV, the weather is bone dry. Thus the heat rises the temperature really fast....The same thing in reverse happens at night when it cools off. In dry climates, the temp can go from 115° down to 85° (Scottsdale) at night. In Houston, the weather might be 98° during the day but will only drop to 80° at night. The high moisture content keeps the overnight temps hot (and really muggy) there.

Dallas and Austin are almost always hotter than Houston. That's because they're drier than Houston. Galveston is right on the Gulf of Mexico. Typically 5° cooler than Houston. But the humidity (and dew point) is higher there.

Now once you get those 115° temps out west in the desert, even a small increase in humidity is noticeable. 115° and 5% humidity gives a dew point of 28°. Simply raising the humidity at that temp to 10 gives a dew point of 45°. Thus it's more humid in Arizona at 115°/10% humidity than it is in Seattle at 40°/100% humidity.

eepstein · 07-14-2009, 06:27 AM

That still doesn't quite explain why summers are so much drier in Austin than nearly every other city west of the rocky mountains. San Antonio for the most part also shares in this "dry summer" regime. Very odd.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jread

Just wanted to add to this thread an explanation of how humidity/dew point works that I found to be very good:

jread · 07-16-2009, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eepstein

That still doesn't quite explain why summers are so much drier in Austin than nearly every other city west of the rocky mountains. San Antonio for the most part also shares in this "dry summer" regime. Very odd.

I assume it has to do with unique weather patterns. Maybe there is a certain "current" over us that keeps things the way they are. It seems we have a high-pressure "dome" that sits over us most of the summer and keeps moisture out.