Austin summer humidity (Atlanta, Miami, Nevada: relocating to, averages, free)

[rschlegel]

We are relocating to Austin from Raleigh, NC and heard that Austin is both dry and humid in summer! Which one predominates? Just how humid does it frequently get in summer?

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by rschlegel

We are relocating to Austin from Raleigh, NC and heard that Austin is both dry and humid in summer! Which one predominates? Just how humid does it frequently get in summer?

Yes.

[thiazole]

It is mostly humid in the summer, but pretty dry in the winter. Dew points around 70 degrees are fairly common in July and August and I think September might be just as bad. I think people might get confused because in the morning, the relative humidity can be very close to 100%, but by late afternoon, the relative humidity drops quite a bit. The dew point doesn't change much, though. The decrease in relative humidity is just caused by the temperature increase.

[thiazole]

I should add that I think the dew point is probably no worse than Raleigh, but the temperatures get a bit higher making it feel less humid in the afternoon that it would where you are now.

[CptnRn]

Raleigh-----------------------------------------------------------------------Austin

[iloveflowers]

In my experience, the last 3 summers I have been here, we get a few humid days 2 or 3 followed by another 2 or 3 days of dry heat. Just when you think it's way too muggy, it'll get dry again. Then, by August it seems to be dry every day. Sometimes it is humid in the morning and then dry in the afternoon.

[sloppymeg]

I have found that the summer mornings here feel like August mornings in Atlanta-thick, heavy air.

But once the sun really comes up, all of that humidity seems to evaporate and it just feels hot and dry.

[thiazole]

It is all relative to what you are used to. The dew point rarely drops below 60 degrees between June to August. To someone from Arizona, Utah, Colorado (where I'm from), Nevada, Idaho, etc, a dew point above 60 degrees is very humid and uncomfortable. So from that perspective, it is humid in Austin all summer long. But if you are used to Miami weather, then yes, it gets dry here some days in the summer. According to this page Average Weather For Austin, Texas, USA - WeatherSpark, the dew point only drops below about 60 degrees 10% of the time between June and August, so a dew point below 60 isn't common. The same page also states that we only get a dew point above about 75 degrees 10% of the time, so basically, 80% of the summer has a dew point between 60 and 75 degrees. Wikipedia states that a dew point from 60-64 is "OK for most, but all perceive the humidity at upper edge" 65-69 degrees is "Somewhat uncomfortable for most people at upper edge" and a dew point from 70-74 degrees is "Very humid, quite uncomfortable" Dew point - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The good news is, if you are coming from Raleigh, you are already used to humidity that is just as bad if not worse.

[ZonaZoo]

Coming from Raleigh, NC, Austin is going to seem dry.

[sxrckr]

Because it can be very up and down. It depends on the weather (can get very humid after rain; during droughts, obviously it's not) but usually, it's high in the mornings and then drops down as the day goes on.