Should I be concerned about Austin's humidity?

[Trainwreck20]

Evenings and mornings are more muggy, but just a little cooler. I'm not sure why that is, but someone on the board probably knows.

Not sure if you REALLY want to know, but just in case....

Relative humidity is a fraction of the total moisture that the air can hold. 100% humidity means that the air cannot hold any more moisture, 0% means that there is absolutely no moisture in the air. The catch, however, is that the total amount of moisture the air can hold depends on the temperature of the air. As the air cools, the amount of moisture that is in the air stays the same, but the total amount that the air can hold goes down. That makes the relatively humidity go up, even though there is no more or less moisture in the air.

The effect of humidity is almost (although not entirely) due to the relatively humidity, as opposed to the absolute humidity. The higher the RH, the more slowly water (i.e. sweat) will evaporate. Also, higher RH air has more heat capacity, so wet air will carry the heat longer. If you notice that the temperature is so much nicer in the shade in AZ, that is because the air does not carry as much heat and a lot of the heat you feel is the reflected and/or direct heat. In Austin, when the humidity is high, the shade sometimes does not feel like much relief.

[Topaz]

I lived in Austin for 8 years and I never got used to the humidity (I was from California). Now I live in an even MORE humid place. I just decided that the weather wasn't the biggest positive but there are so many other good things about living in Texas, I try not to let the weather bother me.

[twange]

I've traditionally been a humidity and heat hater. Winding up in Texas is an ironic twist of fate that is a continuous source of amusement to me

As the previous poster mentioned, the humidity sets in after the sun goes down, reaching it's peak around 7am. During the day it feels fairly hot and dry(but not like the dry oven feeling of Arizona/Nevada etc...) Here's a chart for today's weather hour by hour confirming this pattern:

Austin, Texas (78701) Conditions & Forecast : Weather Underground

Austin is at the edge of a few different ecosytems: Prarie, Coastal, Desert, Piney Woods. Taking a visual cue from the vegetation seen around the area will give you some clues as to how the climate manifests itself: Live Oaks, elms, maple, pecan and walnut (to name a small few), occasional palms and other tropicals, cactus/succulents, grasses and piney woods, to the East in Bastrop.

It's a bit mixed, which is interesting. Coming from AZ, it might feel excessively humid to you initially. We're from the Great Lakes and while it's definitely humid here, it doesn't feel the same as that sticky/hazy Midwest/East Coast summer feeling.

[centralaustinite]

Yes, the midwest can be quite humid but there is cools down at night, the same in the desert, cooler nights but in Austin, it can easily still be 91 at 10 pm in July and August.

You get used to it!

really

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[Mittys]

Thanks for the link. I found it very interesting and helpful. Puts things into perspective. I appreciate how people are very honest about the humidity. I guess there is no "perfect" place to live, but we want as close to perfect as possible! (ha, ha). We can take some crazy weather since there are many more advantages to living in Austin. Can't wait to visit again.

[jread]

As twange mentioned, Austin really sits at the convergence of many completely different climates. We get the dry, Southwestern air sometimes, and others we get humidity coming up from the Gulf. I'd say that on average, Austin has more of a dry heat in the summer (35-40% humidity), though nowhere near as dry as Arizona, but not remotely as humid as the East Coast. You can either handle it or you can't. I suggest visiting in August/September when the weather is absolutely miserable and see if you can take it.

[artsyguy]

Yes, the humidity is awful.

[Mike78613]

Humidity can be very bearing and can be uncomfortable if you make it. I learned to wear t-shirts, tank tops, shirts that are made out of heat gear fabric (under armor) and sweat is not as bad. I really love the way the humidity feels on my skin. One big bonus about humidity. It does take some time getting used to. You should do fine and since you are coming from Tuscon, maybe it would not be as bad.