Is it HOT in Austin? (Spring, West: rental, live, moving to)

[artichoke63]

I know this is a stupid question, but I'm thinking of moving to Austin, and I'm worried about the heat. I read somewhere that you have over 100 days of over 90 degree weather? How do you deal with this? And what kind of heat is it? Is it dry desert heat like Palm Springs, CA, or sticky humid heat like summer in Western MA? Is it cool in the mornings? I have two doggies and I hope they'll be okay.

Thanks,

Artie

[AustinTraveler]

Originally Posted by artichoke63

I know this is a stupid question, but I'm thinking of moving to Austin, and I'm worried about the heat. I read somewhere that you have over 100 days of over 90 degree weather? How do you deal with this? And what kind of heat is it? Is it dry desert heat like Palm Springs, CA, or sticky humid heat like summer in Western MA? Is it cool in the mornings? I have two doggies and I hope they'll be okay.

Thanks,

Artie

The heat is neither dry desert heat nor sticky humid heat, at least not as humid as I was used to in Florida. It is definitely HOT here in the summer, especially August. But, we all survive and so do the dogs. It's definitely cooler in the mornings and that's the best time to go out exercising, etc. Austin is a huge dog lover city. A great place to take them is the Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail. There's an area near the Stevie Ray Vaughn statue where the dogs play and swim in the water. There are also other doggie parks.

[dusesean1986]

Austin has mid-humidity, probably around 35-40% in the summer, with 95 degrees. Florida, well it's 90 with 85% humidity, and a whole lot hotter. Palm Springs is like 108 degrees, with 5% humidity. The problem with Texas humidity, is it's so moderate, it feels like the air is stale and doesn't move. That's my spiel.

[Trainwreck20]

Month, Avg humidity [high, low], Avg Temp [High, low], monthly rain [inches, days with rain], Record temp [high, low]
January............[76, 55]......[60, 40]......[2.00", 8]......[90, -5]
February.......... [78, 55]......[64, 43]......[2.26", 7]......[99, 8]
March..............[78, 53]......[72, 50]......[2.03", 7]......[98, 19]
April................[78, 52]......[79, 59]......[2.89", 7]......[98, 35]
May.................[83, 59]......[85, 66]......[4.33", 8]......[102, 44]
June................[84, 56]......[91, 72]......[3.29", 6]......[108, 54]
July.................[84, 49]......[95, 74]......[1.68", 5]......[109, 62]
August............[83, 46]......[95, 74]......[2.14", 5]......[107, 60]
September.......[82, 50]......[89, 69]......[3.51", 7]......[112, 45]
October..........[82, 54]......[81, 59]......[3.33", 6]......[98, 32]
November........[78, 55]......[70, 49]......[2.47", 7]......[91, 20]
December........[75, 54]......[63, 42]......[1.92", 7]......[90, 6]

Note that the high humidity is in the morning and generally corresponds to the low temperature for the day, whereas the low humidity is in the afternoon and corresponds to the high temperature.

[jwb123]

hehe I had someone in the Seattle forums telling me that I was going to be dealing with 90 degrees in heat, and 100% humidity, starting in May.

[AustinTraveler]

I would love to have 100% humidity cause that would mean it might actually be RAINING. We definitely need more rain around here.

[KewGee]

Originally Posted by dusesean1986

Austin has mid-humidity, probably around 35-40% in the summer, with 95 degrees. Florida, well it's 90 with 85% humidity, and a whole lot hotter. Palm Springs is like 108 degrees, with 5% humidity. The problem with Texas humidity, is it's so moderate, it feels like the air is stale and doesn't move. That's my spiel.

We can only wish for humidity as low as 35-40%. On a rare occasion, it's possible.

Austin is also very humid but since I've never been to Florida, I can't compare the two. Personally, I can't stand the heat, but I'm still here after 28 years. I deal with it by staying inside with the A/C running up the electric bill, very boring indeed. When I am outside, I nearly drop from the heat.

My opinion is that even though the mornings are cooler, the humidity is higher and very uncomfortable. To me, it's more comfortable after 9 p.m.

100 days of 90+? Yes, a definite possibility and if one were to check past records, I'm sure it has occurred many, many times. Austin can't even escape days above 100 degrees.

[Willy99]

I've been to Austin many times as I have tons of family there and I'm moving out there this spring/summer. Here's a little story about my experience with the heat. I'm from the Mississippi Gulf Coast where the humidity is just plain ridiculous. I'm talking the air is so thick you feel like you're struggling to walk through it. It rarely gets over 100 degrees, though, and it does get into the 90s pretty often. Now, the last time I was in Austin, which was last summer, middle of May to be exact, I pulled into town around 3 in the afternoon. I hadn't been out of my car for hours, since the Texas/Louisiana border in fact(the rental had incredible gas milage, I highly recommend Pontiac G6s) and as I stepped out of my car in the Chuy's parking lot, underneath the shade of a huge tree, the triple digit heat pretty much knocked me over. I'm talking unbearable. I really thought I was used to stifling heat, but underneath the shade of that tree I really got the wake up call about what real heat is. I'm still moving there though, so that should tell you something.

[KewGee]

Originally Posted by Willy99

I've been to Austin many times as I have tons of family there and I'm moving out there this spring/summer. Here's a little story about my experience with the heat. I'm from the Mississippi Gulf Coast where the humidity is just plain ridiculous. I'm talking the air is so thick you feel like you're struggling to walk through it. It rarely gets over 100 degrees, though, and it does get into the 90s pretty often. Now, the last time I was in Austin, which was last summer, middle of May to be exact, I pulled into town around 3 in the afternoon. I hadn't been out of my car for hours, since the Texas/Louisiana border in fact(the rental had incredible gas milage, I highly recommend Pontiac G6s) and as I stepped out of my car in the Chuy's parking lot, underneath the shade of a huge tree, the triple digit heat pretty much knocked me over. I'm talking unbearable. I really thought I was used to stifling heat, but underneath the shade of that tree I really got the wake up call about what real heat is. I'm still moving there though, so that should tell you something.

Great description about the heat. It hits me the same way and even after 28 years, I'm still not used to it. I'm still here though because where I'm from has become too unaffordable and overrun with undesirables.

In your case, I too would definitely choose Texas over Mississippi.

[austin-steve]

I've lived in Austin since 1985. I rarely even notice the heat. It's just not a factor once you get use to it. I deal with a lot of out of town clients and they'll often say "how do you stand this heat?", and I will won't really know how to respond because it honestly doesn't bother me at all.

You'll probably find way more locals like me than you will complainers. Your first summer might be rough, then you assimilate.