An Austin weather primer: (Spring, Fresno: house, college, living in)

[Danbo1957]

Winter: Dec 15 - Jan 15. Cold only during fronts that come in from the North. Otherwise, 55 degrees and no wind; nice misty rain maybe three days. Exception, Christmas is always 75 degrees and humid, I don't know why...

Early Spring: Jan 15 - Mar 15. Light winds from the North in the second half of Feb. Average 65 degrees, except on UT baseball's openning day, around Feb 2 or so, where it always 30 degrees and rainy, I don't know why.

Spring: Mar 15 -Apr 15. Beautiful. Finest month of the year. Light winds, still from the North. Warm days, 75-ish, cool nights, in the 50s. Brutal hayfever season begins. But, the Bluebonnets and Indian Paint are everywhere in the Hill Country. Jog around Town Lake. *sigh*

Early Summer: Apr 15 - May 15. The winds change. SE winds coming off the Gulf bring trillions of gallons of humidity through Central Texas (going north to the Midwest to create tornados) and the blue skys are history, replaced with white skies (no clouds!), the humidity is that thick. Highs in the upper 80s and low is always 72 degrees. Rains come, some can be heavy, flood season every couple of years. If no rain, drought ahead. Mosquitoes look for food on your flesh.

Summer: May 15 - July 1. Hot, dry, and humid. 95 degrees daily, 72 at night - 90% humidity. No winds execpt at night where fast upper-level troughs head north with trillions and trillions of gallons of humidity. You can stare up at the sky at night and watch those humid winds fly by. Mosquitoes have taken over the city.

Really Summer: July 1 - August 15. It's 100 to 105 degrees, 78 at night. Can't sleep. Bone dry. Can't touch anything outside between 11:00 am and 8:00pm without burning your hand. Can't wear pants, you'll get heat rash, shorts only. Crickets and cicadas screaming everywhere. Dogs don't move. Dream of Colorado. Heat... stroke... careful...

Really, Really Summer: Aug 15 - Sept 15. Same as Really Summer, BUT HOTTER! Blast Furnice Hot. 105 -110 in recent years. Dangerous. Leave state for vacation.

Late Summer: Sept 15 - Oct 15. Second nicest month. Winds FINALLY change. Humidity drops, thank GOD! 85 to 90 degrees and 65 at night. OU sux!

Fall: Oct 15 - Dec 15. We can live like normal people. 60 to 75 degrees. Pull out a jacket... socialize, BBQ tail gate. Stroll round the Capitol. Hmmm, that woman is pretty. Ah... Austin, is home.

The eyes of Texas are upon you,
All the live long day.
The eyes of Texas are upon you,
You cannot get away.
Do not think you can escape them,
At night, or early in the morn'.
The eyes of Texas are upon you,
Till Gabriel... blows... his... horn!

[ILikeSmartHippies]

I dont get the simultaneously dry + humid part. guess I'll have to see.

BTW. what's the first day/last day of the year for A/C in your calendar?

[car957]

AC = humidity level. If it's high, we run it here in South Austin.

The original poster hasn't even manned up and lived through 25 years of South Texas springs and summers. Last summer kicked my ass. That was brutal.

I suspect it's another troll.

[jamesia]

Wow, last summer did suck didn't it? I didn't go outside for most of the day. Keeping the AC at 75 then stepping outside to 105+ felt like going from winter to summer in an instant. My friends from up north came down for the 4th of July weekend, and they were in for a surprise! It was my first attempt at a real garden too... big, big mistake!

[711mum]

Originally Posted by Danbo1957

Late Summer: Sept 15 - Oct 15. Second nicest month. Winds FINALLY change. Humidity drops, thank GOD! 85 to 90 degrees and 65 at night. OU sux!

The eyes of Texas are upon you,
All the live long day.
The eyes of Texas are upon you,
You cannot get away.
Do not think you can escape them,
At night, or early in the morn'.
The eyes of Texas are upon you,
Till Gabriel... blows... his... horn!

I live in Norman but am not from Oklahoma - grew up, and went to college, on the east coast. My husband a K-State grad. I'll be joining my husband in Austin once our house sells. Should be fun living in UT territory...loved your OU comment!!

[ILikeSmartHippies]

How about a relative comparison of the heat?

Austin -VS- Orlano FL ?

Austin -VS- Atlanta ?

Austin -VS- Stockton / Modesto / Fresno CA (also gets to 110+)

Austin -VS- Las Vegas NV ?

Austin -VS- Nashville TN ?

Austin -VS- NYC ?

Austin -VS- Black Rock Desert during burning Man ? (lol)

Austin -VS- Hawaii ?

[centralaustinite]

I guess I have lived in Austin too long, I don't consider last summer to have been particularly hot, it was unusually dry, yes, but hot? Seemed typical to me.

The hardest part about summer in Austin is its length. May and September are full on summer, April and October can be fairly hot too. My AC bills tend to be highest in September. There is no month of the year in which I haven't run the AC at all. (Usually, you can count on not needing AC during February, in any other month it is a possibility.) I have also gone swimming outside in Austin during all 12 months.

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

I guess I have lived in Austin too long, I don't consider last summer to have been particularly hot, it was unusually dry, yes, but hot? Seemed typical to me.

The hardest part about summer in Austin is its length. May and September are full on summer, April and October can be fairly hot too. My AC bills tend to be highest in September. There is no month of the year in which I haven't run the AC at all. (Usually, you can count on not needing AC during February, in any other month it is a possibility.) I have also gone swimming outside in Austin during all 12 months.

That is my take as well, it didn't seem unusually hot -- but it did seem unusually dry. Maybe I've just been here too long. But the weather during the summer is very consistent: if there is no humidity, the temps get up into the 100s (which is what most people point to when saying last summer was hot -- the high # of 100 degree days). However, if you didn't have a thermometer, you wouldn't really notice anything. It's either dryer and hot or muggy. The dry 100 days feel more comfortable than the really muggy 90 degree days anyway.

Perhaps it's because I'm fully acclimated, but my outdoor activities don't change during the summer... they may even increase. I ride my mountain bike more, run more (probably because of the daylight savings time)... outdoor BBQs and festivals seem to happen just as much in July as they do in May...

I mean, it is REALLY HOT, don't misunderstand. But for the most part, people just keep doing what they are doing. The worst part, at least for me, is the $$$ spent keeping the house cool.

[10scoachrick]

Another thing for us to notice was the radiant heat. There was absolutely NOTHING to filter the sun's rays. We would have happily enjoyed even some Atlanta smog--just to cut down on the oven effect of the sun. You step outside or out of a shadow and start cookin'!!! Didn't drop the top on the convertible until after 10pm most days. Life was tough!!!

[ILikeSmartHippies]

hmm, that's interesting. I haven't turned on my A/C yet this year. Well, one or two days in the car.