Can't wait to get to baltimore--No Snow in May

[LARicky]

I just can't wait to get to Baltimore in July...

I lived in Baltimore in Federal Hill for years and trust me you ain't gonna like Bawlmer in July hon! It's a quirky eccentric city, lots of fun, but there ain't no way around it, summers in the Mid-Atlantic suck. Spring and Fall are awesome but summer...not so much. Head to the Eastern shore for crabs or the beach to cool off. Personally we moved west to get away from the humidity. Have fun, visit the Visionary Arts Museum, it's a gem! Visit Annapolis. Watch a John Waters movie to get the accent down so you'll sound like a local...hon. Catch the O's at Camden Yards and cool off with some Natty Bo's!

[carolott]

Bleh. Skip the Natty Boh. You'll be glad you did. If you want decent local beer, Clipper City is much better.

[rudy_d]

Natty Boh grows on you!

[CHIP72]

I just want to concur with nelumbo that the dew point temperature is probably a better indicator than relative humidity of how humid the air is, mainly because the dew point is not very dependent on air temperature. Stated another way, unlike relative humidity the dew point won't change throughout the day due to temperature changes if the absolute humidity stays constant.

During the summer, I'm actually more interested in finding out the dew point rather than the air temperature on warm/hot days, because the dew point will tell me how comfortable it is. For my own body, 60 degrees F dew point seems to be the magic value; below that value the air is fairly comfortable unless it is genuinely hot (above the upper 80's Fahrenheit), while above 60 degrees F dew point it starts becoming uncomfortable. Actually, between 60-65 degrees F dew point it is moderately humid, between 65-70 degrees F dew point it is very humid, and above 70 degrees F dew point it is extremely humid. Lord help you if you have temperatures above 90 degrees F and a dew point in the upper 60's or higher Fahrenheit.

I will note in the Mid-Atlantic (I'm originally from PA but this would apply in MD as well) that during the summer we usually have dew points above 60 degrees Fahrenheit and air temperatures in the lower 80's F or higher during the day from about mid-June to mid-to-late August, but periodically Canadian cold fronts will pass through and freshen the air considerably for 3-4 days, lowering high temperatures to 75-80 degrees F and the dew points into the upper 40's or 50's Fahrenheit (aka CHIP72's preferred summer weather). Those fronts are usually accompanied by thunderstorms and sometimes heavy rain. We almost never have really, really low dew points (i.e. below 40 degrees F) in the Mid-Atlantic when the air temperature is above 70 degrees Fahrenheit at any time of the year though; I think that kind of air temperature/humidity balance is fairly common in the West, especially along the Pacific Coast in California.

[carolott]

Originally Posted by rudy_d

Natty Boh grows on you!

Like a fungus perhaps....

[Big House]

Wavehunter was right on that in the summer it is like stepping into a hot shower. If you're not used to it, it will take time to become accustom to it.

You may not like the snow in Denver in May, but as I recall it would snow one day, and you can walk around in a tee shirt the next day. Not here.

The area overall is great, Baltimore has all the seasons, and none last too long. The winters are fairly mild, but you get some snow. You have the mountains, Deep Creek Lake, the bay, and the Ocean. It is a nice area. It also has a fairly stable economy.

There are a lot of historical places to visit. Nightlife is very active. There are a lot of great colleges and universities. The area has some of the best hospitals in the country.
Air quality is usually better than in Denver, and you will notice that everything is green outside. If you're looking into the Federal Hill area then you have to go to The Cross Street Market on Friday after work.

[baltimore's best]

Originally Posted by carolott

Bleh. Skip the Natty Boh. You'll be glad you did. If you want decent local beer, Clipper City is much better.

Is National Bohemian a local beer? Their website says it's brewed in North Carolina since 2000.

[Cathalain]

Natty Boh used to have its headquarters right in downtown Baltimore off of I-83, but they have moved operations since, yes.

It's still considered the "hometown brew" for the old, doddering Baltimore natives such as I.

As far as the weather... I concur that June/July/August in Baltimore does, indeed, suck hairy ones. It's not so much the heat that's a pain, but the humidity. If you love being covered with a wet blanket, you'll love Baltimore in the summer.

Spring is usually the best time here, between mid-April to late May - about now, actually. Most of the month of October is also lovely, weatherwise. Winters are sort of quirky, in that you never know if it's going to be a mild winter (like we had last year), or if you'll get a whopper of a blizzard or two. If more than six or seven inches of snow hit the ground, everything will shut down, and every grocery store in town will run out of "the three whites" plus Doritos and ice cream.

Hope that helps, heh.