How unbearable are the summers? (St. Louis, California: incomes, living, professionals)

[mc378]

For anyone with a mold allergy, the summers in STL can be horrible. We regularly rank as the worst city in the nation for asthma and one of the worst for allergies. The humidity and topography provide the ideal environment for mold spores to flourish.

Although the past three summers have really not been that bad, I've lived through several horrible summers since I moved to STL in 1994. The worst summer I ever lived through in Chicago would not rank in the top 5 of the summers I've faced in St. Louis.

That said, the falls are indeed beautiful, and the winters are relatively nice.

[ajf131]

St. Louis doesn't really have great winters or summers. Winters can be very cold, summers can be very hot.

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by mc378

For anyone with a mold allergy, the summers in STL can be horrible. We regularly rank as the worst city in the nation for asthma and one of the worst for allergies. The humidity and topography provide the ideal environment for mold spores to flourish.

Although the past three summers have really not been that bad, I've lived through several horrible summers since I moved to STL in 1994. The worst summer I ever lived through in Chicago would not rank in the top 5 of the summers I've faced in St. Louis.

That said, the falls are indeed beautiful, and the winters are relatively nice.

The winters relatively nice? You must be from Chicago if you think that. It can get absolutely freezing in January, and while snow isn't like that of Chicago, we usually get several decent snowfalls...not to mention ice. Two winters ago St. Louis got 30 inches of snow. Our historic average is 22.5 inches (source is wunderground.com). It gets below 32 degrees pretty frequently here in the winter. December through February is pretty cold in St. Louis. As for Chicago, Chicago is 200 miles north of St. Louis, and St. Louis happens to be subjected to the heat island effect, which can cause it to feel 10 to 12 degrees hotter than it actually is. Nonetheless, I guess it's the feeling that counts. St. Louis, Kansas City and Central Illinois to South Central Illinois have pretty similar climates to each other. St. Louis is right along the border isotherm/isofreeze line, so the weather here can vary significantly to both extremes, and it does. The winters here are cold and the summers are hot. Spring and fall I agree are both pretty nice, although a big snowfall in April is far from unheard of around here.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by ajf131

The winters relatively nice? You must be from Chicago if you think that. It can get absolutely freezing in January, and while snow isn't like that of Chicago, we usually get several decent snowfalls...not to mention ice. .

There are two BAD things about St. Louis winters. While ther is relatively small amounts of snow, the locals are really lousy drivers in snow. A number of people slow way don which makes it difficult to make it up and down hills.

The ice storms can be tremendous. The light glaze can make even walking trecherous. I remember once having to CRAWL to my car as the sidewalks were sheet ice.

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

There are two BAD things about St. Louis winters. While ther is relatively small amounts of snow, the locals are really lousy drivers in snow. A number of people slow way don which makes it difficult to make it up and down hills.

The ice storms can be tremendous. The light glaze can make even walking trecherous. I remember once having to CRAWL to my car as the sidewalks were sheet ice.

Small is a subjective word. Again if you call 20 inches of snow a small amount, so be it. The ice storms can be bad, but so can the snowfalls...in the last two winters alone we have had at least six or seven snowstorms that each brought us six to seven inches of snow. In that amount of snow, pretty much anyone will have a hard time driving on the roads. St. Louis, Indianapolis, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Kansas City all get pretty similar winters. Snow isn't common anywhere close to like it is around the Great Lakes, nor does it consistently stay cold in these places, but it can get cold and it can get snowy. It can stay below 32 for an extended period of time in January. I will agree that winters around here are more tolerable than the summers are, but anyone who thinks our winters aren't real or it snows very little, that is far from the case. It can either snow a lot, not snow, or snow something in between. Usually it's the third case. If 7 or 8 inches of snow is a relatively small amount to you, you are likely from Canada or someplace VERY far north. The other thing about St. Louis winters is that it can be both mild and freezing cold in a single day. The lows in the winter here are almost always either in the teens or the mid to lower 20s. St. Louis has a truly continental climate, and can get the worst of all 4 seasons, and it does. If you really want to know just how we can get pretty much any type of weather here, read this article. As bad as the summers can be, they are not always brutally hot and humid. Just look at the temperatures of August of last year.

http://www.slpl.org/slpl/interests/article240087213.asp

[mc378]

You'd never make it in Chicago AJF131! As you noted, I am used to large snows. St. Louis does not have much snow in comparison to Northern Illinois. St. Louis, however, does have horrendous ice, which Chicago (and the Northern US in general) does not have. Take it from me, it is much, much more difficult to drive on ice than on snow.

Having lived in Southern Indiana for awhile, I can confirm that our summers in St. Louis are far more humid than anything in Indiana. St. Louis humidity has a life of its own. Even the last few summers, which have been relatively mild, have not been overly comfortable. Take a look at the mold maps and mold count this summer. As usual, St. Louis is worse than 99% of the nation.

[DinsdalePirahna]

The winter was much, much milder than I thought. So far the Summer has been pretty easy (except for that heat wave last month)

But my eyes have been burning and my nose has been running.

[Marksman84]

This summer has been wonderful. I shut my A/C off all weekend, and I have been going on evening 3-5 mile runs instead of having to get up at the crack of @ss. Plus, it improves the mood of the denizens. I'm used to seeing most people with crabby glares on their overheated, out of shape faces this time of year.

[arch_genesis]

st. louis is a wonderful place to work up a sweat in the summer. we shouldn't shun our humidity, we should use it to promote a better lifestyle.

[Marksman84]

Originally Posted by arch_genesis

st. louis is a wonderful place to work up a sweat in the summer. we shouldn't shun our humidity, we should use it to promote a better lifestyle.

Arch Genesis brings up a very interesting point.

Do you ever notice that states with drier climates/lower overall humidities (Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, parts of California etc.) have considerably healthier/less obese people than states with more prevalent humidity (Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, etc.)? I do believe that the cooler, drier air may create a more active environment and overall healthier lifestyle.