How would you compare the humidity levels of Austin and Houston?

[BishopDon]

I've lived in both, and Houston certainly has more persistent humidity. Austin overall is pretty bad though and I found it hotter overall. With that being said, my last year in Austin was also it's hottest year on record (90+ straight days of 100+ temps) so that might color my view a bit.

[wallawallahoohoo]

Originally Posted by tstone

No.

Downtown and the inner city areas are about 50' above sea level. The lowest part of Houston proper is the Clear Lake area at 20-30'.

That's still pretty darn low compared to Austin.

[cBach]

Houston is far more humid, it is noticeable.

[Gunion Powder]

Austin is hotter and less humid. Houston is less hot and more humid. I prefer the latter. Being near the sea just feels so much better than being landlocked.

[Westerntraveler]

Austin is drier than Houston but not as dry as West Texas.

[jread]

Dew point is far more important than humidity. San Diego and Los Angeles often have pretty high relative humidity, but the cold Pacific keeps their dew points lower, which makes the air feel much more comfortable.

Austin generally has dew points that are 5-10 degrees cooler than Houston, and therefore feels a lot drier, especially in the summer (but also in the winter). This year has been an exception as Austin has been very humid compared to the norm.

I moved to Austin years ago from the Houston area and the difference was very noticeable. 90-degrees in Austin was bearable, 90-degrees in Houston was miserable. 50-degrees in Austin is comfortable with a light jacket. 50-degrees in Houston you feel like you're going to freeze to death.

Overall, Austin "feels" a lot drier, despite humidity readings, due to lower dew points. Also, Austin has a lot more wind, which makes a huge difference in comfort. Stagnant air makes you sweat a lot more than if you have a nice breeze blowing on you, no matter how hot it is.

[C24L]

Originally Posted by AsgardDevice

Without knowing a lot about how dew points work its hard to really get a good gauge on this stuff. I went to Los Angeles in the summer once and the weather people said the humidity was 85% so I figured it would be muggy but nope it was sooo dry feeling when compared to Houston, Louisiana, and Florida.

So, for those of you that are experienced with Austin summers and summers in other places, how would you rate their summers in terms of how muggy and oppressive it feels? In Houston sometimes it feels like the air is very brutal and causes me to sweat just being outside. Not like in Nevada where it can be 100 degrees and I'm okay so long as I'm not baking in direct sunlight.

I hear people say Austin air is dryer and I understand there's droughts and less rainfall, but let's be clear.. it's not west coast dry, right??

Houston is more humid than Austin for sure.Austin is not west coast dry i dont think

[kemahkami]

Originally Posted by jread

50-degrees in Austin is comfortable with a light jacket. 50-degrees in Houston you feel like you're going to freeze to death.

Nope, there's no such thing as humid cold in Texas.