Climate battle: Bucharest vs New York City (snowy, temp, day)

[Dean York]

I found it pretty humid at times in NYC, but generally I thought it was ok. I guess with heatwaves it can become very oppressive.
It doesn't seem humid by east coast standards, looking further south it's much more humid than NYC. I found Virginia to be almost unbearable at times, it was noticeably much more humid.

Even though your summers are much more extreme, I'd take your summers over ours in a heartbeat. Not only is the weather better, eg Sunshine and heat, it's much more interesting too.

[nei]

Originally Posted by dean york

I found it pretty humid at times in NYC, but generally I thought it was ok. I guess with heatwaves it can become very oppressive.
It doesn't seem humid by east coast standards, looking further south it's much more humid than NYC. I found Virginia to be almost unbearable at times, it was noticeably much more humid.

With heat waves, NYC approaches southern levels of humidity, but overall IMO the humidity is tolerable. DC is noticeably stickier than NYC and definitely more so than Western Massachusetts. I remember once I visited, it was the same maximums back home, but much more humid.

[Cambium]

Originally Posted by nei

NYC dew points don't average particularly high, though sticky bouts are common. But yes, it's common for hot weather to be accompanied with high humidity. Last three Julys averaged 63°F, 65°F, and 63°F.

NYC averages dewpoints in the 60s in July and August (upper 60s end of July to August).(see attached pic) Thats pretty high. It's rare to see dewpoints in the 80s anywhere, right? So 70s is the general peak. 60s is high and muggy.

I dont think temps themselves necessarily mean higher humidity. It can be Hot and dry in the East as well(rare). Aside from the deserts, the West locations get hot days and low dews. I think wind flow dictates the dewpoints, not temps. But I am curious about that.

Think about NYC's location. Winds only have a couple of directions to come from to keep humidity down. NorthWest and North. South & SouthWest brings gulf moisture up, and East winds bring Atlantic moisture in.

Originally Posted by nei

Average summer dew points in the US are shown in this map:

http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/...93-02-0113.pdf

Has there been an update? That link goes to a 1965 write up. Any other map that shows the Summer Avg Dews?

[chicagogeorge]

Originally Posted by Cambium

NYC averages dewpoints in the 60s in July and August (upper 60s end of July to August).(see attached pic) Thats pretty high. It's rare to see dewpoints in the 80s anywhere, right? So 70s is the general peak. 60s is high and muggy.

70 degree dew points are generally considered the peak and if you couple that with high temps (30C+)




You cannot create a heat index if temperatures are below 80F/27C no matter what the dew point is. This is why dew points really only matter in warm climates.


Heat Index Calculation



Most Chicago heat events are accompanied by Gulf Coast level humidity (aside for the Dust Bowl 1930's)

[nei]

Originally Posted by Cambium

NYC averages dewpoints in the 60s in July and August (upper 60s end of July to August).(see attached pic) Thats pretty high. It's rare to see dewpoints in the 80s anywhere, right? So 70s is the general peak. 60s is high and muggy.

There is a big difference, to me, between dew points in the low 60s and high 60s, let alone low 70s. Your humidity tolerance is much lower than mine, I would consider a dew point of 58°F slightly humid, not too far from neutral, but the difference is very obvious every small increase above that.

Wunderground.com showed an average dew point of 63°F, 65°F and 63°F the last three Julys, last three Augusts were 64°F, 64°F and 62°F. That's a bit lower than typical for the coastal Mediterranean and quite a bit lower than the US South (or DC). NYC dew points usually peak around 75-77°F each year. Your chart shows the daily high dew point, not the daily average, which isn't the same thing. My numbers (and the map) is the daily average, not the daily max.

[nei]

Originally Posted by Cambium

I dont think temps themselves necessarily mean higher humidity. It can be Hot and dry in the East as well(rare).

Hot and dry (or at least dew points in the low to mid 50s) occurs sometimes up here, and decreasingly less often as you go south. NYC gets that a bit, it seems very rare in DC during the summer.

[chicagogeorge]

An interesting look at dew point wind fields during the infamous 1995 heatwave that effected the Midwest and the East Coast

[Cambium]

Originally Posted by chicagogeorge

70 degree dew points are generally considered the peak

Thank you... I kinda figured since I rarely see dew points in the upper 70s/80s. So if the peak is 70°-75° then NYC's average dewpoint in the Summer is "High" in the upper 60s, which is what I was trying to tell nei. It's not low, its not average.

[nei]

Originally Posted by Cambium

Thank you... I kinda figured since I rarely see dew points in the upper 70s/80s. So if the peak is 70°-75° then NYC's average dewpoint in the Summer is "High" in the upper 60s, which is what I was trying to tell nei. It's not low, its not average.

Read my previous post, I meant in a relative sense to some other places. Also, the upper 60s is the average daily max, not the average.

[PzKpfw]

Bucharest

NYC sometimes can get too humid.
I remember arriving at NYC JKF Airport on a flight from Geneva and imediately I felt
that humid thick NYC air after being used to fresher nicer Swiss air