Humidity (around, start)

[kell490]

I went to Fort Lauderdale and Miami in August It was much more bearable with the lower temperature then here. You folks from the east or south east have high humidity but lower temps so it's relative. The heat index combines heat and humidity to create a number.

Phoenix today
109F high Low 90

Memphis Today
86F high low 68F

Lot cooler and cools way down at night.

July this year has been quite humid in my books, often to the point where it felt like Tennessee where I lived for awhile. Hopefully August will bring some much-needed relief, but, its still monsoon season. I see a big one brewing over the McDowells as I type this... gonna be another humid night. grrrrr

First summer July and August are the worst heat here highest humidity. I think most of the retirees who post on this forum that came from extreme cold like MN love it here they stay inside all day watching tv and are only outside for a few minutes at a time. When you work outside all day in this heat different story I hate staying inside.

[BlueCat1105]

Checked the Birmingham, AL forecast for today because I know someone who lives there. The dew point predicted for the overnight hours is 68-69°. That's mighty sticky. The 10 day forecast looks very similar each day, with intermittent showers during the entire time. The Valley temps are higher by about 10° and the dew points are lower by 15-20° for the same time periods. Neither will be ideal by any stretch, but I wouldn't say that Phoenix will feel more oppressive than Birmingham.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

Phoenix
Dew Point 54° F
Humidity 18%

Memphis
Dew Point 70° F
Humidity 77%

If you think this is humid, I question whether you've ever experienced REAL humidity. Go to Miami for a bit. Our monsoon season feels like the Sahara by comparison.

Obviously 'feel' is subjective but an 18% relative humidity has to feel much different than summer in the south.

Once again youre trying to compare peak heat temps and humidity, which we all know the humidity burns off here during peak heat. Check the early morning temps when a monsoon is happening, and youll see that our temps and dew point/humidity are just as bad as the south. Once again, Ill say about a week ago it was 94 degrees at 6:30 AM with a 65 dew point and 72% humidity, which is... you guessed it! The same as youd experience in Memphis during their peak heat of the day. I think there was a total of two or three days in July where I walked outside in the morning and wasnt greeted by sauna-like conditions... its been gross!

And I lived in Tennessee and Illinois, I know what humidity feels like, thank you very much.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Once again youre trying to compare peak heat temps and humidity, which we all know the humidity burns off here during peak heat. Check the early morning temps when a monsoon is happening, and youll see that our temps and dew point/humidity are just as bad as the south. Once again, Ill say about a week ago it was 94 degrees at 6:30 AM with a 65 dew point and 72% humidity, which is... you guessed it! The same as youd experience in Memphis during their peak heat of the day. I think there was a total of two or three days in July where I walked outside in the morning and wasnt greeted by sauna-like conditions... its been gross!

And I lived in Tennessee and Illinois, I know what humidity feels like, thank you very much.

Those were not the peak numbers. Those were the current stats at the time of my post. Maybe I've adapted better or maybe I'm just not noticing, but to me, the "humidity" here is nowhere near as bothersome as it is elsewhere.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

Those were not the peak numbers. Those were the current stats at the time of my post. Maybe I've adapted better or maybe I'm just not noticing, but to me, the "humidity" here is nowhere near as bothersome as it is elsewhere.

In the afternoon its not bad. You can feel it, but its not oppressive. The mornings, IMO, are oppressive at times. Have a good weekend.

[kytoaz]

I'm from Kentucky and am very familiar with oppressive humidity. I will say the last several weeks (monsoon season) have been less comfortable than june was this year. similar temps but a slight increase in humidity and it is definitely less comfortable. That being said, this has been the best summer I have experienced in years (my first here). I definitely prefer 111 and 6% to 103 and 17%.

[AZguy99]

Originally Posted by chaparrito

May and October are the driest months statistically I believe. Also my favorites.

In most years it's actually June that is the driest month for Arizona, although as observer53 and I state above, the monsoon can start in June in the mountains and southeastern Arizona as the storms initially develop over the mountains and the monsoon ridge enters the state from the southeast and south in early July.

[Fiddlehead]

Humidity is less important than the dew point. If you look at this chart for Tucson, you can see the monsoon effect clearly.

National Weather Service - NWS Tucson

100 degrees with a 65 degree dew point is pretty humid, even though the relatively humidity would run from about 74% in the morning (assuming 70F) to 32% in the afternoon (assuming 100 F).

If the dew point were 30 degrees, the corresponding figures would be 22.5% in the morning and 8.6% in the afternoon (assuming the same temps, but in reality the nights would be cooler with a low dew point).


I used this temp, dew point, relative humidity calculator. Pretty fun.

Temperature, Dewpoint, and Relative Humidity Calculator


Up here in Flagstaff it was 56 F with a 55 degree dew point yesterday, or 96% relative humidity. No one was complaining about it.

So, I say the big issue is the heat, coupled with the humidity, which definitely occurs for a while in the Southwest deserts. The AZ mountains get even more humid, but have lower temps and dew points, so they rarely feel oppressive.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Fiddlehead

So, I say the big issue is the heat, coupled with the humidity, which definitely occurs for a while in the Southwest deserts. The AZ mountains get even more humid, but have lower temps and dew points, so they rarely feel oppressive.

Bingo! Im glad someone understands that! The heat coupled with the high dew points feels truly awful. It is far more comfortable when its cooler with higher dewpoints, than hot with mild/high dewpoints.

[AZguy99]

Originally Posted by Fiddlehead

Humidity is less important than the dew point. If you look at this chart for Tucson, you can see the monsoon effect clearly.

National Weather Service - NWS Tucson

100 degrees with a 65 degree dew point is pretty humid, even though the relatively humidity would run from about 74% in the morning (assuming 70F) to 32% in the afternoon (assuming 100 F).

If the dew point were 30 degrees, the corresponding figures would be 22.5% in the morning and 8.6% in the afternoon (assuming the same temps, but in reality the nights would be cooler with a low dew point).


I used this temp, dew point, relative humidity calculator. Pretty fun.

Temperature, Dewpoint, and Relative Humidity Calculator


Up here in Flagstaff it was 56 F with a 55 degree dew point yesterday, or 96% relative humidity. No one was complaining about it.

So, I say the big issue is the heat, coupled with the humidity, which definitely occurs for a while in the Southwest deserts. The AZ mountains get even more humid, but have lower temps and dew points, so they rarely feel oppressive.

Dew point is definitely more essential to determining if the monsoon season will start soon. The dew point in June, just like the humidity, is very low in contrast to July and August.