Atlanta, GA vs Dallas, TX (Washington, Avera: pool, areas, cities)

[matt8325]

Originally Posted by Canine*Castle

Okay. So Atlanta's weather is warmer this summer, but you say it's not a rarity for the summer temps to get about the mid 90s? So far this season, today makes the 8th day above 95 during an over two-month time period.

I checked last year's calendar and I also remember him saying it was unusually warm in 2010, and Atlanta had 20 days above 95 from June 14 through September 11. Not too bad for a three-month time period. Nevertheless, I wouldn't want their weather either. It's all way too warm for me.

That is so deceiving. Sure, the actual temp in Atlanta may not get above 95 that often, but what you need to look at is the heat index. The actual temperature doesn't reflect how hot it actually feels. Almost every day the last 2 or 3 months in Atlanta the heat index has been over 95, many days over 105. Most days in Atlanta are between 90-95 in the summer, but even if its 90 degrees, don't let that fool you. It may actually feel like it's 100 or hotter.

[stan4]

Then again, the best fried green tomatoes I ever ate was in Atlanta...yum...

[Canine*Castle]

Originally Posted by matt8325

That is so deceiving. Sure, the actual temp in Atlanta may not get above 95 that often, but what you need to look at is the heat index. The actual temperature doesn't reflect how hot it actually feels. Almost every day the last 2 or 3 months in Atlanta the heat index has been over 95, many days over 105. Most days in Atlanta are between 90-95 in the summer, but even if its 90 degrees, don't let that fool you. It may actually feel like it's 100 or hotter.

Au contraire. Texas has heat indexes too. I was just trying to give the OP some points about the weather in both places. He or she may check all that out. When one has lived in Dallas and Atlanta, I would think that would weigh a little bit as to which place is better (or worse) in the summer. Personally, and I might have said this before, I hate all southern summers. It's just that some places/states are worse than others.

Keep in mind that one BIG word to me during heat waves is DURATION. It does make a difference how long it all lasts.

[stan4]

Lol...we've had this 'heat wave' here, but at least it's been dry. I went up to NYC to see a Broadway show a couple weeks ago and it was cooler by 8 to 10 degrees, but the humidity knocked me off my butt!!!!

So much for restaurant week - I could barely eat with all the heat.

[Exult.Q36]

We can go on and on about which is better but in the end "Money Talks", "Bull **** walks".

[leavesNpetals]

I just talked to a friend in Marietta a little while ago. It's 75 degrees there so they get breaks and it's a rarity for the temperature to exceed the mid 90s. This year has been warmer there than usual. Dallas does not get breaks. He is from Dallas and loves the climate in the Atlanta area. Yes, there are some humid days, but they don't last long and he has no A/C. He said the heat in Dallas "knocks one over" and there is no way he could live here again without A/C. It's different in GA. If you hate heat, chose Atlanta if the rest of your pros outweigh the cons. They have seasons; Dallas has horrid heat for five to six months. Also, the winter in Atlanta is great. He loves it. Yes, colder than Dallas, but there isn't a problem with that. It's pretty safe to say Atlanta gets four distinct seasons that don't last month after month after month. Dallas does not!! Atlanta cools down a bit at night and some nights, quite nicely.

I love reading forum entries but I rarely contribute. Yet I just joined this forum because the comment above was so incorrect I wouldn't want anyone to read that and take it as gospel. I currently live in Atlanta and have had the opportunity(?) to move around the country from some of the hottest areas to some pretty chilly ones, Wisconsin being my residence prior to Atlanta.

This year has been warmer than usual, yes. But it is not a rarity for temperatures to exceed the mid 90's. It is a rarity to break 100, but it is also a rarity when a summer day doesn't exceed the low to mid 90's. That's in 20 years I've been here. And as for the breaks your friend tells you about, there are a scattering of days where the temps reach only the high 80's due to unusual conditions, but those are very rare indeed, and that humidity still persists. Those are perhaps 3-5 days out of the entire summer.
To say 'some humid days' is so very misleading. My neighbors are from Texas, their son lives in Dallas. The humidity in Dallas doesn't hold a candle to the humidity here. It is miserable and unrelenting during the summer. And I lived and grew up in South Florida.
And he lives without A/C? How I don't know. I don't know or have known anyone in Atlanta lives without A/C unless they are so unfortunately poor they cannot afford one. One lives the summer running from the A/C'ed car to the A/C house, from the A/C house to the A/C store, etc. And the nights don't cool down until about this time of year (September). During the summer they may not remain in the 90's, but high humidity and 70's and 80's is not comfortable in my book.
The rest of the comment is accurate. We do have the 4 seasons, and they each last almost 3 months each. You can almost time it.
All things considered, I would still choose Atlanta over Dallas climate wise (and for other reasons). But I moved here from Wisconsin believing the climate was one thing, and it wasn't. I wouldn't want to mislead someone else into doing the same.
But I love Atlanta (even more if I could get away from it June, July and August). Been to Dallas many times and it's just not a place that appealed to me personally. Although that's why God must have made so many different climates. If I had the finances, I would pick up my family and move to one of a couple of places I would love the weather, because in that regard, Atlanta isn't one of those for me.

[Nimish72]

Atlanta averages 40 days a year over 90 degrees and zero days over 100 degrees. Dallas averages 110 days a year over 90 degrees and 20 days a year over 100 degrees. Atlanta just had 29 days this August over 90 degrees...a new record. The average is only ten days. That's right a mere 10 days in our August...again, August, average. People will dwell on a rare heat wave, but forget many mild summers in Atlanta. Consider this:

2003: Atlanta had only 7 days over 90 degrees the entire year
2004: Atlanta had only 16 days over 90 degrees the entire year
2005: Atlanta had only 25 days over 90 degrees the entire year.

Also, dewpoints over 75 are rare and lows over 80 are rare. Did you know the last time Atlanta saw 100 degrees in July was over a decade ago in 2000?

Sure Atlanta can get a heatwave, but Atlanta's hottest temps are Dallas's normal. Dallas averages 27 days over 90 in August....Atlanta sets a record in doing so. Atlanta averages a mere 3 days in September over 90....sure in 2010 there were 19 days in Sept over 90 degrees....but people will forget that the 19 days in Sept 2010 was more than the previous 13 Septembers combined in Atlanta. In Dallas it would be a normal September.

Atlanta can get hot.....it can also stay very mild. Memories are short.

[RainyRainyDay]

Oh it's the climate perception battle again. I'm with leavesNpetals. I've been here nine years, moved from the Pacific northwest, and from a west-coast perspective, Atlanta summers are very long and very hot. It could well be worse in Dallas, for all I know. But it's all relative. The notion that Atlanta summers could in any way be described as "mild" just astonishes this west-coaster.

[jsimms3]

Moving up from FL, Atlanta summers at first seemed cooler to me. If I had to guess, I would think Dallas gets hotter and hotter for longer than Atlanta, even with the humidity here. I have been to Dallas in the summer and in the fall, and I have been to plenty of hot, dry climates. 105 degrees is super hot with or without the humidity,

Don't forget 2 summers ago we barely stayed in the 80s, let alone the 90s. May and the first part of June were hot, but then July and August were reminiscent of September, early October. There will be a high of 76 here on Labor Day

I'll take Atlanta's climate and the city of Atlanta over Dallas any day of the week. I can't stand Dallas and it is probably my least favorite city of all.

[kayrob]

Originally Posted by jsimms3

Moving up from FL, Atlanta summers at first seemed cooler to me. If I had to guess, I would think Dallas gets hotter and hotter for longer than Atlanta, even with the humidity here. I have been to Dallas in the summer and in the fall, and I have been to plenty of hot, dry climates. 105 degrees is super hot with or without the humidity,

Don't forget 2 summers ago we barely stayed in the 80s, let alone the 90s. May and the first part of June were hot, but then July and August were reminiscent of September, early October. There will be a high of 76 here on Labor Day

I'll take Atlanta's climate and the city of Atlanta over Dallas any day of the week. I can't stand Dallas and it is probably my least favorite city of all.6

76? What do you have your own weather forcasting company? I have no dog in this fight because i'm neither a proponent or opponent of either place but when people start fabricating things. The only way it will be in the 70's tomorrow is if all of those holiday cookouts are marred by rain.