The Heat? How is it? (Atlanta, Savannah: home, shop, moving)

[thedudewiththeplan]

Not a fan of the Georgia heat, gives me bad headaches. I actually found the heat in metro Atlanta worse than the heat here in Augusta (heat island thing I suppose). The thing with the thunderstorms in the spring as well is that they tend to bring severe weather (tornado's and such).

[billl]

Originally Posted by matt8325

There is no break in the summer heat in Georgia, unless you consider 80 degrees a break !!!

Yes that's exactly what I mean. A high of 80 means most of the day is in the 70s. That can be very pleasant weather, especially when compared to the usual summer day that starts off at 80 and gets in to the upper 90s. So yes, I would call that a break.

By comparison, in Houston it was near 100 degrees with 95% humidity every day from May until September.

Bill

[DPAT]

Originally Posted by neil0311

The heat is no worse, and in many cases less humid than NY. The difference is that it starts earlier and lasts longer, and everywhere is air conditioned. Unlike in the northeast (I'm a native NYer), all houses have A/C, as do all businesses. There are very few 100 year old buildings here. Nothing is worse than a heat wave in NY without A/C.

The tradeoff is that you get the flip side in the winter, with a short amount of cold weather, usually in January, and mostly mild weather (compared to NY) for remainder of the winter, and every few years you get an inch or two of snow that melts the next day. It's a little warmer than normal here this week at around 70 degrees, but normal temps in early-Feb are still in the mid-50's and by mid-March the normal high temps are in the 60's.

100% Agreed. NY summers can be a beast. Especially when I'm visiting my mom and she's trying to conserve energy by using fans in lieu of AC. I'm like are you kidding me!!?? Also you are on point with you AC assessment... central air is standard in Atlanta homes but a rare luxury in NY.

[FizEdCoach]

Originally Posted by billl

Yes that's exactly what I mean. A high of 80 means most of the day is in the 70s. That can be very pleasant weather, especially when compared to the usual summer day that starts off at 80 and gets in to the upper 90s. So yes, I would call that a break.

By comparison, in Houston it was near 100 degrees with 95% humidity every day from May until September.

Bill

That's the thing about hot summer days...it's only REALLY hot for about 4 hours or so - 11 am to 3 pm. When there is a high temperature of 95 degrees, it peaks around noon and begins to drop after that...so it's really only miserable for a couple of hours.

[kaday]

I've lived all over (except the Northwest in case rainy is reading this) and for the most part it is hot everywhere in the summer. I expected it to be really bad here. Really it hasn't been. Yes it is hot in September. Yes there are two weeks in August when it is really hot. But overall the climate here is wonderful. I lived in the DC area for 9 years and that was awful. Nothing like that here. Much more pleasant.

[KeyserSoze]

Originally Posted by billl

By comparison, in Houston it was near 100 degrees with 95% humidity every day from May until September.

95% Humidity? Bit of a stretch. In order to have 95% humidity, the dew point would have to be somewhere in the 90s. Hardly anywhere in the world gets that humid. But yes, a dewpoint in the mid to high 70s from May to September is hell if you're not used to it.

As for Atlanta summers, it depends where you come from. But it's generally hot and humid. On average, highs are in the mid80s-mid90s, and lows are in the high60s-mid70s, with a dewpoint in the high 60s-mid 70s. There's some slight relief, due to its elevation and geography, but its location balances that out.

[Tristan840]

I think as we get older too the heat seems less tollerable. Ive grown up in the south, and use to love, I mean LOVE the hot summer months, sitting at the pool all day, surfing in the ocean, as long as there was sun I was out there, but now, even though I still love all that, it seems like Im not out as much as I use to and the heat seems to wear me out quicker. Any thoughts? Just my opinion..

[matt8325]

Originally Posted by FizEdCoach

That's the thing about hot summer days...it's only REALLY hot for about 4 hours or so - 11 am to 3 pm. When there is a high temperature of 95 degrees, it peaks around noon and begins to drop after that...so it's really only miserable for a couple of hours.

It's not just about the temperature, it can be absolutely miserable outside when it's only 80 degrees. It's all about the humidity, which is usually very high in Atlanta in the summer. Most summers are fairly tolerable in Atlanta when compared to Dallas, Houston, etc. But there are occasionally summers where it's hotter in Atlanta than even in Texas. Summer 2007 was a good example. It was rainy, cool much of the summer in Texas, and hot and dry in Atlanta.

[emilybh]

Originally Posted by matt8325

There is no break in the summer heat in Georgia, unless you consider 80 degrees a break !!! Pretty much every day from late May to early September it's 85+ degrees. Occasionally it will get up to 105 degrees or so. Summer 2007 was particularly hot.

That sounds gorgeous! Even if the heat index was 95 degrees every day, it still sounds like it would feel about 20 degrees cooler than it feels like here in Charleston, SC. Even the ocean water temps get well above 85 degrees here. There is no excaping the heat except to go inside where it is air conditioned.

[roxyrn]

It is hot and humid, but what can you expect in the summer unless you want to live somewhere such as Maine? I just got back from NYC and it was just as hot (if not hotter) than here in Atlanta, but the city tends to hold in heat and odors much more than being here.