How humid is Austin?? (Houston, West: how much, property taxes, to live in)

[urbantraveler]

Been reading some posts about weather/humidity, etc. and am trying to figure out how humid Austin is in the summer months, which I guess would be from May to October. I currently live in NYC (which can be fairly humid) and was wondering how it would compare. I know Austin is not as humid as Houston, but was wondering how humid it was overall. And I know the temperatures can get pretty hot in Austin.

Boy, I'd sure like some good BBQ right about now!!!

[jennared77]

I was born and raised in Austin and it gets so humid there you about want to die..lol If you want sticky, Austin is the place to be. Seriously though, Austin is so wonderful of a town to live in it is worth being a bit sticky.

[texastea]

I think I've said this before but my sister from Houston hates it here because her skin feels dry, so how it "feels" is relative. ; ) The truth is it depends on how the wind blows, literally! When we get breezes from the gulf and some rain, its humid. When the wind is from the West or North, then its drier...static-electricity-and-no-dew-on-the-grass dry. Check out Welcome to The Weather Underground : Weather Underground to see the humidity %, the only real objective way to do it. : )

[texastea]

When I posted, humidity in Austin was 49% and in New York, NY it was 41%. We have a tropical depression in the gulf so we could be affected by that in the next few days.

[Moonlady]

Normally, Austin is not that bad, but this year was quite an exception. I find it a nice balance between the East coast which I think is too humid and the West that is too dry. Certain times of the year are worse - May and June mostly. It gets really hot when the humidity is the lowest, so fortunately you don't have the combination of too hot and humid at the same time. Of course it's all relative depending on what you are used to. I think Houston is a lot more humid.

[cdelena]

Originally Posted by texastea

When I posted, humidity in Austin was 49% and in New York, NY it was 41%. We have a tropical depression in the gulf so we could be affected by that in the next few days.

Relative humidity is not good for comparison as it varies with temprature... a better measure of comfort is dew point which tells you how much moisture is in the air (as compared to how much it can hold). Here is a guideline:

"Humans tend to react with discomfort to high dew points. Those accustomed to continental climates often begin to feel uncomfortable when the dew point reaches between 15 and 20 °C (59 to 68 °F). Most inhabitants of these areas will consider dew points above 21 °C (70 °F) to be oppressive.

Dew Points
20+C (68F) Oppressive
18C (64F) Sticky
16C (61F) Humid
13C (55F) Comfortable
10C (50F) Refreshing"

So do some comparisons and you will find Austin is very humid compared to the western states but comparable to those in the east.

[texastea]

That's very interesting, but I don't agree with the adjectives...that's the relative part (not the weather term "relative" but the human term : ) ) The dew point here right now is 64 and it FEELS very comfortable to me, not sticky.

[KewGee]

Originally Posted by texastea

That's very interesting, but I don't agree with the adjectives...that's the relative part (not the weather term "relative" but the human term : ) ) The dew point here right now is 64 and it FEELS very comfortable to me, not sticky.

A dew point of 64 isn't bad if you're just sitting, but don't do anything physical or you'll sweat and feel crummy. I did that last night mowing the lawn. It was not comfortable, but definitely much better than normally for a September evening.

NYC right now has a dew point of 47%. Now that really sounds delightful.

[gregandvicky]

You probably need to visit and see for yourself. Of course the humidity may be high or low depending on where you are coming from,
We had months worth of this summer where the temperature was 95 degrees and the heat index(what is really feels like) of 104 to 106 with the humidity level in the 85% range. To me that is horribly humid. We have been here three years and are leaving for two reasons. High property taxes and the humidity.

[texastea]

There's one thing I like about humidity : ) Good skin ; )