Rate Austin's weather

[G Grasshopper]

Originally Posted by cBach

I'd probably say a 7. Pretty good because the winter is short and doesn't last very long and the summer is mostly dry. One thing that bothers me is the lack of consistent rain from year to year (either very dry or very wet) and the constant change of temperatures in the winter. I mean a couple of weeks ago the highs were in the low 40's, now the highs are in the 80's. But I'll take that over the weather in the Northeast and Midwest - they are currently in the single digits right now.

This is something that does bother me some, and a good part of the reason I would give it a 5 rating. Austin has a true continental climate in that the weather is not modified by a large body of water. If you live within an hour of a coast (especially one that faces west,) your winters are less cold, your summers less hot, and hot and cold fronts are blunted by the heat-sink effect of the water. Here, you can have a warm day followed by a freezing night because a cold front suddenly rolled in. Someone on another thread said that Austin was something like Sacramento weather, and this is pretty true, as they also have no coastal influence, so swings are faster, and more extreme. Anyway, that is why I would give Santa Barbara close to a 10, because it is moderate all the time.

[ashpelham]

Never been to Austin, but I've been to Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and a few smaller places. Seems like summer there would be rough.

I'm chiming in, as I am interviewing for a job in Austin. I'm desperate to get out of Alabama. And Austin is a great place, other than the heat, from everything I am hearing and reading. Humidity? Can it paralell Birmingham or Mobile, AL? Doubt it. It's a soup here for 3-4 solid months every year. And guess what? It's still humid in December, as we rarely get a cold front through here to wash out the Gulf Of Mexico moisture. I'll add to that: Alabama and Mississippi are the real Tornado Alley. I know the Southern Plains get their fair share, and more pub because you can see the storms. Here, the storms come at night, and are hidden by rain and trees and valleys.

So, I'd rate Birmingham's weather a 5, bc we do have a nice fall and spring. No higher because summer blows, and winter is just a gray, miserable 50 and wet. 60 inches of rain per year, sometimes coming down in sheets. Low wages, and lower education levels. I have to think Austin would beat this.

[veloman777]

7 or 8.

We do get a fair number of real cold days in the winter. The summer? I really don't mind the heat. Sure I prefer 90 instead of 105, but 105 is still way better than 40.

I can't find another decent progressive city in the US that has as good of a climate as Austin. That's why I moved here and have come back after retreating for a few months.

Now, I don't work an outside job, and ride an electric bike, rarely in a car. When it was 35 degrees with 20mph winds a few weeks ago, I was still out on my bike. I don't huddle up in ice cold AC in the summer though. 78-80 indoors, and just try to avoid being in the sun during the day.