Compare Dallas winters to Louisville winters (Atlanta, Nash: apartment, high school, to live in)

[BSL63087]

My dad and I just got back from a 5 day trip to the D/FW area and we were quite impressed. We have been thinking about moving somewhere else in search for a nicer, newer, better city to live in and also get away from the cold and ice during the winter here in Louisville. We live on the Indiana side of the Ohio River, but it is considered a suburb of Louisville. We never really had a place in mind but after seeing the entire D/FW metro area for the most part, we think Dallas might be the place for us.

Could anyone who may have experienced the winter season in both areas or who has a good idea of what it would be like in each compare Dallas winters to Louisville winters?

Louisville is obviously a lot worse than Dallas. We are subject to a big snow anywhere from November though February. A big blizzard (probably not quite as bad as the northeast but still pretty bad) usually hits about once every couple of years or so. It's usually below freezing at least in the mornings pretty much every single day from about late November until around late February. We are tired of the cold, the snow, and the icy windshields during winter. We aren't necessarily looking for 75 degrees daily paradise during winter, but at least somewhere that has a lot less of a winter than we get here.

My biggest question I guess would be, how often does the Dallas area get frost and icy roads and such? If we ended up moving there we would likely end up in an apartment at least at first anyway, and we are wondering how often should we expect to have to bust out the ice scraper in the morning during winter time?

The heat in the summer is not a concern for us. It does get pretty hot here especially around mid-June into August, but we are not at all concerned about that. We are looking to get away from the bad winter and get to a place that has a more mild winter.

[GoPadge]

You can expect at least a half dozen days of scraping frost off the windows and less than a 1/2 dozen days with snow and/or ice. Due to the geography of the heartland, there's not much to stop an Arctic blast from rolling through the area, and when mixed with some moist gulf air, you can get some nice precipitation. :-) But the reverse is true too, there's not much to stop the warm Pacific and Gulf temps from pushing through. You tend to end up with a relatively mild winter with a few bursts of freezing days. Monday can see snow, and by Wednesday you're back in short sleeves.

[hamiltonpl]

It usually snows or ices once a year. Sometimes it sticks. Sometimes it doesn't.

[940]

I had family that lived in Louisville years ago so I know how winter can be there. Trust me, you'll enjoy winter in the DFW area compared to that!

We live in a northern suburb and had to deal with either a little bit of ice or snow on at least four different occasions throughout this past winter and the night time temps fell into the teens more than a few times here in the burbs. That was more winter than in the last few years. Every year though, you'll deal with either a bit of snow or freezing rain/sleet depending on just where you live in this large metro. And while it might be gone within a couple days and the weather will warm up a bit, it'll still be chilly enough that instead of a heavier coat, you could switch to maybe a sweatshirt or light jacket...and maybe short sleeves during a nice sunny 60 degree day as GoPadge mentioned!

[nschmoyer]

When I lived in Dallas, I think the most snow I ever saw on the ground was about 3 inches, and that was enough to cancel school for about 3 days.

[BSL63087]

Originally Posted by GoPadge

You can expect at least a half dozen days of scraping frost off the windows and less than a 1/2 dozen days with snow and/or ice. Due to the geography of the heartland, there's not much to stop an Arctic blast from rolling through the area, and when mixed with some moist gulf air, you can get some nice precipitation. :-) But the reverse is true too, there's not much to stop the warm Pacific and Gulf temps from pushing through. You tend to end up with a relatively mild winter with a few bursts of freezing days. Monday can see snow, and by Wednesday you're back in short sleeves.

If I can expect 6 days a year of scraping off windows, It would be amazing to me. Winters can get pretty bad here, not quite as bad as the northeast but still pretty bad. It seems like I had to scrape my windows off every morning from about January until late February (probably over 50 days).

The weather seems to have what we want. We don't necessarily mind a few cold days or even a little snow, but we are tired of the below 25 temps for 3 months straight with very little or no breaks in it.

[BSL63087]

Originally Posted by nschmoyer

When I lived in Dallas, I think the most snow I ever saw on the ground was about 3 inches, and that was enough to cancel school for about 3 days.

lol, that's funny. I guess it doesn't beat that about 2 years ago my old high school canceled school because the night before the weather report predicted a huge blizzard overnight... I woke up the next morning, checked the news channel and school had been canceled. I then looked out the window and saw absolutely no snow at all. I waited around and waited around... It never snowed. Apparently something in the atmosphere wasn't right for it to snow or something (I don't know much about it) and basically we got the day off from school and it didn't snow a single snowflake.

[940]

Another bit of info that should make you feel good about winter here in the DFW area...the average number of freezes is 41 (days/nights at 32 or below)..although the last few years have been even a bit below that 41 average depending on whether you live in the city (heat island effect) or in a far-flung suburb where it will get colder at night. Compare that to Louisville where days/nights at 32 or below can average about 90 a season.

[Sun Belt-lover L.A.M.]

I think you'd really like the mild/somewhat warm winters. Even the cool-medium subtropical winters of a place like Washington D.C., Nashville/Murfreesboro or Oklahoma City would be nicer than the cool-marginal subtropical winters of a place like Louisville, NYC or St. Louis, but I think you'd really like a warm-medium subtropical city like DFW, Atlanta or Birmingham.

Best of luck moving to DFW! I've visited once, and being up in the Reunion Tower during an April sunset was one of the best experiences I've ever had.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by Sun Belt-lover L.A.M.

I think you'd really like the mild/somewhat warm winters. Even the cool-medium subtropical winters of a place like Washington D.C., Nashville/Murfreesboro or Oklahoma City would be nicer than the cool-marginal subtropical winters of a place like Louisville, NYC or St. Louis, but I think you'd really like a warm-medium subtropical city like DFW, Atlanta or Birmingham.

Best of luck moving to DFW! I've visited once, and being up in the Reunion Tower during an April sunset was one of the best experiences I've ever had.

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