Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The interior west is very dry air in the summer, but the West Coast isn't especially so. Los Angeles sees average summer dewpoints of 63F and Portland, Sacramento, and Vancouver BC see average dewpoints of 58-59 and often get up into the mid-60s.
Compared to the 70F+ you find in the east this may not be humid but the idea that you will never feel sticky or hot on the West Coast is ridiculous. A temperature of 95F with a dewpoint of 64F is pretty miserable even if the RH is only in the 30s.
I remember more than a few muggy days when I lived in L.A. Mainly when I was living in the Fairfax area. Still, it was nowhere near comparable to the East or Gulf coast... where the humidity is pretty much constantly 60% or higher throughout most of the year. Comparing Western humidity to Eastern is like comparing a stick of dynamite to Hiroshima.
It's because we rarely get humidity, and the little humidity we do get doesn't compare to that of other states.
But it's just not true. LA has average dewpoints above 60F/15C for three whole months. It's nearly as humid as somewhere like Minneapolis, yet people act like it's Vegas.
The interior west is very dry air in the summer, but the West Coast isn't especially so. Los Angeles sees average summer dewpoints of 63F and Portland, Sacramento, and Vancouver BC see average dewpoints of 58-59 and often get up into the mid-60s.
Compared to the 70F+ you find in the east this may not be humid but the idea that you will never feel sticky or hot on the West Coast is ridiculous. A temperature of 95F with a dewpoint of 64F is pretty miserable even if the RH is only in the 30s.
Have you been on the East Coast in the summer? I've lived in Phoenix for over 30 years and have never sweated as bad as when I was in Massachusetts during summer.
Can't say I completely understand dewpoints, but LA is almost always cool in the early morning, heats up a lot in the daytime, and the temp drops fast after the sun goes down. That suggests little moisture in the atmosphere for most of the day.
Can't say I completely understand dewpoints, but LA is almost always cool in the early morning, heats up a lot in the daytime, and the temp drops fast after the sun goes down. That suggests little moisture in the atmosphere for most of the day.
A dewpoint is an absolute as opposed to relative measurement of humidity. If the dewpoint is 63F, that means at that temperature the air would be 100 percent saturated with water.
The interior west is very dry air in the summer, but the West Coast isn't especially so. Los Angeles sees average summer dewpoints of 63F and Portland, Sacramento, and Vancouver BC see average dewpoints of 58-59 and often get up into the mid-60s.
Compared to the 70F+ you find in the east this may not be humid but the idea that you will never feel sticky or hot on the West Coast is ridiculous. A temperature of 95F with a dewpoint of 64F is pretty miserable even if the RH is only in the 30s.
Incorrect, on average, for 4 months straight in spring/summer/fall, at the warmest time of the day SACRAMENTO has near Perfect humidity levels, Neither Bone Dry like the Southwest, Nor sticky humid like much of the Midwest, South, Texas and Florida. Average Dew points of 52-55. If the dew point reaches 60, it's usually cool enough not to make a difference.
For the last 3 months, Sacramento averaged 10-20% Humidity levels, with dew points of 52-55.
It can be very "humid" anywhere on the California Coast and often is because the Cold Pacific onshore flow, but it's 50-70 degrees on average and rarely has the effect of making it feel uncomfortable regarding heat, especially in Northern California, the North Coast, Bay Area, and the Central Coast. SoCal has a bit more of a chance of humidity/dew points reaching a point where it becomes uncomfortable.
You have to actually live here for awhile to fully understand the differences.
Incorrect, on average, for 4 months straight in spring/summer/fall, at the warmest time of the day SACRAMENTO has near Perfect humidity levels, Neither Bone Dry like the Southwest, Nor sticky humid like much of the Midwest, South, Texas and Florida. Average Dew points of 52-55. If the dew point reaches 60, it's usually cool enough not to make a difference.
For the last 3 months, Sacramento averaged 10-20% Humidity levels, with dew points of 52-55.
It can be very "humid" anywhere on the California Coast and often is because the Cold Pacific onshore flow, but it's 50-70 degrees on average and rarely has the effect of making it feel uncomfortable regarding heat, especially in Northern California, the North Coast, Bay Area, and the Central Coast. SoCal has a bit more of a chance of humidity/dew points reaching a point where it becomes uncomfortable.
You have to actually live here for awhile to fully understand the differences.
Thank you.
The stuff you see on this site sometimes....
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.