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Location: Baghdad by the Bay (San Francisco, California)
3,530 posts, read 5,135,780 times
Reputation: 3145
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yn0hTnA
Searing heat and ungodly humidity? Please, summer in Houston, and the rest of the Coastal South, contrary to popular belief, is nothing, practically a breeze; with the cooling rainstorms, sea-breezes, fluffy clouds in the sky, and loads of subtropical flora for shade, the conditions of Houston and the rest of the Coastal South, from the humidity, to the heat, become virtually indistinguishable Amazon, or the Congo, hence the term jungle paradise.
The vast majority of the many thunderstorms that occur in Houston, and the Coastal South, during summer are the maritime tropical "air-mass" thunderstorms exactly like those seen in the tropics. As dramatic as they are, with the awesome lightning shows, and epic rainfalls, they are not really severe, and often do not have the damaging winds you describe. A well developed thunderstorm system with decent length will indeed cool down the air, and provide some of the most comfortable conditions that can be experienced, due to both the rain cooling the air, and the thunderstorm gusts. Walking outside will feel like a dream after such a thunderstorm, without any rising steam, musky aroma, and thick air to be experienced. It is the quick 5 minute "drive-by" showers where relief isn't provided.
Prolonged drought? A "drought" in Houston would be a deluge in much of the rest of this country. The many waterways, and bayous would still be full in a Houston "drought." Water will still be flowing from the faucets in a Houston "drought". The ground cracks are more of a behavior of the gumbo soil type common in Houston, and other cities on the Gulf/Atlantic Coastal plain, than they are an indicator of "intense dryness." And drought would be among the last things to worry about in Houston, along with the rest of the Southeast, anyways.
Tropical storms and urban flooding do indeed affect Houston, yes, but that is a risk the city shares with the rest of the Coastal South. Flooding problems from storms in Houston result more from drainage system designs, and infrastructure than from the climate and landscape; as of late, Houston has been revitalizing, and making use of the natural bayou landscape, which helps to alleviate flooding problems by soaking water like a sponge.
Complaining about the climate of Houston and the rest of the Southeast US because of ice storms is like complaining about the climate of Coastal California because of tropical storms; the two weather events are so rare and occasional in the respective locations, that it is not worth using their occurrences to judge the climate.
Study of extremes? Now you are just being silly; the vast majority of cities would fit that description better than Houston does. Plenty of cities in the Midwest(especially), Northeast, South, and even parts of the West have more extremes in their climate than Houston does.
Plenty of people appreciate the tropical allure provided by the summers in Houston and the Coastal South, and do indeed feel like they are in the Garden of Eden. Others, mostly nerds and couch potatoes, like to waste time complaining about humidity, bugs, sweat, and other insignificant things. Houston, and the rest of the Coastal South, experience gorgeous mild falls, winters, and springs, and capture all the beauty of the tropics during summers. Rainfall and sunshine is plentiful, as is lush subtropical flora. Very decent compared to much of the country.
I remember smoking my first bowl...
Why are you telling me this? I lived in Houston for more than 20 years. The pics here are not from a single event:
I ain't gonna lie - Houston is muggy, and it also gets some pretty severe weather (hurricanes, flooding, etc). I am glad I live further north (Tyler area) where to me, the weather is just about perfect (except for today - rainy and in the 30s - but hey, it's January for pete's sake!).
People are always saying it's muggy in northeast Texas, to which I reply, "Hey - I lived in GA, SC, NC and VA (on the coast) - this humidity is mild compared to that." It's all relative.
No, it is not. It's a query of every major metropolitan area in the Northeast, Midwest and South since 1960, using official National Weather Service observations. Don't like the numbers? Run your own damn query, provided you even have the resources.
There is not much seen in those pics that other cities in the country haven't experienced.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
I ain't gonna lie - Houston is muggy, and it also gets some pretty severe weather (hurricanes, flooding, etc). I am glad I live further north (Tyler area) where to me, the weather is just about perfect (except for today - rainy and in the 30s - but hey, it's January for pete's sake!).
People are always saying it's muggy in northeast Texas, to which I reply, "Hey - I lived in GA, SC, NC and VA (on the coast) - this humidity is mild compared to that." It's all relative.
How ironic that a person in Northeast Texas is talking about severe weather in Houston. The mugginess and storms in Houston, and the rest of the Coastal South are about as severe as that of the paradises of the tropical world, from Zanzibar to Singapore to the Maldives.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gnutella
No, it is not. It's a query of every major metropolitan area in the Northeast, Midwest and South since 1960, using official National Weather Service observations. Don't like the numbers? Run your own damn query, provided you even have the resources.
My mistake; I didn't see that your starting year was 1960. I was accustomed to the 1980-2010 normals.
I think the problem with the premise of the OP is what is considered to be extreme.
The average surface temperature on Earth is approximately 58 degrees. The U.S.'s average temperature skews a bit lower, at around 53 degrees, which isn't too surprising when you consider we have virtually no land in the tropics (and a fair amount in Alaska).
Regardless, slightly below freezing temperatures are not extreme weather within the context most Americans are used to. It's just my own personal opinion, but anything down to around 20 is easy to manage if properly attired. Just wear a coat, hat, gloves, and you're good to go. It's when it gets colder you get into the face burning territory where it's just damn unpleasant to be outside at all.
In contrast, as I've said in numerous threads, I think summer temperatures in the 80s can feel quite unpleasant - particularly coupled with high humidity. Hot weather is much more difficult to deal with in terms of dress than cold weather as well, at least if you work in an environment where some level of formal dress is required (e.g., you cannot go to work in shorts and a t-shirt. If I wear more than one layer of clothing when it's in the 80s my shirts get soaked through with sweat pretty damn quickly. I cannot understand how people in the South deal with it.
I think the problem with the premise of the OP is what is considered to be extreme.
The average surface temperature on Earth is approximately 58 degrees. The U.S.'s average temperature skews a bit lower, at around 53 degrees, which isn't too surprising when you consider we have virtually no land in the tropics (and a fair amount in Alaska).
Regardless, slightly below freezing temperatures are not extreme weather within the context most Americans are used to. It's just my own personal opinion, but anything down to around 20 is easy to manage if properly attired. Just wear a coat, hat, gloves, and you're good to go. It's when it gets colder you get into the face burning territory where it's just damn unpleasant to be outside at all.
In contrast, as I've said in numerous threads, I think summer temperatures in the 80s can feel quite unpleasant - particularly coupled with high humidity. Hot weather is much more difficult to deal with in terms of dress than cold weather as well, at least if you work in an environment where some level of formal dress is required (e.g., you cannot go to work in shorts and a t-shirt. If I wear more than one layer of clothing when it's in the 80s my shirts get soaked through with sweat pretty damn quickly. I cannot understand how people in the South deal with it.
As you said, it's relative.
My husband is from Texas but works up in PA (the Pittsburgh area in fact) for two weeks out of every month and he HATES the weather up there. He wonders how YOU guys deal with it - LOL.
In contrast, as I've said in numerous threads, I think summer temperatures in the 80s can feel quite unpleasant - particularly coupled with high humidity. Hot weather is much more difficult to deal with in terms of dress than cold weather as well, at least if you work in an environment where some level of formal dress is required (e.g., you cannot go to work in shorts and a t-shirt. If I wear more than one layer of clothing when it's in the 80s my shirts get soaked through with sweat pretty damn quickly. I cannot understand how people in the South deal with it.
I'd rather have that than 20s. Why would you wear more than one layer anyway?
Location: Baghdad by the Bay (San Francisco, California)
3,530 posts, read 5,135,780 times
Reputation: 3145
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
As you said, it's relative.
My husband is from Texas but works up in PA (the Pittsburgh area in fact) for two weeks out of every month and he HATES the weather up there. He wonders how YOU guys deal with it - LOL.
I think Austin-San Antonio has my favorite weather in Texas. It still gets stupid hot and is a bit humid, but it does cool down most nights. It doesn't usually rain enough, but when it does, it's a big one.
My level of adaptation to Texas weather in Houston reached the point that I would grow tired of the gray, humid, cool (sometimes cold) winter and get excited for our pool water to hit 80 degrees in Spring. That was my threshold to swim. That would take me through mid June or so. By August and September I was dying for relief from the onslaught of heat, humidity, mosquitoes and frequent storms. I adapted and found ways to make the best of it, but it was far from conducive to outdoor activities.
I didn't like feeling sticky right out of the shower. I didn't like always sweating with the top down while driving. My glasses would fog every time I walked outside. I hated that nights didn't really cool off, and in fact, seemed warmer and stickier. I also hated the extremes of moldy, soupy days, or blazing hot, dry days for months in a row with no respite. I rode out a couple of tropical storms and hurricanes, ice storms, tornadoes, droughts, three or four "hundred-year flood events," where people died, etc. in Houston, too. It's wasn't boring, I'll give you that.
I do recall the few odd weekends in Houston's Spring or Fall that there would be the Westheimer Art Festival or something like that going on and the city would come alive because it would be so beautiful--clear, sunny, cool and perfect.
I lived in Dallas for a couple of years and found it to be the worst weather imaginable. I'll concede that I liked how some nights would be cooler than I was used to in Houston. It's definitely drier humidity-wise than Houston, but it's hotter, stormier and more extreme on either end. I was convinced that I was witnessing the seven signs of the coming apocalypse, living through Dallas weather.
I live in Russian Hill, San Francisco now, and we have those "perfect" sunny, cool days consistently 8-9 months of the year. The other days it's a mix of either foggy, rainy, or hot (80s, but dry), spread out among the other 3-4 months with rarely more than a few days the same during that time. It's better for me.
I think Austin-San Antonio has my favorite weather in Texas. It still gets stupid hot and is a bit humid, but it does cool down most nights. It doesn't usually rain enough, but when it does, it's a big one.
My level of adaptation to Texas weather in Houston reached the point that I would grow tired of the gray, humid, cool (sometimes cold) winter and get excited for our pool water to hit 80 degrees in Spring. That was my threshold to swim. That would take me through mid June or so. By August and September I was dying for relief from the onslaught of heat, humidity, mosquitoes and frequent storms. I adapted and found ways to make the best of it, but it was far from conducive to outdoor activities.
I didn't like feeling sticky right out of the shower. I didn't like always sweating with the top down while driving. My glasses would fog every time I walked outside. I hated that nights didn't really cool off, and in fact, seemed warmer and stickier. I also hated the extremes of moldy, soupy days, or blazing hot, dry days for months in a row with no respite. I rode out a couple of tropical storms and hurricanes, ice storms, tornadoes, droughts, three or four "hundred-year flood events," where people died, etc. in Houston, too. It's wasn't boring, I'll give you that.
I do recall the few odd weekends in Houston's Spring or Fall that there would be the Westheimer Art Festival or something like that going on and the city would come alive because it would be so beautiful--clear, sunny, cool and perfect.
I lived in Dallas for a couple of years and found it to be the worst weather imaginable. I'll concede that I liked how some nights would be cooler than I was used to in Houston. It's definitely drier humidity-wise than Houston, but it's hotter, stormier and more extreme on either end. I was convinced that I was witnessing the seven signs of the coming apocalypse, living through Dallas weather.
I live in Russian Hill, San Francisco now, and we have those "perfect" sunny, cool days consistently 8-9 months of the year. The other days it's a mix of either foggy, rainy, or hot (80s, but dry), spread out among the other 3-4 months with rarely more than a few days the same during that time. It's better for me.
Like I said, it's all relative. You hate the humidity of east Texas. To me, a native of New Orleans, it's not particularly humid and it just doesn't bother me. Also, like I said, I've spent most of my life in the deep South and along the East Coast (lower half) so hot summers, big storms, etc just aren't even noteworthy to me - they're part of life. I actually admit that I like big thunderstorms!
That being said, to me Houston is sort of like Oklahoma City when it comes to weather extremes - I can do without flooding and ice storms and hurricanes, and I agree that Houston has less than ideal weather and wouldn't make my top five list for that reason. But Dallas weather doesn't bother me.
The vast majority of places in the US have less than ideal weather - and the places that have ideal weather subsequently generally have a very high cost of living, as well as other elements that make them a less than ideal choice for me personally. But hey, that's just me.
Location: Baghdad by the Bay (San Francisco, California)
3,530 posts, read 5,135,780 times
Reputation: 3145
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
Like I said, it's all relative. You hate the humidity of east Texas. To me, a native of New Orleans, it's not particularly humid and it just doesn't bother me. Also, like I said, I've spent most of my life in the deep South and along the East Coast (lower half) so hot summers, big storms, etc just aren't even noteworthy to me - they're part of life. I actually admit that I like big thunderstorms!
That being said, to me Houston is sort of like Oklahoma City when it comes to weather extremes - I can do without flooding and ice storms and hurricanes, and I agree that Houston has less than ideal weather and wouldn't make my top five list for that reason. But Dallas weather doesn't bother me.
The vast majority of places in the US have less than ideal weather - and the places that have ideal weather subsequently generally have a very high cost of living, as well as other elements that make them a less than ideal choice for me personally. But hey, that's just me.
Yes, it all boils down to preference. I think we Texans are a bit tougher, too, when it comes to weather. Nothing wrong with that and I understand your preference for Texas weather. Like I wrote, people adapt. For me, a little experience in the pleasant weather of San Francisco casts an unflattering light on Dallas, though:
I lived in Dallas for two years in the late 90s.
- My first day there it was 112 degrees AIR TEMPERATURE (not heat index). At night it "cooled off" to 96 degrees by about midnight. That was hotter and more exhausting than any Houston summer I had ever seen.
- I experienced three tornadoes, one of which I sat through in a convertible, stuck in traffic, while hail pelted my top as the tornado passed above and I could feel my car lift slightly. Another one that year completely demolished downtown Ft. Worth, raining broken glass onto the street and ripping highrise buildings apart. Scary.
- It rained mud from the sky one afternoon due to dust in the air, I'm told. Seriously, it was pretty thick mud.
- There was a "plague of crickets" -- thousands of insects everywhere -- in parking lots, inside stores, etc. It was like walking on bubble wrap. Biting insects were not as big of a problem in Dallas as they were in Houston, though. In SF, they are non-existent, even with year-round open windows.
- Spontaneous fires would break out on roadsides due to heat and drought. Northern California performs much worse in this category, as fires can be huge here.
- During winter it would ice over -- hard, hard freeze on the roads, making them deadly to Texas drivers. SF never freezes.
- The air quality was horrendous, with a visible brown layer over the city most days. In SF, the prevailing breeze off the Pacific keeps the air amazingly clear. Nearby valleys are often worse than Texas, though.
- The tap water tasted of chemicals. In SF our tap water is snow melt from Yosemite National Park--clean, clear and cool right out of the tap.
These aren't all direct weather issues, but all are influenced greatly by it.
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