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Thinking about moving to Kansas but I've heard the summers are hot and humid there and I'm trying to avoid that. Are the Great Plains really that humid compared to Virginia?
It all depends where in Kansas you want to go. Generally the further east and south you go, the more humid it is. If you want dry, live west of I-135 (think Hays, Garden City, Colby, Goodland, or Russell).
Honestly, if I were looking to live on the Great Plains, I'd look at Northwestern Nebraska - Chadron, Scottsbluff, Alliance, Ogallala, or North Platte. Chadron is only 90 mins from Rapid City, and the Pine Ridge area is gorgeous.
Dew point is generally a better metric than humidity, as it doesn't vary as the temperature changes, and gives an apples to apples comparison of how much water is in the air.
Dew point comfort varies from person to person. I personally feel things start to feel noticeably (but comfortably) humid around 50F, a bit soupy around 60F, and pretty uncomfortable by 70F. Dew point often has a relationship with how cool it gets at night, because if the air cools off more, it sheds more of its water at night.
It all depends where in Kansas you want to go. Generally the further east and south you go, the more humid it is. If you want dry, live west of I-135 (think Hays, Garden City, Colby, Goodland, or Russell).
Are the towns near I-135 (of course still west) such as Hutchinson and Goddard humid?
Are the towns near I-135 (of course still west) such as Hutchinson and Goddard humid?
As of this exact moment, the dew points there are a few degrees below what you'd find in, for instance, coastal South Carolina, and higher than you'd find living in a place like Philly or NYC.
Please, please, please, read about and understand DEW POINT. It is the only meaningful measure of moisture in the air. Relative Humidity zigzags all over, depending in the temperature. Dew point is the true measure of how much moisture is in the air, and stays fairly constant through the day. It usually remains fairly close to the overnight low.
Unhelpfully, the TV weatherman never mentions the dewpoint.
The warmer the air, the more vapor it can hold. When dewpoint equals temperature, that's it -- thee air is saturated. Up to 70, a dewpoint is fairly comfortable. Over 75, it's pretty uncomfortable. Regardless of temperature. The highest dewpoint ever recorded in the US was in Wisconsin, almost matching the world record near the Arabian Gulf..
Please, please, please, read about and understand DEW POINT. It is the only meaningful measure of moisture in the air. Relative Humidity zigzags all over, depending in the temperature. Dew point is the true measure of how much moisture is in the air, and stays fairly constant through the day. It usually remains fairly close to the overnight low.
Unhelpfully, the TV weatherman never mentions the dewpoint.
The warmer the air, the more vapor it can hold. When dewpoint equals temperature, that's it -- thee air is saturated. Up to 70, a dewpoint is fairly comfortable. Over 75, it's pretty uncomfortable. Regardless of temperature. The highest dewpoint ever recorded in the US was in Wisconsin, almost matching the world record near the Arabian Gulf..
Individual comfort regarding dewpoint values is certainly subjective. Anything above 60F is overly humid. If it is humid outside, I prefer cooler and humid any day of the week. In winter I prefer less humidity, but not overly dry.
Last edited by GraniteStater; 08-30-2021 at 09:18 AM..
North of Wichita and West of I-35 you really wouldnt have that high of humidity. The highest average humidity level in summer is 21%. Thats pretty low.
North of Wichita and West of I-35 you really wouldnt have that high of humidity. The highest average humidity level in summer is 21%. Thats pretty low.
Yeah, heat and wind are brutal out in those areas, though.
North of Wichita and West of I-35 you really wouldnt have that high of humidity. The highest average humidity level in summer is 21%. Thats pretty low.
Dew point is statistically more significant than relative humidity with regard to how moist or dry the air feels. High dew points and lowish RH will still feel sticky. The current RH at my house is 38%, but it's not at all humid because the dew point is 47 degrees. Right now in Wichita the dew point is a muggy 73 degrees. Air temp 87, heat index 95. Gross.
If OP wants dry, he's not going to find it in Wichita. Do a search for average July dewpoint and you'll see that Wichita and points east have similar dew points to the interior southeast.
I'll reiterate what I said earlier. Dry in Kansas means areas along and west of US-183, and if you're gonna subject yourself to that, go to Chadron or Scottsbluff, NE, instead.
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