Houston Heat? (eat, best, place)

[Nairobi]

Originally Posted by 7ry1an3

I think last summer just fried our grass, pine trees, and memory.

You said it. No matter what, people will always attempt to use 2011 as what should be expected from a Houston summer. I can remember far more wet and "mild" summers in Houston than I can remember any seasons that were even close to what we experienced last year.

Although, I'm not exactly sure what is being debated in this thread.

Do people exaggerate how hot Houston usually gets? Yep.
Is Houston still one of the hottest cities in the nation? You betcha.

[SouthernBoy205]

Have yall had some rain lately?

[Nairobi]

Originally Posted by SouthernBoy205

Have yall had some rain lately?

Plenty.

[jek74]

Originally Posted by Nairobi

You said it. No matter what, people will always attempt to use 2011 as what should be expected from a Houston summer. I can remember far more wet and "mild" summers in Houston than I can remember any seasons that were even close to what we experienced last year.

Although, I'm not exactly sure what is being debated in this thread.

Do people exaggerates how hot Houston usually gets? Yep.
Is Houston still one of the hottest cities in the nation? You betcha.

I wouldn't call it a debate. I just get annoyed when some outsider who is looking at moving to Houston (I'm one of them) and they ask some questions about housing or traffic or jobs and then without fail some guy (or girl) shows up and completely exaggerates about the weather. Saying oh boy, you are going to hate it here, it's like 115 degrees from Feb 1st to Nov 15th! LOL. I get annoyed when people distort the facts like that. Look, I lived in Central Florida for 3 years. Guess what, it gets hot there. You betcha it does. Humid. Shiiiit dog. It get's really really really hot. But I kind of figured it would get hot there. The giveaway was it was central Florida!!!!!!!!! Nobody moves to Florida for the snow. LOL.

[SouthernBoy205]

Originally Posted by Nairobi

Plenty.

We've must gotten some your rain these last couple of days.

[MobileDave]

Originally Posted by jek74

Here are the official "stats".

Climate in Houston, Texas

Enough of the excuse making.

MonthLowHigh

Jan41.2°F62.3°F

Feb44.3°F66.5°F

Mar51.3°F73.3°F

Apr57.9°F79.1°F

May66.1°F85.5°F

Jun71.8°F90.7°F

Jul73.5°F93.6°F

Aug73.0°F93.5°F

Sept68.4°F89.3°F

Oct58.8°F82.0°F

Nov49.8°F72.0°F

Dec42.8°F64.6°F

These are the official records if you would like to get technical. I figured you would because you brought up terms from a 10th grade statistics class.

climate_iah_normals_summary

I'm not usually one to complain about the heat until August. Everyone knows last year was an anomaly as well as this July's cool temperatures and rainfall. Every newscaster - including TWC - has stated that the Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle to Houston is going to see well above average rainfall in July. You talked about standard deviations and means and than used a tiny sample from an outlier (temps for the next 7 days) to prove your point correct. How much different would it have been if you would have posted a 7-day for this time last year?

People tend to exaggerate that have moved here from the N or NE when it comes to the heat in Houston. To a lot of people it may sometimes feel hot toward the end of April when the heat index starts to approach 90. From the end of April through mid October is the time we can see heat indices of 90 or higher. From May through September is when Houston can see heat indices of 100 or over. Remember, in Houston the temperature only has to be 89-90 (or less) for the heat index to be 100. I can recall countless times this summer already where the temp by Ellington Field has been around 95 and the heat index was 105 (and of course the heat wave where it was 116).

The heat index is what matters when you try to avoid heat exhaustion. We saw it this year when the temp was 114 in one part of Colorado but since it was so dry (dew point) the heat index was only 105 and the NWS didn't even issue a heat advisory.

We have pretty much an identical climate to central and northern Florida with regards to humidity. Houston's temperatures in the hottest months actually average 2-4 degrees hotter. We also have more of the Urban Heat Island Effect which should also be taken into consideration.

[ahzzie]

I agree with the OP in that people tend to overexaggerate when they say that it's "boiling hot 9 months out of the year". It's just not true. You want hot? Go to Arizona. Even without the humidity the heat is unreal out there. We have some nice weather outside of the summer months. And really when you think about it, our weather is no different than other cities on the East and Gulf coasts.

[feufoma]

The basic point that people tend to exaggerate about the heat in Houston (and Texas for that matter) is well taken! So many people have this notion that it's always hot. In fact, aside from summer the weather in Houston is much nicer than many places. At least we don't have to deal with the brutal winters.

[vegankris]

Originally Posted by feufoma

The basic point that people tend to exaggerate about the heat in Houston (and Texas for that matter) is well taken! So many people have this notion that it's always hot. In fact, aside from summer the weather in Houston is much nicer than many places. At least we don't have to deal with the brutal winters.

Yes! If you just do your best to acclimate to the heat, then you will be much more comfortable in Houston during the summer. Just yesterday after I left the YMCA on my bike, I actually felt cold. I know it's been cooler this week, but it made me realize how much I've acclimated to the heat of Houston and now I'm sort of dreading cooler weather.

[DanielWayne]

I agree. We get too much "it's so hot it will melt your face from March through November" type comments when in reality 95% of people from colder climates have little problem adjusting. And on top of that, they happily stay. It's that 5% of whiners that stand out, and a lot of them come from a certain place out west. I hear Oregon has a similar problem as Texas.