Humidity in Huntsville - Inquiry. (Athens, Fairhope: school, allergies, live in)

[Doc. T.]

Is is possible for someone to give me a brief overview on how humid it gets in your lovely burgh? Also, are high pollen counts an issue in that part of Alabama? Currently, I reside in the E. TN area and it has already been in the nineties, with noticeable humidity, and eye-watering pollen.

As a sidebar, would you describe Huntsville as a walkable community?

Appreciate any comments. Pluy, I enjoy the straight-forward integrity of this forum.
Shalom

[Charles]

You can get pretty good humidity data from this site:

History : Weather Underground

There was quite a thread recently on pollen. Use the search tool.

I can't comment on walkability.

[zenjenn]

Yes, it's humid - I'd guess both the humidity and the pollen are comparable to Tennessee. Not as bad as Florida, and the humidity in the short time I've been here seems roughly confined to a long summer season (running late spring - early fall).

My husband jokes that the streets of Huntsville are literally paved with gold. (As in, yellow pollen. Yes, it is THAT visible for a couple weeks - layers of it everywhere).

No, I would not describe Huntsville as a walkable community. Maybe in a few pockets here and there, but generally no.

I hate to sound so negative. I love Huntsville.

Shalom!

[Seth Parker]

zenjenn is right. Not much to add. Your car will change colors with the pollen! Huntsville's a great place, but like she said, it's only walkable in small pockets.

[Charles]

What exactly is a walkable city and what is one? (LA, HSV are automobile cities; NYC and others use mass transit - are they walkable?)

[Keeper]

We have had 90s too this last week, way too hot for this early. I haven't noticed any really bad pollen recently, but as Zennjenn stated it was bad last month.. let's just say my white car was a light yellow.

Humidity isn't as bad as FL which is where I came from.

Walkable cities in AL.. the only one I can think of is Fairhope in S. AL but that would be only if you live near downtown.

[gsp4ever]

Doc-depending on where you are in E. TN. If you are in Tri-Cities area the heat and humidity is much worse in Huntsville. It doesn't cool off much at night. The lower elevation really makes a difference here. I would compare Huntsville's heat and humidity as more similar to Knoxville and Chattanooga. Pollen and allergies are probably similar, but my perception is a little bit worse here as we can have a warmer winter and my doctor has told me that people tend to have seasonal allergies "year around" in this area, if that makes sense.

[Reactionary]

IMO the word 'enervate' was created just to describe the oppressive heat and humidity we enjoy.

As has been mentioned, the Pollen can be heavy in Spring (everything is literally covered in yellow) and Fall.

As for walkability, it depends. Can you live in HSV without a car? Not really. The Twickenham and Old Town Historic Districts are walkable. Much of Five Points doesn't have sidewalks, but people stroll anyway. The City doesn't have a great sidewalk system, but requires sidewalks now. For example, much of Governors Drive (major thoroughfare) by the hospitals didn't have any sidewalks on either side of the street; as part of the widening project sidewalks are being built.

There are a couple of greenways, with more planned.

[Sarges Dad]

Humidity and pollen are some of the highest in the country. Hate both, but would live no where else.

[harry chickpea]

Interesting that "walkability" is directly tied to shopping. We have a neighbor that walks about a mile alongside our country road most mornings, but shopping is limited to picking poke on the side of the road.

Towns and small cities tend to be more compact and easier to handle without resorting to a car, but you have to be willing to forgo the big box stores that demand acres for parking. Athens has a fair mix of a walkable Courthouse square, nearby grocery, library, laundry, hardware, restaurant or two, and school, all within a 1/2 mile radius.

The town where my grandmother lived was walkable. There was a general store and a bakery within 200 yards of her house, and an inn with a restaurant about 400 yards away. That was about it for businesses, if you didn't count the sawmill.