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I'll go with Dallas for more seasonal variation due to the cooler winters. Summers seem a little bit milder as well due to lower humidity. Houston has better precipitation though. Also shame on winter instability, reaching -8.5C in an average year.
Overall both are decent climates although summers are too hot.
I would choose Houston’s climate for being more solidly Subtropical than Dallas I.e. Houston has the ability to grow more tropical trees than Dallas could, so Houston for being wetter and for having milder winters.
Just spent Jul 2017 to Jan 2019 in Houston and been in Dallas since January. I should really get a proper feel for Dallas summers soon. It's tough to say which is really worse. Humidity in Dallas (and much of Texas) can be worse than people think. Dewpoints above 70 definitely aren't as common as Houston, but it's not unheard of. Plus more 100+ days and low temps at Love Field are actually more in line with Hobby's and warmer than IAH.
Summer is definitely shorter in Dallas which isn't a surprise. I remember last September/October and in Houston we were just dying to get that first bout of cooler, dry air. Not even like 40s, just the 60s. I lived near KSGR (Sugarland) and after May 17 with a low of 68, we didn't drop below 70 again until October 10th and that was a low of 67. DAL had already dropped into the low 60s in September and 50s by October. Advantage Dallas.
But then a few weeks later, Dallas was stuck in the 40s and 50s while Houston was in the upper 60s which I definitely prefer. And obviously, winters are warmer in Houston though it can still get chilly.
Now, one thing that I think gets overlooked due to the season, is the humidity in Houston outside of summer. If you get south winds off the gulf, it's gonna get muggy. Obviously a muggy 70 isn't as bad as a muggy 90, but it can still be noticeable. Shortly after I moved to Dallas, the temp there and in Houston was around 71/72 on the same day. But, in Dallas the dewpoint was sitting at 60 with clear skies while Houston was at 70 and mostly cloudy. I was glad to be in Dallas at that time, it absolutely feels better and was a prettier day. It also makes a difference in the 80s. I remember a lot of days in Houston in the 80s but that were pretty humid. South winds off the gulf, dewpoints upper 60s/low 70s, plenty of sweating if you're doing anything outside. But here in Dallas so far, we've had a lot of days in the 80s that have been very dry and very comfortable. In fact, most of our warm days so far have been dry. I can only think of one time where a system actually brought substantial moisture up this far. But in Houston, a lot of warm days also come with higher humidity which makes them less enjoyable.
Just spent Jul 2017 to Jan 2019 in Houston and been in Dallas since January. I should really get a proper feel for Dallas summers soon. It's tough to say which is really worse. Humidity in Dallas (and much of Texas) can be worse than people think. Dewpoints above 70 definitely aren't as common as Houston, but it's not unheard of. Plus more 100+ days and low temps at Love Field are actually more in line with Hobby's and warmer than IAH.
Summer is definitely shorter in Dallas which isn't a surprise. I remember last September/October and in Houston we were just dying to get that first bout of cooler, dry air. Not even like 40s, just the 60s. I lived near KSGR (Sugarland) and after May 17 with a low of 68, we didn't drop below 70 again until October 10th and that was a low of 67. DAL had already dropped into the low 60s in September and 50s by October. Advantage Dallas.
But then a few weeks later, Dallas was stuck in the 40s and 50s while Houston was in the upper 60s which I definitely prefer. And obviously, winters are warmer in Houston though it can still get chilly.
Now, one thing that I think gets overlooked due to the season, is the humidity in Houston outside of summer. If you get south winds off the gulf, it's gonna get muggy. Obviously a muggy 70 isn't as bad as a muggy 90, but it can still be noticeable. Shortly after I moved to Dallas, the temp there and in Houston was around 71/72 on the same day. But, in Dallas the dewpoint was sitting at 60 with clear skies while Houston was at 70 and mostly cloudy. I was glad to be in Dallas at that time, it absolutely feels better and was a prettier day. It also makes a difference in the 80s. I remember a lot of days in Houston in the 80s but that were pretty humid. South winds off the gulf, dewpoints upper 60s/low 70s, plenty of sweating if you're doing anything outside. But here in Dallas so far, we've had a lot of days in the 80s that have been very dry and very comfortable. In fact, most of our warm days so far have been dry. I can only think of one time where a system actually brought substantial moisture up this far. But in Houston, a lot of warm days also come with higher humidity which makes them less enjoyable.
Dallas had a month long consecutive streak where the dew point did not get below 70, that was the summer of 2017 IIRC, so while the humidity in Dallas is more moderate than in Houston, Dallas can and often does get stretches of considerable length of oppressive humidity levels during their summers along with the super humid heat and dangerous heat indices.
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Originally Posted by Isleofpalms85
Dallas had a month long consecutive streak where the dew point did not get below 70, that was the summer of 2017 IIRC, so while the humidity in Dallas is more moderate than in Houston, Dallas can and often does get stretches of considerable length of oppressive humidity levels during their summers along with the super humid heat and dangerous heat indices.
The mean July dewpoint in Dallas is 71°F (Houston's is 74°F)
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Dallas doesn't get that much snow any more - certainly not like in the 20th century. I know because I grew up in a similar climate, only a bit wetter (northern Louisiana). Since 2002, I have seen only two major winter precipitation events (2010 and 2011), maybe there were some other smaller ones during my holiday visits, but they didn't have any impact to speak of. These days, winters aren't particularly that cold here any more. Only occasionally will the temperature drop below freezing at all. However, there is still seasonality, only it's different from the Midwest notion of it. Instead of snowy winters and warm to hot summers, we get cool-to-slightly chilly winters and a six week period of VERY hot summers (usually from mid July to the last of August, what I personally call "high summer" - my personal term for it, not a popular widespread term).
Anyway, Houston is warmer, but it's also more humid and is subject to hurricanes. So that tilts me toward Dallas.
I've experienced both and prefer Dallas due to lower humidity and a bit more sun and less rain.
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