Difference of feeling between dry heat and humid heat ? (hottest, warm, temperatures)

[Isleofpalms85]

Humid heat is light years superior to dry heat IMHO. In humid heat you know you’re losing water through sweating; in dry heat all or most sweat evaporates quickly, leading to a false sense of security through cooling your body down but at the expense of large amounts of body fluids.Also, humid heat oftentimes leads to afternoon showers and thunderstorms, something that rarely if ever happens with a dry heat.

[LKJ1988]

Originally Posted by Hartfordd

How you know the difference between dry heat and humid heat without knowing the dew point, just by feeling ?
What’s the sensation when the temperature is 36°C with a 24°C dew point and 38°C with a 5°C dew point ?

I sure would. My nose will dry out in any super heated dry air. I hate my dew points of 73 to 84f all summer but would rather face that than a summer out west with sub dew points of under 45f and temps of 100+.

[Marie Joseph]

Originally Posted by Hartfordd

How you know the difference between dry heat and humid heat without knowing the dew point, just by feeling ?
What’s the sensation when the temperature is 36°C with a 24°C dew point and 38°C with a 5°C dew point ?

It's pretty easy to tell just by feel, especially if you are accustomed to humid heat and go to a place with dry heat or vice versa.

Dry heat feels similar to opening up a hot oven and feeling the hot, dry air on your face. You don't sweat as much but you will feel much thirstier and will go through lip balm very quickly. Itchy skin/dry hair and nose bleeds happen, too.

Humid heat will leave you soaked in sweat and the air will feel somewhat heavier to breathe than dry air. It might smell of petrichor or mustiness depending on how recently it has rained.

Of the two, I am most accustomed to and prefer it sticky though not so much hot.

I made the mistake of not paying much attention to the heat in Phoenix since I wasn't sweating much and got into trouble by not drinking enough.

[Florida Heat]

Both types of heat are bad. If you work outside humid probably is better because you dont feel like you are roasting, just boiling. Skin loves humidity also.

[WannabeCPA]

If you experience it enough you'll be able to tell. I haven't heard of any official category for dry heat vs humid heat so it seems to be subjective for each individual. To me a dry heat would be a humidity of around 20% or lower while a humid heat would be 40-50% or higher depending on temperature. To me, judging temperature is a lot easier than judging humidity. There were times when I could have sworn humidity was around 70%+ but when I look at my weather app it's only around 40%. I still guessed the temperature within a few degrees though.

[forgotten username]

I can't stand humid heat personally. DPs above 23c are pretty bad, especially with no breeze at all.





Also when it's dry you're sweating and it dries so you realize you need to drink water, which is not as obvious when you just remain sticky all the time.

[klimkin199]

For me:
40°C, 20% humidity, sunny = 30°C, 80% humidity, sunny = 32°C, 80% humidity, cloudy
36°C, 20% humidity, sunny = 28°C, 80% humidity, sunny = 30,5°C, 80% humidity, cloudy
32°C, 20% humidity, sunny = 26,5°C, 80% humidity, sunny = 29°C, 80% humidity, cloudy
28°C, 20% humidity, sunny = 27°C, 50% humdity, sunny = 26°C, 80% humidity, sunny = 27°C, 80% humidity, cloudy
25°C, 50% humidity, sunny = 24°C, 80% humidity, sunny = 25°C, 80% humidity, cloudy

Yes, you will less sweat, and air will be fresher if there is dry heat. But you will have high UV indexes. Cloudy heat means lower chance to sunburn. It's a tough choice, what is better: humid and cloudy heat or dry and sunny heat.

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by WannabeCPA

If you experience it enough you'll be able to tell. I haven't heard of any official category for dry heat vs humid heat so it seems to be subjective for each individual. To me a dry heat would be a humidity of around 20% or lower while a humid heat would be 40-50% or higher depending on temperature. To me, judging temperature is a lot easier than judging humidity. There were times when I could have sworn humidity was around 70%+ but when I look at my weather app it's only around 40%. I still guessed the temperature within a few degrees though.

Dry heat=dewpoint below 50°F/10°C

[steiconi]

I used to live in windward Hawaii (high humidity); when it hit 80° there, I was too hot and sticky to do anything but sit in front of the fan.

Here in Arizona, 80° is fine for moderate activity, even 90 isn't bad. 100 with a nice breeze is balmy.

[elliedeee]

Living on an island surrounded by water rarely do we ever get a dry heat. It's always humid.. even winters feel colder because of the humidity level. Living with humidity during summer sometimes feels like you're breathing though a wet blanket over your face.
Going swimming doesn't even help sometimes because I'll just come out of the water feeling sticky as soon as I hit the air.

Everything feels damp, and I mean everything. Even the clothes I put on fresh from the closet sometimes feel damp.

It was really humid the other day and I was opening up a cereal box, and even the cardboard felt and tore like it was damp. Humidity is horrible. Luckily I have air conditioning.