Subtropics Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 I don't really understand. It doesn't even get that hot around here. A day or two a year with heat indices around 110 is really not that bad. Doesn't pretty much any major city in the south east of the Mississippi away from the ocean have a worse summer than us? Heck even drier areas such as Texas still have it worse than us. Ya they are dry but when it is 115 degrees I don't care how dry it is. Is 95/70 really some of the worse summer weather in the US? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidlothianWX Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 I don't really understand. It doesn't even get that hot around here. A day or two a year with heat indices around 110 is really not that bad. Doesn't pretty much any major city in the south east of the Mississippi away from the ocean have a worse summer than us? Heck even drier areas such as Texas still have it worse than us. Ya they are dry but when it is 115 degrees I don't care how dry it is. Is 95/70 really some of the worse summer weather in the US? Humidity blows dude. I'll take 115 and dry over an outdoor sauna. I pay a gym membership for that sort of thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subtropics Posted March 7, 2013 Author Share Posted March 7, 2013 Humidity blows dude. I'll take 115 and dry over an outdoor sauna. I can go to my gym for that crap. Is DC humidity really worse than the humidity in the deep south? I know DC is technically a swamp but I am sure Orlando, Atlanta and Little Rock have worse summers than we do. Am I just ignorant? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestWind Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I grew up in southeastern Virginia. I then lived in Charlottesville for about 10 years as a young adult (very similar climate to DC). The problem with the summers in VA is not so much the absolute highs, but the fact that the heat goes on for weeks on end without relief. Recent years in Norfolk have had periods of close to a month in the summer when the temperature never falls below 70 degrees. Is it worse than the deep south? I guess it would depend. The deep south has a higher frequency of thunderstorms than VA does. So while the average temperature and humidity is just as high or higher than DC, relief more often comes mid-afternoon. I've not lived there, but I've spent time in SC and FL during the summer. Heat and humidity feel worse in both places, but by mid-afternoon there generally are storms to cool things down. From a storm quality perspective, VA does tend to get more interesting thunderstorms (at least during the summer, spring is a different matter) because they are far enough north to occasionally still see some dynamics in the summer. Whereas in the deep south the storms are nearly all pulse type and dissipate in an hour or two. After living in Virginia nearly all my life, I then lived in the Midwest (Indianapolis) for 6 years. There certainly were uncomfortable days there in the summer, probably some worse than in VA. But they generally don't last more than a week before more comfortable weather returns. I enjoyed not having to deal with extreme heat and humidity so frequently there in the summer. Summer heat would not likely keep me from wanting to live in Indianapolis again; in Virginia it would be a major consideration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmlwx Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I don't really understand. It doesn't even get that hot around here. A day or two a year with heat indices around 110 is really not that bad. Doesn't pretty much any major city in the south east of the Mississippi away from the ocean have a worse summer than us? Heck even drier areas such as Texas still have it worse than us. Ya they are dry but when it is 115 degrees I don't care how dry it is. Is 95/70 really some of the worse summer weather in the US? I'm not saying somebody didn't say that - but I'm not sure anybody in this forum has said that DC has the "worst" summers in the United States. I'm not sure ANYBODY likes 98 degree days with a high dewpoint. Besides...if you live in the deep south you just kind of have to expect it. I personally complain about the summers because our house just doesn't deal with it very well. I have a window a/c unit and I can run it all afternoon and bring my temp down into the upper 60's but the insulation (no attic) is so bad in our house and the main a/c doesn't reach the upper floor very well. Within 2 hours or so my room is back up near 80 degrees and humid. It is brutal. I'm sure I would complain about DC summers less if we had a "normal" house. Still...I'll take some misery if it means some good storm activity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Chill Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I think the only issue is unrelenting HHH for long stretches. I can deal with 90 no prob. It's 10 days straight at 95 with air so thick you can chew it and you sweat your eyeballs out going to the mailbox at 10am. I don't mind summers overall but I do a lot of outdoor stuff. We typically don't get many breaks from Jul 1st through mid august. We used to get breaks more often but not the last couple. Kinda like not getting snow only different Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoVaWx Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I actually enjoy the hot and humid days, especially if there is a chance for thunderstorms in the afternoon. Something about those type of days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeffsvilleWx Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 DC > Iraq. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amped Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Pretty much everywhere you go except extreme coastal areas, high elevations and Alaska have bad summers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disc Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Maybe I'm weird, but I like heat and humidity. When it gets over a 100 degrees with DP's in the high 60's, then it's miserable, but I'll take a 90 degree day with humidity, over a 30 degree day with winds gusting out of the NW at like 30mph any day. Cold + wind sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodhi Cove Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Thanks to the last few brutal summers, I've switched my preference. I'd rather deal with wind chills in the single digits for a couple days at a time, than weeks of 105-118 degree heat index. Last summer proved that even being buck naked doesn't help in cooling off. And in the wrong locations, might result in unwelcome attention from neighbors or LEOs. I'll take flannel, electric blankets and hot tubs instead of air as thick as mayonnaise, energy sapping heat and cold showers any day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattie g Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Many people view DC summers through the lens of the last three years, much like how we all think that DC sucks at snow. Summers in DC can be really hot, but in general I can take it without too much discomfort. The problem with the last three years is that we jumped into heat really early in the year and never got much relief from it - and that happened three years in a row. It's no big deal to me to have a few days of 90+ with high humidity. It's summer, that's what is supposed to happen. But when you have a week of humid 95+, followed by an 89, 91, and 93...and then back above 95 for another week - that's tough to handle (especially if you don't get much rain to go along with it). Luckily that doesn't usually happen here, but, again, similar has happened recently so we all feel like that's the norm now. "What have you done for me lately?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WxUSAF Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 DC > Iraq. Hope that helps. But it's a dry heat in Iraq. Although we had one freaky day with 70F dews and temps in the upper 90s during September. Horrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nj2va Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I love summers in DC. I look forward to the mid 90s and high humidity every summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastCoast NPZ Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I've spent time in central FL in the early and middle of July. It is no worse than the heat/humidity of this area. It can be - and often is -95+/70+ for days and days on end here without a drop of cooling rain. In FL you could almost set your watch to the 3- 4 PM thunderstorms that fired up daily and cooled things off. I imagine the deep south like MS and AL are every bit as bad (and a little worse) than here. I will say that the worst weather I've ever encountered was at Myrtle Beach. Made the mistake of going there in mid-August several years back. It was around 100 each day and barely went below 80 at night. The sea breeze provided no relief; It was the most miserable I've ever been. I will never go back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattie g Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I've spent time in central FL in the early and middle of July. It is no worse than the heat/humidity of this area. It can be - and often is -95+/70+ for days and days on end here without a drop of cooling rain. In FL you could almost set your watch to the 3- 4 PM thunderstorms that fired up daily and cooled things off. I imagine the deep south like MS and AL are every bit as bad (and a little worse) than here. I will say that the worst weather I've ever encountered was at Myrtle Beach. Made the mistake of going there in mid-August several years back. It was around 100 each day and barely went below 80 at night. The sea breeze provided no relief; It was the most miserable I've ever been. I will never go back. We go to Hilton Head a couple times ever year to visit my in-laws, and one of those time is usually around the Fourth of July. The thing with the heat there is that it almost never gets above 94 or below 78 at that time of year, but you can pretty much bet it'll be 90-92 during the day and 80 at night every day unless there's a lot of rain around. And it's humid as hell - just horrible humidity. Nonetheless, I love it down there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Balti Zen Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 One thing I immediately noticed upon moving to Baltimore from Memphis, TN in August of 2009 was the fact that a good chunk of the older homes in Balt still rely on open windows/fans or window unit air conditioning for relief from the summer heat. In terms of the combo of heat and humidity, starting in the 2010 summer here, I have found it be VERY similar between Memphis and what Baltimore/DC has experienced for summer conditions in the last three summers. The difference is that in Memphis, pretty much everyone has central air or otherwise is able to really cool down their homes between June and early September. In Baltimore, it feels to me like there are more homes that are not as easily cooled, which exacerbates the heat issues. All of this is anecdotal and very probably not even right, but my off-the-cuff take is that IF we are in a warmer summer regime up here now, that more work will need to be done to get homes cool than has been required in the past. You might be able to ride out a 2-3 hot streak with a box fan or what not, but when it drags 2-3 months, that requires other means to cool living spaces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2O Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I can live with the heat(not really) but I can't stand the dry stretches we seem to be getting consistently every summer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeffsvilleWx Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 But it's a dry heat in Iraq. Although we had one freaky day with 70F dews and temps in the upper 90s during September. Horrible. I can't stand when people say that. Dry or not, 125+ degrees is infinitely more miserable than anything DC gets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowfan Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Looking back to Summer 2012 and heat...... DCA: June High Temps >= 90: 11; Average: 6.3; Max high: 104 July High Temps >= 90: 22; Average: 12.4; Max high: 105 August High Temps >= 90: 15; Average: 8.4; Max high: 98 IAD: June High Temps >= 90: 9; Average: 5.6; Max high: 102 July High Temps >= 90: 18; Average: 11.6; Max high: 101 August High Temps >= 90: 8; Average: 8.9; Max high: 95 BWI: June High Temps >= 90: 11; Average: 5.2; Max high: 103 July High Temps >= 90: 21; Average: 9.7; Max high: 104 August High Temps >= 90: 8; Average: 6.5; Max high: 96 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WxUSAF Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I can't stand when people say that. Dry or not, 125+ degrees is infinitely more miserable than anything DC gets. It was tongue-in-cheek. It never (or very rarely) gets that hot actually. We had a max temp of 121F, but basically 2 months straight of 110+ and 4-5 months of 100+. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Chill Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Ive been to the southwest in the summer s couple times. Its pretty darn hot during the day. 110 dry heat is slill freekin hot. But there is relief every night. You can feel it the second the sun drops. Evap cooling from sweat is magic even as the evening temps are still in the 90s. We don't get that relief here. 85 and soup on the patio after the sun goes down is still a dripping sweatfest. Garrett county is a different world. Many locals don't have ac and those that do don't have to run it 24/7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WxUSAF Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Ive been to the southwest in the summer s couple times. Its pretty darn hot during the day. 110 dry heat is slill freekin hot. But there is relief every night. You can feel it the second the sun drops. Evap cooling from sweat is magic even as the evening temps are still in the 90s. We don't get that relief here. 85 and soup on the patio after the sun goes down is still a dripping sweatfest. Garrett county is a different world. Many locals don't have ac and those that do don't have to run it 24/7. One of my friends in grad school is studying heat waves and their public health impacts. The nighttime low is a huge discriminator for the public health side of things. If people can't open the windows after dark and cool off, it seriously exacerbates the health problems and risks. There are different "heat wave" criteria, but overnight lows of 75F+ or 80F+ for more than 2 or 3 consecutive nights are a couple that have apparently been used in the literature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeffsvilleWx Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 It was tongue-in-cheek. It never (or very rarely) gets that hot actually. We had a max temp of 121F, but basically 2 months straight of 110+ and 4-5 months of 100+. We had a 2 week stretch of 125-130, but otherwise it averaged around 110 during the summer. When I was in southern Arizona for training, you could watch the polish melt off your boots when standing in formation on pavement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WxUSAF Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 We had a 2 week stretch of 125-130, but otherwise it averaged around 110 during the summer. When I was in southern Arizona for training, you could watch the polish melt off your boots when standing in formation on pavement. Were you down south near Basra? Army? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isohume Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I've never said that, although they are nothing to write home about. I've always said DC has bad winters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeffsvilleWx Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Were you down south near Basra? Army? Yeah, army. I was working on the flightline at Taji (about 15k north of baghdad) for just under a year. There was a big digital thermo outside of the chow hall. The temps on it aligned fairly well with the METAR data that we received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I wish it was 95 right now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MN Transplant Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I wish it was 95 right now In New England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidlothianWX Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Can't say I've ever experienced this though. http://youtu.be/cewZG53Rqtg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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