Is Houston's climate underrated? (San Diego: schools, living in, move)

[lookitsrobss]

Def underrated. September to May are wonderful. It’s only June to August that are really bad.

[DanielWayne]

I love Fall and Spring. Summer can be tough though.

[nana053]

Originally Posted by lookitsrobss

Def underrated. September to May are wonderful. It’s only June to August that are really bad.

I disagree because the humidity makes it feel hot even when the temperature is reasonable and the temperature is mostly not cool. Spring and Fall are often very wet with lots of rain.

https://www.weather-us.com/en/texas-...climate_text_1

Houston has a humid subtropical type of climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with long, hot and humid summers and short, mild winters.

The worst time to visit Houston is in the blazing summer and the transitional periods that together last from May to September when the conditions are hot, humid and harsh. The long summer has temperatures that regularly cross 95°F (35°C) and many times go beyond 100°F (37.8°C). The heat is unbearable to tourists from the temperate regions, more so due to the high humidity. Summer is prone to thunderstorms, tornadoes, and flooding as the season receives the highest amount of rainfall in the year.

[Mr. Clutch]

Absolutely underrated, outside of the summer the weather here is very good. I love the warm winters personally.

[lhafer]

I would say a lot of this view comes with the saying...The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. People here hate the heat/humidity and want to live elsewhere. People with bad winters want to live here because they are tired of the harsh winters. I've lived in Texas all my life, and in Houston for almost almost 20 years. I despise Houston's summers and always have. Have lived in the San Antonio area, Austin, and the DFW. They don't have the humidity that is here. In the summers, I tend to take long trips to cooler, drier places and can't tell you how much more I enjoy those places than I do spending time in the summer in Houston.

Originally Posted by ScrappyJoe

I'd say that a lot of the perception stems from how maladapted Houston's culture and design are to the climate and landscape. That truly exacerbates any challenges that come with city's natural setting, topless of negating any enjoyment. Whether it's constant sprawl that increases flooding through wiping out native land, or rigid Oil and Gas corporate cultures calling for traditional heavy-business suits in the middle of July. In a city full of 9-5 worker-bees, there's just no time to pick up on the nuances of the landscape.

Contrast that with Arizona and Florida cities, with infrastructure built specifically with the enjoyment of the setting at hand. And a population full of retirees, jet sets, and other demographics happy to enjoy the land, as well as life in general. The locals of those cities are bound to have more pleasant attitudes towards their setting.

Here are some things to do in Houston: Walk some greenbelts and bayou trails (and get eaten alive by the mosquitos), boat on Lake Conroe or Livingston (These activities aren't really in HOUSTON, and many don't have water sport accessories because they don't live close enough for it to be worth it. And many don't use Lake Houston unless they happen to live on it), go to Galveston's beaches (Again- not in HOUSTON where the water is murky, and occasionally has life-threatening bacteria in it), go to a theme park (oh wait - they tore it down years ago). Some people bike/run/do outdoor activities in the summer, and my hat off to them. It's just not for me.

Arizona has a very dry climate, and the heat there is definitely experienced differently. Was just there a couple of weeks ago on vacation and noticed that even with 100degree temps, I wasn't drowning in my own sweat, shade was actually cooler, and it was just much more pleasant to be in. We were out and about all day long. The heat wasn't oppressive and heavy. As a matter of fact, I barely noticed the heat at all, because it didn't slap me in the face like a hot wet sponge the moment I opened the door.

Florida tends to be just has hot and humid as Houston, but has a nice coastal breeze that helps negate some of the heat. But prettier beaches line the outer rim and amazing swamplands and huge theme park prevail in the middle - both providing fun and recreation that Houston doesn't and can't have.

Originally Posted by ScrappyJoe

On the contrary, those seasons are very nice in Houston and the coastal South, much nicer than the rest of the country outside of portions of the Desert Southwest. Very solid, stable warmth, not much (if any) worry about deep cold snaps or severe thunderstorms/tornadoes to ruin things.

You are right - we have a great spring and fall weather....all 3 weeks total of it. The winter brings rain, and damp cold is awful. Again - I love cold weather, would prefer cold to hot. But here cold brings rain, and occasionally ice. Not snow. Not something fun that I can be outdoors enjoying or playing in.

I've always said Houston is a great place to work. Then you can take the money you make working and vacation and travel elsewhere.

[swopoe]

Been in Houston for 15 years. Went to Maine for vacation a few weeks ago. Absolutely beautiful summer weather. My kids needed sweatshirts. It was a dream. My son wanted to move there. Then I thought about 90 inches of snow per year, and well, we are staying put in Houston. (But we are sure going back to Maine for summer vacation again.)

[tstone]

Coming from a native who has been in W. Penn. for awhile. Houston doesn't deal with 6 months of freezing temps, avg 45'' of snow per year (sometimes 80), ice storms, thawing & refreezing, etc. It does rain less inches per year up here but it is mostly a constant drizzle in lots of dreary days instead of getting hammered, which can be exhilarating to watch. Houston has a fair amount of clouds but is still much sunnier and brighter all year. Houston is never 'dull & dreary' except for a couple of weeks in Jan-Feb... no seasonal affective disorders or vitamin D deficiencies. Yes summers up here are very nice, but that doesn't make up for the rest of the year if I had to choose one place to stay. So yes- underrated.

[kemahkami]

Originally Posted by nana053

I disagree because the humidity makes it feel hot even when the temperature is reasonable and the temperature is mostly not cool.

Not really an issues during spring and fall, where the humidity isn't at peak, and there's still chance of frontal passages that dry out conditions.

Originally Posted by nana053

Spring and Fall are often very wet with lots of rain.

https://www.weather-us.com/en/texas-...climate_text_1

Much of that rain those seasons is concentrated only in handfuls of days, and mostly within periodic El Nino years. The averages are skewed, the actual day-to-day rainfall frequency isn't very high those months. In fact, the graph in your link indicates the spring and fall as being the least frequent rainfall periods of the year: April, for instance, is the lowest at 6.8 days.

[kemahkami]

Originally Posted by lhafer

Have lived in the San Antonio area, Austin, and the DFW. They don't have the humidity that is here.

All those cities have far less summer reprieve than Houston. They are a bit less muggy, but still enough to induce uncomfort. And they don't have the chances of summer cloud cover, sea-breeze, and rainfall frequency as seen in Houston. Hence they often have worse summer heat indices than Houston. Not nearly as bad as South Texas, however.

Here are some things to do in Houston: Walk some greenbelts and bayou trails (and get eaten alive by the mosquitos), boat on Lake Conroe or Livingston (These activities aren't really in HOUSTON, and many don't have water sport accessories because they don't live close enough for it to be worth it. And many don't use Lake Houston unless they happen to live on it), go to Galveston's beaches (Again- not in HOUSTON where the water is murky, and occasionally has life-threatening bacteria in it), go to a theme park (oh wait - they tore it down years ago). Some people bike/run/do outdoor activities in the summer, and my hat off to them. It's just not for me.

All issues pertaining to ease-of-access and lack of utilization, another consequence of the city's maladapted design and culture.

Arizona has a very dry climate, and the heat there is definitely experienced differently. Was just there a couple of weeks ago on vacation and noticed that even with 100 degree temps, I wasn't drowning in my own sweat, shade was actually cooler, and it was just much more pleasant to be in. We were out and about all day long. The heat wasn't oppressive and heavy. As a matter of fact, I barely noticed the heat at all, because it didn't slap me in the face like a hot wet sponge the moment I opened the door.

It's a pretty varied state, you have to be more specific where you were. Conditions up at elevation/mountains aren't the same as boiling low deserts like Phoenix or Yuma. The latter areas have true heat sensation far worse than anything seen in Houston, those desert cities actually have nights where the temp doesn't fall below 90F. Additionally, a sizable portion of Arizona experiences a summer monsoonal cycle during July and August, with moisture surges from the Gulf of California: it can get quite humid in parts of that state, on top of 100F+ heat.

Florida tends to be just has hot and humid as Houston, but has a nice coastal breeze that helps negate some of the heat. But prettier beaches line the outer rim and amazing swamplands and huge theme park prevail in the middle - both providing fun and recreation that Houston doesn't and can't have.

Obviously the case, because all the major Florida cities, sans Orlando, are concentrated right along shore, where they can achieve the full comfort of the sea-breeze, and have significant money available to care for any beach degradation. Great example of proper adaptation to the setting.

"Swampiness" is one of the chief complaints people have for Houston's setting, interesting to see the amazement for Florida's. As for theme parks, those can always be constructed.

You are right - we have a great spring and fall weather....all 3 weeks total of it.

Yep, because the remainder of those seasons offers awesome, exhilarating weather.

The winter brings rain, and damp cold is awful. Again - I love cold weather, would prefer cold to hot. But here cold brings rain, and occasionally ice. Not snow. Not something fun that I can be outdoors enjoying or playing in.

Yes, so much frolicking and wintry-fun to be had in deep dry, sub-zero cold in Iowa...

Winters here drag a bit, true, but still a solid respite from what is seen in much of this country.

I've always said Houston is a great place to work. Then you can take the money you make working and vacation and travel elsewhere.

And that's the mentality that leads to the mal-adaption here..

[Redlionjr]

Houston's climate is decent to meh but underrated it is NOT. I grew up in East Texas where fall and winter were generally nice cool temps. Summers were hot but didn't have to worry about extreme humidity like in Houston. Underrated is not what comes to mind when I think of Houston's climate.