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115 degrees, low humidity (Phoenix, Las Vegas, etc.)

4 (8.7%)

100 degrees, moderate humidity (Dallas, San Antonio, etc.)

3 (6.5%)

90 degrees, high humidity (Houston, Miami, etc.)

28 (60.9%)

All are equally bad.

11 (23.9%)

Total Members Voted: 46

[wxfree]

I'm from the DFW area, with moderate humidity.  I've been to Houston in summer.  Going outside in the morning was like walking into a pool of hot water.  Afternoon didn't feel quite as wet, but it was hotter.  It's definitely worse than what we get (most of the time, we had some days with a 115 degree heat index early this summer because it was raining so much). 

The worst to me is low humidity.  The deserts in west Texas usually don't get extremely dry, but I've been there when it happened.  Temperature of 110 and 2% relative humidity, my eyes were watering, my nose was running, and my throat was dry (just like what happens in the cold), and the bare ground was baking, reflecting the sun's heat, so it was like the sun shining from above and below.  It hurt.  That was  over 15 years ago when I was younger and heat didn't bother me, but it still hurt.  I think it's because I'm accustomed to the semi-humid weather of my homeland and the semi-dry conditions the Texas desert get normally, but that was my first time in very dry heat.

[CtrlAltDel]

I know that this is going to come across as subjective, but the worst kind of heat is whatever kind I am currently experiencing. And it's the same for cold, too, to be honest. It's one of the reasons I miss Santa Barbara, since the temperature was only rarely outside my comfort zone.

That said, I am currently in College Station TX, and so I would vote for whatever that is, but I'm not sure if it's the second or the third on the list.

[oscar]

Having just suffered through steambaths in the Houston area, I have to go with option 3. Re: option 1, the saying is "but it's only a dry heat".

Have any of us actually experienced 115 degree weather, and if you have, what is it like? I haven't experienced much over 100.

Not at length, but I experienced ~120-degree heat in the bottom of Death Valley in mid-summer. Almost no humidity, felt much more comfortable than the near-100% summertime humidity at much lower temps where I live.

[jeffandnicole]

Have any of us actually experienced 115 degree weather, and if you have, what is it like? I haven't experienced much over 100.

I've experienced this in Vegas a few times. I much prefer their 115 degree, low humidity days to NJ's 95 degree, high humidity days.

I will say it's actually more uncomfortable when I'm out at midnight, and the temp is still 100 degrees. It feels uncomfortable because the mind thinks it should be cooling down a bit by then.

[Road Hog]

Give me Dallas humidity all day long over Houston or New Orleans.

Little-known fact: Yearly rainfall average in Dallas is 37.1 inches, and in London, England is 27.2 inches.

[kphoger]

Have any of us actually experienced 115 degree weather, and if you have, what is it like? I haven't experienced much over 100.

I've experienced this in Vegas a few times. I much prefer their 115 degree, low humidity days to NJ's 95 degree, high humidity days.

I will say it's actually more uncomfortable when I'm out at midnight, and the temp is still 100 degrees. It feels uncomfortable because the mind thinks it should be cooling down a bit by then.

I've experienced it as well.  Southern Utah and Las Vegas in July.  I think it topped out at 116° while I was there.  I think the best way I can describe it is this:  the way I feel after being in 105° weather for five minutes is the way I feel after being in 115° weather for one minute.

[webny99]

Southern Utah and Las Vegas in July.  I think it topped out at 116° while I was there.  I think the best way I can describe it is this:  the way I feel after being in 105° weather for five minutes is the way I feel after being in 115° weather for one minute.

If you're thinking in terms of minutes, that proves that it's definitely dry heat.  You'd be thinking in terms of seconds if it was humid at that temperature.

[bing101]

Have any of us actually experienced 115 degree weather, and if you have, what is it like? I haven't experienced much over 100.

I did I know in Sacramento 115 in some years would be the highest temperature  reached in the Valley it raises concerns over wildfires and your car would feel like an oven.

[zachary_amaryllis]

this is 2021 for chrissakes.

we have the technology. we should never have to experience temperatures over 65 or less than 60.

[vdeane]

this is 2021 for chrissakes.

we have the technology. we should never have to experience temperatures over 65 or less than 60.

Make that 75/70 for me.  I guess I now know who to blame the next time I'm shivering in the office because the AC or heat is set way too cold.

[wanderer2575]

this is 2021 for chrissakes.

we have the technology. we should never have to experience temperatures over 65 or less than 60.

Make that 75/70 for me.  I guess I now know who to blame the next time I'm shivering in the office because the AC or heat is set way too cold.

You and I would not do well together at the office.  I like to keep the thermostat set to Meat Locker.  I tell people:  You can put something on, or I can take something off -- choose wisely.

[zachary_amaryllis]

this is 2021 for chrissakes.

we have the technology. we should never have to experience temperatures over 65 or less than 60.

Make that 75/70 for me.  I guess I now know who to blame the next time I'm shivering in the office because the AC or heat is set way too cold.

i'm scared.

my mother often complains that i have the air on too much in my car. there is no 'too much'. i'll sacrifice my 10hp or whatever it is to keep my car frosty inside.

You and I would not do well together at the office.  I like to keep the thermostat set to Meat Locker.  I tell people:  You can put something on, or I can take something off -- choose wisely.

[achilles765]

As much as I love Houston, the humidity is what makes the heat so miserable. I have never been west of San Antonio, so I dont know what the dry desert heat is like, but I know that when its sticky and humid, it makes the heat even more oppressive because its not only hot, but it feels heavy...like the heat is weighing you down.  I love when late October hits and it gets cool...I actually loved how cold this past winter was...I was even ok with the winter storm until the power went out.  And even then, it wasn't the cold that bothered me as much as the not having my iPhone, PS4 and lights

[MikieTimT]

High humidity.  There's no relief at night as moisture holds heat much better than dry air, so nighttime lows rarely get below the upper to mid 70's.  I personally can't sleep any hotter than 76.  The main reason that the South was sparsely populated until the last 6 decades or so, was that it was almost unlivable until the advent of air conditioning, especially south Texas and Florida.  People who lived there prior couldn't be very productive in the summertime as heat indexes as high as they get sap the energy out of you, and the shade only helps a little during midday.

[CoreySamson]

Further backing up my opinion on how humidity makes heat worse, this afternoon I was out doing yard work and it actually felt really nice! Today's high was 91 (usually when it gets that hot in Houston, it's miserable), but today the humidity was low due to a "cold" front pushing out the stagnant humidity. I lasted for about as twice as long as I usually do if I'm doing anything outside in the summertime. My family even could sense that the humidity was gone even before going outside!

[achilles765]

this is 2021 for chrissakes.

we have the technology. we should never have to experience temperatures over 65 or less than 60.

Make that 75/70 for me.  I guess I now know who to blame the next time I'm shivering in the office because the AC or heat is set way too cold.

I’m generally comfortable between 55 and 67. I keep the ac at 62/65 at all times and during winter sometimes I don’t even turn on a heater. It has to be under 55 usually before I break out a heater. My dog, a Siberian husky mix, get cold before I do

[achilles765]

Further backing up my opinion on how humidity makes heat worse, this afternoon I was out doing yard work and it actually felt really nice! Today's high was 91 (usually when it gets that hot in Houston, it's miserable), but today the humidity was low due to a "cold" front pushing out the stagnant humidity. I lasted for about as twice as long as I usually do if I'm doing anything outside in the summertime. My family even could sense that the humidity was gone even before going outside!

You are absolutely right. It has felt pretty great the past few days. I have been enjoying my walks with the dog and we have been able to start taking our long ones again. When it’s hot, we usually go around the block once and then we are both done and ready to head back inside. But this week we have gone around the neighborhood every time. I’m noticing it’s making him happier too.

[jgb191]

I believe the hottest I've ever felt in my lifetime was 122 degrees when I was visiting near Carlsbad in New Mexico back in June 1994, still stands as the hottest temperature in NM state history.

[index]

The heat of the sunshine coming out immediately after it stops raining. Sunshine while or after rain, in my opinion, is the single worst weather type. No matter what temperature it is, the air feels disgusting. So humid.

[jgb191]

Speaking of 120's, the next summer after 1994 in southern NM, I was in Phoenix the next summer in July 1995, when a powerful heat wave gripped the desert southwest, far more powerful than the globally covered Chicagolan heat wave that occurred just days prior to that.  I was in Phoenix when they reached the city's second highest temperature of 121 degrees, so you could say I experienced 120+ degrees in back-to-back summer.

That desert southwest heat wave went mostly unnoticed by the media and country even though the the temperatures were way more intense, but the one in the Great Lakes region had global coverage, probably due to the higher number of fatalities in Chicago and it being a more globally renowned city than Phoenix.  I believe the respective heat waves were separated by only a week or two apart in July 1995.

Edit:  Just looked it up

7/13/1995 -- 103 high & 83 low at O'Hare Int'l AP (second-highest in its history)
7/25/1995 -- 121 high & 90 low at Sky Harbor Int'l AP (second-highest in its history)

[JayhawkCO]

As kind of the opposite version of this question, the coldest I've been recently was in New Orleans when it was 49° and drizzly.  With all the humidity, it chills you to the bone.  I went hiking in -11° weather in Rocky Mountain National Park this past February and was roasting by comparison.

Chris

[skluth]

I live in Palm Springs where it hits 120°F every summer. I'll take that over the 90°F and 90% humidity I experienced daily on Diego Garcia (7°19' S latitude, so it was within the ITCZ from Thanksgiving through March) in the Navy.

[jgb191]

When people talk humidity, it's really the dew point that tells you how intense the humidity is.  RH is expressed as a % and only tells you how close to saturation the air is, but the dew point truly indicates how much actual water vapor is in the air.

For example on a typical August Day:

Dallas: temperature of 98 degrees + 75 degree dew point = Heat Index of 111 degrees -- RH would be 48%.
Milwaukee:  temperature of 80 degrees + dew point of 70 degrees = Heat Index of 83 degrees -- RH would be at 63%

Milwaukee has a higher RH, but Dallas has a higher dew point, so the Temperature-HI separation in Dallas is greater than that in Milwaukee.

I should also add that when the dew point reaches 75 degrees, it starts to feel quite uncomfortable at any temperature.  Anything less than 70 degrees is tolerable.  Anything past 80 degrees, which is typical here along the western half of the Gulf Coast, is very uncomfortable.

[skluth]

^
Definitely. The dew point when I was on Diego Garcia was rarely below 80°F from Thanksgiving to the end of March. 90°F temps with an 85°F dew point is a killer. (I was an AG2 working in the weather office. I also did weather balloons.) The dew point in Palm Springs when the temps get above 115°F tend to be under 20°F and may be in single digits. I've even seen negative dew points, though not with temps that high. 115°F is still ungodly hot though.

[Max Rockatansky]

Phoenix was always more tolerable than Orlando.  The humidity factor brings nothing but misery.