Most of my outdoor experience that lasts longer than a few minutes involves walking in some form, either from one place to another or around the block. I am comfortable taking a walk with temperatures from 50°F to 80°F, although sometimes as low as 40° if it's a relatively warm day in the winter. 80° to 85° depends on the humidity.
Once, I walked from Portsmouth, NH to Kittery, ME and back at about 88°, but a lot of that was on or near the US 1 drawbridge, and hot temperatures feel at least 5° cooler while over water. (I did a Google search to try to find out exactly how much perceived temperature decreases while over water, but I couldn't find any relevant results.)
What outdoor temperatures are you comfortable with?
My personal preference is 40-60F but that's mainly for distance running. With running it usuallt takes only takes a day or two to adjust to almost any temperature. I try to get out an hour before sunrise so it's cool as possible. I usually hike in the winter when it is as low as 20F in the Sierras. I want to say my coldest hike was in 2013 when it got as low as -14F while I was at the Frisco Mine in Utah. Hot weather isn't my favorite but I used to hike out in the Superstition Mountains in the summer a lot in Arizona when it was well over 100F. I used to carry something absurd like five 32oz bottles of Gatorade and at lest a gallon of water in my pack.
Something worth noting is that the heat index is not, in my opinion, an accurate measure, because it fails to take in to account whether you are in the sunshine or shade. It can feel 20 degrees cooler under a tree vs direct sunlight
Below 85-90 degrees F, and above 0 F.
72F
I can ride my bicycle between 30 and 90, though at the extremes is not necessarily comfortable (and have gone as low as 21 and high as 99 in my life). Walking I prefer cooler; walking in 90 degree heat kills me.
What more kills me though is the sun in the summer. I have an agree to disagree relationship with our nearest stellar neighbor, despite all the life-bringing goodness it provides.
20°F-80°F
Quote from: SectorZ on June 17, 2018, 11:21:36 AM
I can ride my bicycle between 30 and 90, though at the extremes is not necessarily comfortable (and have gone as low as 21 and high as 99 in my life). Walking I prefer cooler; walking in 90 degree heat kills me.
What more kills me though is the sun in the summer. I have an agree to disagree relationship with our nearest stellar neighbor, despite all the life-bringing goodness it provides.
That's what really gets me in the summer months as well. Usually my run routes are mostly eastbound before sunrise and any other direction thereafter. My eyes end up watering really damn badly on a distance run facing the sun once its above the horizon.
For cold temperatures, I can handle to 20° as long as the wind is not too much. I can handle warmer temperatures up to 95°. I took a 4 mile hike in the Everglades when it was 96° in the spring. Last summer I went up Mount Katahadin in Maine when it was about 85°. I try to wear a hat whenever I'm walking far so the sun won't make my head warmer. The most comfortable temperatures are 60-70 in the spring.
I actually like hot weather, like over 90 F. That and the radiant heat of the Sun on a day like that.
But over 98 F gets uncomfortable.
Quote from: Brian556 on June 17, 2018, 09:52:29 AM
Something worth noting is that the heat index is not, in my opinion, an accurate measure, because it fails to take in to account whether you are in the sunshine or shade. It can feel 20 degrees cooler under a tree vs direct sunlight
This is intentional. Temperature and heat index are always based on shady conditions. Sunlight doesn't substantially heat air, the ground and other solid objects are heated by sunlight and heat the air around it by conduction. A thermometer in sunlight will heat above the temperature of the air because it's a solid object, so it wouldn't give an accurate reading. Meteorologists are concerned with the temperature of the air because that's what determines things like convective potentials and barometer corrections, not the temperature of a thermometer in the sun.
There's no accurate way to account for the effect of sunlight exposure, because it's based on many things, such as material composition and thickness, color, intensity of sunlight, time of exposure and how that may have been influenced by passing clouds, wind, etc. Since it can't accounted for, it's ignored and all measurements and calculations are based on shady conditions.
70F is just about right. If it goes much higher it becomes a little uncomfortable after a while.
I can tolerate a Southern 95*F in an unzipped jacket and jeans, which means I can tolerate it with pretty much any clothing less than that. I don't like it, but I'll tolerate it. As for comfort, that generally ranges from 40-72*F, preferably on the lower side. My favorite would probably be mid-50s.
Depending on humidity and wind, my ideal outdoor temperature ranges between 68 and 78.
I've walked up and down the Vegas strip in 100+ (F) temps, without issue (besides sweating, which doesn't bother me). Obviously a dry heat but still damn hot.
That said, the perfect walking temp? Probably mid 60s (F).
My father is mostly unable to sweat (maybe 10% of his skin can produce sweat). Places like Florida are literally uninhabitable much of the year, and he gets uncomfortable above about 80.
Quote from: cjk374 on June 17, 2018, 11:26:35 AM
20°F-80°F
I'd bump the lower bound up to 32 degrees (freezing).
I reckon you would do the same if you lived in an area that has prolonged temperatures between 20 and 32 degrees; it's no fun! :-P
If not doing strenuous exercise, I prefer 70-85 (F).
If running or doing some sport, then 55-70 (F).
Whatever the circumstance, I prefer dew points less than 60 (F)
55-90
For me, it's 10-100. After all, I was born in Chicago and lived in Los Angeles for a while...
What about humidity? I lived a substantial amount of time in Arizona and Florida. There was a massive difference between say something like 85F at 40% humidity versus say 80-90%.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on June 18, 2018, 10:55:02 AM
What about humidity? I lived a substantial amount of time in Arizona and Florida. There was a massive difference between say something like 85F at 40% humidity versus say 80-90%.
Oh, I hate humidity, which is why I'm unlikely to live south of the Mason-Dixon Line any time soon. As brutal as the winters are here, it's a reasonable tradeoff for a summer where you can usually count the number of times it gets above 90 degrees on two hands and it's not so muggy, it rains every afternoon.
Quote from: abefroman329 on June 18, 2018, 11:26:39 AM
it's not so muggy, it rains every afternoon.
If the Great Lakes have anywhere near the impact on Chicago as they have on Upstate NY, I'll bet it's still plenty muggy.
IMO, you rarely, if ever, get true dry heat east of the Mississippi. Heading west changes the humidity levels a lot more than heading north does.
All else being equal, 57F-76F is my long-term preference. Lucky to live where I do; despite a few days in the mid-90's during July-October, for the most part the temperature fits in my wheelhouse. What was unusual was the 3 years I spent out in the Hesperia high desert -- I can count the 100+ days on one hand -- but since my home was at 3400' elevation, that was undoubtedly a factor toward moderating heat. Humidity, on the other hand -- occasionally the Hesperia/V'ville area was subject to "monsoon" winds coming up from the Gulf of California and sticking, for the most part, to the area north and east of the San Bernardino mountains. So for about a week or so each year, the humidity level in the High Desert surpassed that of the coastal areas the other side of Cajon Pass. And to me humidity is much more uncomfortable than heat alone. Where I'm at now (south-central San Jose) can get a bit oppressive in late fall (our "indian summer") in that regard.
Quote from: webny99 on June 18, 2018, 04:00:00 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on June 18, 2018, 11:26:39 AM
it's not so muggy, it rains every afternoon.
If the Great Lakes have anywhere near the impact on Chicago as they have on Upstate NY, I'll bet it's still plenty muggy.
IMO, you rarely, if ever, get true dry heat east of the Mississippi. Heading west changes the humidity levels a lot more than heading north does.
It's far less muggy here than it is in GA, FL, and DC. Far less. It's absolutely not a dry heat (I've never experienced that outside NV or AZ).
Quote from: sparker on June 20, 2018, 02:09:58 AM
All else being equal, 57F-76F is my long-term preference. Lucky to live where I do; despite a few days in the mid-90's during July-October, for the most part the temperature fits in my wheelhouse. What was unusual was the 3 years I spent out in the Hesperia high desert -- I can count the 100+ days on one hand -- but since my home was at 3400' elevation, that was undoubtedly a factor toward moderating heat. Humidity, on the other hand -- occasionally the Hesperia/V'ville area was subject to "monsoon" winds coming up from the Gulf of California and sticking, for the most part, to the area north and east of the San Bernardino mountains. So for about a week or so each year, the humidity level in the High Desert surpassed that of the coastal areas the other side of Cajon Pass. And to me humidity is much more uncomfortable than heat alone. Where I'm at now (south-central San Jose) can get a bit oppressive in late fall (our "indian summer") in that regard.
We would get those monsoons in Phoenix every year. I absolutely hated running the morning after a monsoon. It would be about 95-100F near sunrise and 80% humidity.
My favorite temps are between 60-80 with low humidity. That would be perfect to have year-round. However, a lot of times, how temps feel is all relative. The 70s we have right now feel great compared to the 90s and muggy we had last week, though the humidity could go down a little. Now if we all of a sudden took a nosedive into the 40s, it would feel cold. However if it's the middle of January we we just came out of a week of below zero temps, 40s would feel amazing. That's why it's all relative.
Quote from: sparker on June 20, 2018, 02:09:58 AM
All else being equal, 57F-76F is my long-term preference.
Very specific, yet applicable to me as well.