I am now living in the USA but I grew up in the Dominican Republic, and the weather there is tropical and warm all-year round. I’ve heard about the scorching summer heat in southern states, but how bad is it? Is it similar to summers in the Caribbean—because, let me tell you, I loved them summers.
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It’s basically the same. Maybe a little hotter in the states on the hottest days
(As inland Puerto Rico at least)
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And anything above South Florida gets cold in the winter compared to the Caribbean
The Southeast is about the same, maybe slightly drier in the winter, but they will have that heat and humidity you love. Parts of Florida even get those daily afternoon showers like you get in the islands.
Idk, did the air feel like an oppressive force trying to suck the life out of you? Were you constantly damp no matter what you did? Because that’s southern humidity.
Ive never been to the places you’ve listed, so I can’t accurately gauge how similar they are. I just know our humidity in the deep south is a little taste of hell.
I also grew up in the Caribbean. I went to Memphis TN one summer. I swear it was way more humid and hot than it ever was in the islands
I love the humidity so it’s great for me
Depends on how close you are to the coast. I’ve spent weeks in Jamaica and have been to PR and about a dozen other Caribbean countries. The humidity in the southeast US can be worse. Also, I feel like the ocean kind of moderates the extreme heat that the southeastern US gets that I think much of the Caribbean doesn’t get. In my multiple weeks in Jamaica I can’t recall it hitting 100f. It may sometimes but I didn’t see it, and this was usually June and July when I would be there.
It’s absolutely ridiculous
Pretty bad and that is exactly why everyone and every business has air conditioning. Just a fact. If you are just sitting in the shade drinking ice tea or a cold toddy that helps. Also there are ceiling fans everywhere in every room just because the air often just doesn’t move on its own
Humidity in the south
100 degree days with 90% humidity…even being living in it all my life it still sucks at times. Worse months here in South Alabama are July and August.
It feels like it can’t be true since I’ve never heard of anyone complain about it but: Honolulu (Hawaii) is the most humid major U.S. city, with 337.1 uncomfortably humid days per year.
In July, the difference between the high in Honolulu and the high in Biloxi is like 5 degrees.
Feels like 5 degrees isn’t really enough to make a world of difference.
Depend on where in the South
I’ve been to the USVI, BVI, and Quintana Roo MX (including the interior). Then I lived and worked all over the south for more than a decade.
Most of the Caribbean has the benefit of the breezes, much of the South does not. The air in the South is stagnant, unmoving, unflinching.
I went on vacation to Mexico one summer only to return to Raleigh and see the forecast was significantly hotter/more humid back home.
It’s way, way more humid in the US South IMO. Hotter too. Columbia SC in July? 105 degrees with dewpoints approaching 80. It’s not even close.
The humidity percentage may be higher in the Caribbean, but it’s not very windy in central Louisiana, so it feels more humid in Louisiana. I worked in Costa Rica and the very western outskirts of Miami back to back. I spent about a year in both. And Florida was so much worse.
New Orleans is 70-75%
San Juan is 77-80%
So similar but not quite as bad
My husband is from Colombia 🇨🇴 more to the south where it is summer all year long and he can’t stand the Texas heat and humidity lol
For the record, what’s important is how long there is high humidity.
Because it can be just as stifling in Virginia as Louisiana, but only for 2-4 weeks.
The Caribbean is in the trade winds latitudes. It’s almost always blowing 15 knots from somewhere in the east. It’s just as hot and humid, but it feels drier and more comfortable (to some extent; still effin’ hot).
I’m from Florida originally, gulf coast Florida is humid but has breeze coming off the water, when I moved an hour inland the humidity was the same but felt worse because there was no breeze.
Though, there was a 2 week period in the summer up in the Midwest when it was unbearably humid because the corn was sweating and I’ve never experienced anything quite like it. I sorta understand now why the Midwest says the humidity is worse than the south.