Quote:
Originally Posted by tuccillo
Humidity (relative) is a fairly useless quantity. Dewpoint is a much more useful quantity. It is a measure of the actual amount of moisture in the air. If the dewpoint is in the mid to upper 70s it is pretty miserable. Dewpoints in the mid 50's is pretty nice. You can have high relative humidities with low dewpoints and it feels pretty nice. Once the temperature climbs into the mid 90's you will hardly ever see relative humidities over 50% but I can assure you that 95 with a relative humidity of 50% is pretty nasty weather.
A little tidbit of information for golfers. Golf balls fly further (marginally) when the air is muggier than when it is dry, assuming the same temperature.
|
Thanks, tucillo, I know you know of what you speak. In saying that I appreciate the explanation. Now I understand why on the Philly news today they were talking so much about the dew point. It was 75 here today and they were stressing that is why it felt so terrible outside. The temps were in the mid 90's with a heat index of 104. At least it's making me feel better about visiting TV in July! We had such an unusually beautiful spring here temperature-wise that I was feeling hesitant to leave, but I think this was just the push I needed.
