I've started my trip planning for next year(For major trips I always start a year in advance.) I am planning a 3-week road trip from Tulsa, through Virginia, D.C., Philadelphia, NYC, Newport, Boston, across to Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis to Tulsa. We are spending the most time in D.C.(4 days) and NYC (3 days). In your opinion, which is the best month to visit? We can either leave early and do last 2 weeks of May & 1st week of June OR we can take the last 3 weeks of July. I don't know what May is like out east, but I don't want rain every day. In July it is hot in Tulsa. Would it be comparable there? I know there is a lot of walking involved for all these locations. Can't decide if it would be better to have rain or hot sun. Any thoughts? Thanks!

I would choose May/June. DC is hot and HUMID in July. Late May early June is USUALLY picture perfect in DC/Philly/NYC. 2003 has been a freakishlly rainy May however. The odds of getting the same weather next year is close to impossible. ....Right????

July can be beastly hot. May is much better although you do run the risk of getting weather like this year-cool & rainy. I'd prefer cool & rainy to hot & humid though.

Thanks so much for the response. I guess I need to decide which is better. I just don't want to sightsee in the rain. But then my husband doesn't like hot and humid. We're talking Oklahoma weather! Thanks!

As you know the weather is fickle, im from houston, texas. So i would go as early in the year as possible. We just got back from wash. d.c., on the 28, of may. It was cool 54 nights and 68-72 days with some drizzle and for my money ill take drizzle any day over hot. Ever been to disney world in the hot summer, well thats d.c. in the summer at times. 3 weeks you will see some rain, but i would still pick may. nick

WIthout a doubt May is better. July is brutal. Even if you're from Tulsa. This has been a freak month this year.

There isn't a rainy season in the northeast, it rains in May and it rains in July, very hard to predict ahead of time. That said, it is May now, and it has rained here in Massachusetts almost every day for a week. But we've had weeks like that in July too. And dry weeks in both months. Luck of the draw.

In NYC and DC, you're not more likely to have a rainy day in May than in July.

But you ARE more likey to have miserably hot and humid days, especially in DC. So I'd recommend that you do your traveling in May and stay home in the air conditioning in July! Here's a very handy chart that shows average precipitation over the last 30 years in dozens of US locations:

http://www.met.utah.edu/jhorel/html/.../normrain.html

last year DC was about 100 late May/June. This year, the sun has shined maybe once this month.

Leta:

Definitely May in D.C., lived through a couple Julys while living in the area and it isn't pretty. It will be about 95-110 by then which makes walking very uncomfortable and you'll have to drink something every 30 minutes. Remember the place came from drained swampland that came from VA & MD so its extremely humid too.

i completely agree with everyone. i've lived in N. Va all my life and may is generally beautiful in DC. Furthermore, its a good time to go, because kids aren't out of school yet, and there aren't as many tourists (yes, there are floods of tourists who try to brave the july heat). Also things are still green and beautiful in may, if we are hitting a dry spell it might be kind of brown by july.

Well my sincere thanks to everyone. It seems that the people who are there think May is my best choice. I appreciate your opinion very much.

bardo - I'm in DC and if next year is like this year - I'll have to consider moving!

But seriously, Leta, everyone is right about July in DC. It can be unbearable. I LOVE the outdoors and the summer, but the saving grace here is usually that you can go from your A/C-ed house to your A/C-ed car to your A/C-ed office.

And, it is more crowded with tourists now that school is out.

Karen

Just piling on here--I, too, vote for May over July. July is beastly humid in NYC and DC, and it also rains many an afternoon, resulting in even more ferocious humidity, the kind that saps your will to live, and sightsee. As I recall, May in DC isn't ceaselessly rainy, and you'd also avoid, as someone else mentioned, the huge crowds of tourists that descend once schools let out.
Have a great trip! Let us know how it goes!