Linda

My husband and I are thinking of taking our children (5, 8, and 10) to D.C. during August. I know it gets hot and humid during that time, but is it really that bad? Will it potentially ruin our trip?

dc

Since we all know exactly what would ruin a trip for you, knowing you all so well, this is an easy question to answer.
It is hot and humid in DC in August.
It can potentially ruin your trip.

Deb

Exactly how hot and humid you think it is depends on your perspective - if you're used to someplace like Houston then you won't really notice it. Last summer it didn't get that hot but the previous year (or the one before that) it was REALLY hot in DC. I doubt that it would be hot and humid enough to ruin your trip. After all, there is a good mix of indoor (museums) and outdoor (monuments) activities so you should be able to work it out so as not to be miserable.

Bea

Are you kidding! Yes, it's hot and humid. Take the kids to the beach!

Edye

As a local with kids, my advice is to stay at a hotel with a pool, so after doing some touring, they can come back and take a swim. Tour as early in the am as you can, then let the kids cool off. There is a decent water park (not historical) in Largo, MD (DC suburb) which could also be enticing for a 1/2 day excursion if you have a car at your disposal. I can't recall which co.runs it now, may be a Six Flags.

Your trip will not be ruined by the weather, your pace may just be a bit slower, with an added diversion you would other wise miss. Have fun.

PS the 5 year old is too young for the Holocaust Museum in case you didn't know that already.

Donna

If you're not used to, or are very uncomfortable, in hot and sunny and humid weather, it would be better to go another time. Even though you go from one air conditioned place to another, you'll be miserable (and soaked with perspiration) in between. Those huge buildings are air conditioned, but not to a comfortable chill. It's really too awful to enjoy the zoo (not to be missed with kids)- even the animals hide from the heat and the polar bears spend the summer in Chicago. The heat and humidity can wear you out quicker than walking all about. A really good time to go is Thanksgiving week. All the attractions are open on Thanksgiving day even, and are nearly empty because everyone is home for dinner.

rachel

Hi, went to DC in early september. Loved the city, hated the humidity. Came out in heatrash and had a touch of heatstroke one day (shivering and tired and thirsty).I'm from England so I p'raps affected more, but wouldn't subject non-acclimitized children to it.

Bets

Tell us where you're starting from.

Take the advice offered reo your outdoor sightseeing early in the morning; do very little between 1 and about 4pm except eat and swim (movies, shopping in an indoor mall); take it slow; and PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO LOCAL WEATHER REPORTS -- not only to plan your trip to the mall and mall museums for whichever day is coolest or cloudiest, but also to watch for the sudden, very severe thunderstorms that can come up. I don't think people realize that that area of the country does, occasionally, get tornadoes -- never been one (to my knowledge) in the District but there certainly have been in the VA and MD suburbs.

Otherwise, suggest you either skip DC or make your mind up not to mind the heat and humidity -- dress in lightest possible cotton, drink lots of fluids, and pace your time in and out of airconditioned places (which includes the Metro subways -- those underground stations can be a great relief!).

Bob

Good grief, people! The summer isn't that bad in DC! You just have to be aware that a good portion of the things to do are outdoor activities and then plan for that - just know what you're getting into and have fun! If you're from a hot climate it won't be a big deal; if you're from a cooler climate just come prepared and enjoy!

repeat

Bob,
so in other words- yes -it is hot and humid?

Ann

Summer IS that bad in DC. But as Deb said, we had a lovely summer last year. Pleasant temperatures and little humidity. So I'm expecting a nasty summer this year, but hoping for a repeat of last.

If you can change your plans at all, it's still usually reasonably pleasant in June. Doesn't normally get really nasty until around July 4.

cool

It really does depend on what you're used to, but you couldn't pay me enough to tour DC in August.

Two adults might be able to tolerate it, but the idea of dragging three kids around in weather that typically is 90 degrees and 80% humidity can't be anyone's idea of fun.

Besides, DC is best enjoyed (IMHO) by walking around, which will not be enjoyable in August.

And to the poster who, essentially, said, "Buck up and deal with it," I say, "So that's your idea of a vacation?"

Bets

"Cool" -- my idea of a vacation is seeing new, interesting, exciting, different things without getting bogged down in whether I'm just perfectly suited to the environment or it to me.

I trust you have no plans to go anywhere where the outside temperature varies outside the range of 70-78 for a vacation? So you'll never visit southeast or southern Asia, the Amazon, etc. etc.? Okay, your choice; but a lot of people manage to have great vacations by "dealing with it."

And what if you really like winter sports and someone said to you, "you couldn't pay me to go to Vermont in the winter. Freezing to death is not a vacation." Same difference.

Bets

PS for Linda, et al: It's also possible you'll luck out and hit one of those wonderful weeks in August when we get a Canadian high pressure area, and it stays dry during the day and actually cool at night. That happens, too -- the later in Aug. the more likely.

Final note: since Congress is usually not in session, much of the city takes its vacation in August, which makes it a little "dead" but also means you have easier access to a lot of things. Go. Enjoy. Give the kids lots of sherbet!

Christina

I live in DC also and YES it is absolutely that bad in July-August. It can ruin a trip unless you didn't plan on being outdoors at all, of course. It is really very serious, sometimes it is so hot in those months that there are weather alerts and you are not supposed to be outdoors for that long (espec. young children and elderly). It can be like a jungle, maybe Thailand or something. I think it's more than 1-4 pm when it's bad; it can be very hot by 10-11 (and the sun is already intense long before 1) and the heat lingers much longer, until evening. In fact, it usually peaks around 5 pm for some meteorological reason I don't understand, but it's true from weather stats. It does not often cool down that much in evening, either, unlike some other climates.

Now, that is what can happen and frequently does happen in July-Aug. I remember one summer in the last decade when it was literally over 95 degrees every day for about a month running. It could be a "mild" August, though, and not that bad, you never know--I think there have been a couple years within the last 5 when it wasn't quite that bad. If you want to gamble and come then, okay, you might get lucky--just be aware that if it's hot it can ruin your trip and it really really is that bad.

carolyn

I'm going to echo everyone else. The humidity here can be down right oppressive in August, like walking into a sauna. As Christina said, we have different "Code" days for the level of ozone. Code Red days they recommend staying indoors. The weather is ever changing and it might be pleasant some or all of your vacation.

But it shouldn't ruin your vacation if you plan accordingly. Get up and out early to see the outdoor sites before lunch, hit the museums in the heat of the day and make sure to be in an area to take quick cover late afternoon to avoid the typical late thunderstorms. Take lots of water with you, and buy yourselves some ice cream from carts on the mall.

The zoo would probably be the only place to avoid on a hot day. You might want to check the hours, maybe you could visit in the early evening.

There are so many great things to do indoors in DC. If you want to see more outdoors, take one of the air conditioned tour buses and hop on and off to cool down.

Nikki

Hi Linda:

I've lived and worked in this town all my life. To answer your question YES - washington can get very hot and humid in August. The heat rises from the pavement, there are no breezes, and anyone walking from an office to the subway/bus is truly feeling it. Florida in August has its breezes, washington does not. Have you been to New Orleans when it's hot and sticky? If it were me I would postpone the trip until a better, cooler time

cool

Well, Bets, I do see a hole in your argument.

If I go to Vermont for winter sports, then I'm going there to TAKE ADVANTAGE of the weather, not to avoid or "tolerate" it.

Fact is, summer weather in DC makes just about any endeavor (except staying inside) totally miserable. Sit at the pool, you say? So, why would I go to DC to do that?

Washington is about sightseeing, and my warning said it might be enjoyable (or, if you prefer, tolerable) for adults. But sightseeing in 90/90 weather with three little kids just isn't my idea of fun. (And, no, I wouldn't drag the little ones through the Amazon, either.)

Lynn

This is starting to sound like a broken record, but as a local, I think I can add one fact that hasn't been mentioned so far. DC was built on what used to be swampland. No, I'm not making that up or saying it for comic effect--it's the truth. It's one of those nasty little secrets that no one bothers to tell you until you're here, as a visitor or as someone who's moved here.

D.C. in August is disgusting, even if you ARE acclimatized, in my opinion. People who live here complain like crazy about it when it gets like that, with good reason. It's hard enough on adults to handle it; dragging 3 kids around in that kind of miserable heat and humidity is out of the question. Wait for cooler weather so that you can enjoy all that the city has to offer--you won't be sorry you did.

louis

Good point, Lynn. The city of DC is, in fact, filled-in swampland. So...
If the Amazon is Bet's cup of tea,
Look no farther than DC.