Weather Question?
 

I have a question for those that know a lot about weather or climate. In the United States, is there more humidity by the coast or inland. On the West Coast, it is humid and rainy by the coast, then becomes desert once you move east. But, on the east coast, it seems the oppisite. There seems to be less humidity by the coast. Is this true? It also seems to be more rainy inland than on the coast.

I think it is humid all over the southeast, the east, and the south and I'm not sure the ocean has anything to do with humidity.

Humidity is the percentage of moisture in the air.

On the West Coast there is definitely more moisture on the coast than inland but it's not a humid feeling like you get on the coast in the Eastern or Southern parts of the US.

It humid at the coast in the southeast, but maybe the wind makes it feel less humid?

When I was in Oregon/Wash state a few years back, I had a hard time understanding high plain deserts along the Columbia River Gorge. Why wasn't there humidity?

For the west coast, it depends on where you are.

In southern California, things are pretty dry all over - not much rain or humidity near the beach and plenty of desert inland.

In central and northern California, you've got the central valley and the Sierras between the ocean and the desert (Nevada). Plenty of precipitation along the coast, in the valley and the mountains. Humidity usually comes as a result of rain, snow, or fog. Summers aren't generally very humid.

And of course, then there is Oregon and Washington, which have still different conditions.

H aving lived on the West coast (California)all my life--I have never felt it was "humid' now that is in comparison with NYC, Boston , Norfolk and most of Florida..Granted I have been in San Diego and LA and even
Santa Barbara when the air felt a little "damp" but compared to the places I mentioned it was minimal. Sometimes the fog is so thick it feels damp but I have never classed that as humidity..
As for rain..USUALLY we do not have rain in the summer (as does Phoenix) Most of ours is from October thru April. Except for this year LA has very little rain .
However, the Oregon and Washington coasts are a different matter when it come to rain....BUT this year Seattle was experiencing a drought until mid-summer.
You can go to www.weatherunderground.com and find all sorts of averages--month by month of rain, temperatures & snow.
They always show "dewpoint" -- I think that has something to do with humidity but I don't really understand the numbers..
Hope this helps...

Climate of the western US can explained this way, simply.

The weather system came from the west over the Pacific, carrying lots of moisture. The Coastal Range and the Sierra Nevada cause this eastward moving moisture air to rise. As the temperature drops as the air rises, it hits the dew point and the air cannot hold the water anymore, and the moisture falls as rain.

The air that passes the mountain ranges is therefore dry, which blows down the leeward (east side) of those mountains.

To continue rkkwan's analysis: it's humid in the southeast because most of the weather tends to come up from the Gulf. It can be quite humid in cities on the East Coast when there's an on-shore breeze and hot weather hanging over the various river basins (such as Delaware, Potomac, Hudson, Charles).

No place in the west has the combination of high temps and high humidity that is found in the southeast, northeast and central parts of the country.

As mentioned, the southern half of the western US is generally warm and dry, while the northwest has 2 distinct climate zones - the coast which is damp, but rarely hot (and almost never hot and humid at the same time) and the interior, which is hot in the summer but very dry.

All in all, I think the west has generally more pleasant weather conditions than the east or southeast.

Ken

Which side of the Appalachian Mts. is the drier side? The Rocky Mts.? I know the mountains have a big effect on humidity and weather. What about the mid-west, what is the weather like there? Humid or dry?