By Tyler Hall
Published: Feb. 21, 2019 at 3:52 PM CST
Humid weather is nothing new in Louisiana, but it’s a reminder of what’s to come during the upcoming summer months.
Louisiana is described as a humid and subtropical climate. The Gulf of Mexico is a big player in the overall climate throughout the year. The southerly winds that come up throughout the state from the Gulf, provide lots of warm and muggy air. The southerly flow out of the Gulf makes for an increase in overall humidity.
In the summertime, the southerly flow provides the state with favorable conditions for afternoon thunderstorms. Fun fact, Alexandria can average about 90 days where temperatures are equal to or are greater than 90 degrees Fahrenheit!
As far as the feeling of it being humid outside, the higher the dew points are leads to a higher amount of overall moisture available in the air. As the southerly flow increases, so does the moisture available, which makes for it to feel “sticky” if not “oppressive” outside!
The dew point is the temperature that air needs to be cooled in order to achieve a relative humidity of 100%. To sum up, higher dew points leads to higher amounts of humidity so that’s what makes for it feeling uncomfortable outside, which in Louisiana occurs quite frequently, especially during the summer months.
Remember to drink plenty of water when it starts to get hotter and humid, also cool off in a nearby lake, river, stream or pool somewhere! Here’s to another long, hot and humid Louisiana summer!
