One of the nice things about Seattle is the mild temperatures. And lack of humidity. Granted, nobody has air-conditioning out there (except the well-off), but even those few hot weeks at the end of July and early August are tolerable with a good ceiling fan or breeze. We kept our windows open all spring, summer, and fall in Seattle. Contrary to popular belief, Seattle weather is pretty mild. And when the sun shines, it’s absolutely perfect. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth to be.
Here in NYC we have something that I hadn’t experienced in quite some time (except at the 1999 Jazz Fest in New Orleans). It’s called humidity. Now, I grew up mostly in the South, so I know what humidity is. It’s just that, I guess I forgot what it was like all those years of living the good life in the Pacific Northwest. A couple weeks ago I got on the subway a little before 9am on a Monday. I had on a new work outfit - nice new white cotton/spandex slacks, new sandals, new gray linen jacket, and a loose-fitting black sleeveless cowl-neck underneath. It was the first humid day of the year – but it couldn’t have been more than 72 degrees outside.
By 42nd Street (one subway stop away), I was sweating. By Penn Station (the next stop), I had pulled some paper out of my mobile office bag and was fanning myself. By 14th Street I wanted to strip off all my clothes and run screaming toward the nearest body of water. (In this case, that would be the Hudson.) A woman getting off at Houston Street kindly looked down at me and asked if I was all right. Her concern surprised me. "I’m just a tad warm," I told her and commented about how tough life is going to be when the humidity hits the 90’s. (Not the temperature, mind you – it’s the humidity!)
Ugh. I was dying! I was SO hot and sweaty in my new business clothes; but I wasn’t about to take off my jacket and uncover my pale and somewhat flabby freckled arms. No way I’m exposing those babies until I get some sun and lose about 20 pounds. I’d rather suffer. (Any woman who’s ever been even mildly overweight knows exactly what I’m talking about.)
Fortunately, the weather cooled down after that miserable 70-ish day of unbearable humidity. It’s been in the 60’s ever since- about 20 degrees below normal for this time of year. But not for long. Today I had to turn on the A/C again.
Opening windows doesn’t work out too well here in midtown. I tried that in early spring. My windows only open about 2-3” but it was enough to cool the place off in the evenings and mornings. It was a couple weeks later when I was refilling my printer that I noticed the black grit all over my stack of new computer paper. Upon inspection, I found the black gritty stuff covering the window sills and thought, “Where the hell did THAT come from?” After spending a day cleaning the NY pollution from my belongings, I closed the windows without any plans to open them ever again. So, air conditioning it is. (It’s been years since I’ve used air conditioning. Can’t wait to see my next electric bill.)
What did I learn about humidity? I learned that it doesn’t matter what the temperature is outside – if it’s a moderately warm day and the humidity is high, you WILL suffer on the subway. It’s going to be a long summer. My oh my.
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2 comments:
Some years ago I arrived in NYC on a late August evening. The next day, my first ever in the city, the temperature was in the high 90s and it was raining when we exited the subway at Times Square.
It was definitely the humidity and the temperature. Worst I'd ever been in until a couple years later in Dallas in late June...needed a machete to cut the air.
BTW, low 90s in Seattle the last couple days....
I visited Manhattan for one day in September several years ago- one thing that sticks with me is the humidity and how hot the subway platforms were. I was surprised to find many subway cars were airconditioned. Contrast that with my trip to London in July quite some time ago- the only A/C in the Tube was from the open windows!
It's sunny and mid 70's in Seattle today after a couple weeks of rain.
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