How blazing hot end of August?

[Sherry E]

It has been in the 100's in Anaheim before. Obviously that's not the norm, but it does happen.

Oh, it doesn't surprise me at all - in fact, I always assumed that Anaheim would have pretty miserable temps in the peak of summer based on what it FELT LIKE when I used to go there in the summer. I think I just missed where it was stated in this thread originally. I probably overlooked it when skimming through! But I totally can see where it could be 100 degrees and probably feel like 110 in the middle of August in DLR, just based on what it's like up here by me in the summer! Yikes! Not for me! I will take a cold December DLR trip any day rather than taking a chance that an August trip MAY drop down to 85 degrees instead of 95. No way!

 

[blackjackdelta]

Great posts everyone. I am used to working in a very hot climate and sometimes I sure feel like it is greater than what everyone (websites) claim to be with out factoring in the RH which as it goes up makes things worse.

Jack

 

[HydroGuy]

Did anyone ever claim a temperature/number (in Anaheim, specifically) of 100 or over for August? I might have missed it.

Well, I did for one. Because it can happen and did once when I was there. And Lucy's data supports it.

SuperVet said it here:

August will see temps in the 100's though it tends to average in the high 80's to low 90's. The last couple of years have been very hot but more. September has been obnoxiously hot as well.

According to Lucy's wunderground data for the last two weeks of August for the last three years, it made it to 100 degrees one day (out of 42 days).

This past November, we had some crazy 100+ degree temperatures in SoCal, but that was an anomaly. On the other hand, it rarely stays in the 80's in the peak of summer. It may start out in the 80's, but it creeps up fast. The low-mid 90's is much more common for late July on through September and often October (hence, the dry air and heat and winds = brush fire conditions). August and early September are especially brutal for those of us who are heat-sensitive. 80's are the norm for the Spring, early summer and late Fall.

When you were talking about "SoCal" temps of 100 degress I took your meaning as Anaheim since SoCal can vary so much from beach to inland and north to south, and the thread was about DLR. It sounds now like you meant LA when you said SoCal, and I would expect LA to be hotter than Anaheim.

Regarding heat index, to each his own. I never pay attention to it. I rarely see it in weather forecasts. I do pay attention to wind chill (a little) but still temperature (and wind speed FWIW) means more to me than anything else. Oh yeah, and humidity too when I am in the midwest, east or south in the summer. I never pay attention to humidity in California or Colorado. To my relative experience the humidity in California is nothing compared to the midwest, Florida, Texas, etc. That is why I ignore it.

 

[LucyDingo]

Oh, it doesn't surprise me at all - in fact, I always assumed that Anaheim would have pretty miserable temps in the peak of summer based on what it FELT LIKE when I used to go there in the summer. I think I just missed where it was stated in this thread originally. I probably overlooked it when skimming through! But I totally can see where it could be 100 degrees and probably feel like 110 in the middle of August in DLR, just based on what it's like up here by me in the summer! Yikes! Not for me! I will take a cold December DLR trip any day rather than taking a chance that an August trip MAY drop down to 85 degrees instead of 95. No way!

I'm with you! We take our trips to DLR and WDW in January.

 

[LucyDingo]

Well, I did for one. Because it can happen and did once when I was there. And Lucy's data supports it.

SuperVet said it here:
According to Lucy's wunderground data for the last two weeks of August for the last three years, it made it to 100 degrees one day (out of 42 days).

When you were talking about "SoCal" temps of 100 degress I took your meaning as Anaheim since SoCal can vary so much from beach to inland and north to south, and the thread was about DLR. It sounds now like you meant LA when you said SoCal, and I would expect LA to be hotter than Anaheim.

Regarding heat index, to each his own. I never pay attention to it. I rarely see it in weather forecasts. I do pay attention to wind chill (a little) but still temperature (and wind speed FWIW) means more to me than anything else. Oh yeah, and humidity too when I am in the midwest, east or south in the summer. I never pay attention to humidity in California or Colorado. To my relative experience the humidity in California is nothing compared to the midwest, Florida, Texas, etc. That is why I ignore it.

As someone that lives in the midwest, I see Heat Index and Windchill in the forecast a lot. Which is why it obviously means more to me than someone that disregards it. I don't look at the heat index for socal in the winter. But if we were going in the summer, I'd definitely want to know what it would be (but we won't be going in the summer ever.)

 

[Sherry E]

Well, I did for one. Because it can happen and did once when I was there. And Lucy's data supports it.

SuperVet said it here:
According to Lucy's wunderground data for the last two weeks of August for the last three years, it made it to 100 degrees one day (out of 42 days).

When you were talking about "SoCal" temps of 100 degress I took your meaning as Anaheim since SoCal can vary so much from beach to inland and north to south, and the thread was about DLR. It sounds now like you meant LA when you said SoCal, and I would expect LA to be hotter than Anaheim.

Regarding heat index, to each his own. I never pay attention to it. I rarely see it in weather forecasts. I do pay attention to wind chill (a little) but still temperature (and wind speed FWIW) means more to me than anything else. Oh yeah, and humidity too when I am in the midwest, east or south in the summer. I never pay attention to humidity in California or Colorado. To my relative experience the humidity in California is nothing compared to the midwest, Florida, Texas, etc. That is why I ignore it.

My fault. I should have clarified that when I said "SoCal" I meant my area of SoCal. It easily could have been misunderstood since we are discussing DLR's area in particular. It's funny because I am roughly about 45 minutes away from DLR (with no traffic; maybe about 90 minutes away on a day with LOTS of traffic), which seems very far to me, but a lot of people from other states have assumed it was so close, like I practically live next door to DLR. But DLR and I are actually in two different counties! So I get so used to people thinking that way (that I live so close to it), that if I start talking about weather in my corner of SoCal, I assume it sort of broadly covers Orange County as well, which is not necessarily always the case, as we see!

I would also assume the wind chill where you are, HydroGuy, could get very nasty, right? Still, I think I would love the cold weather!

And yes, it is not humid here in SoCal as consistently as it is in the Southern states, etc., but people often say out here that once it hits 90 degrees and the air is stifling, no one is thinking about whether it is humid or dry. it is just plan HOT!!

 

[LucyDingo]

My fault. I should have clarified that when I said "SoCal" I meant my area of SoCal. It easily could have been misunderstood since we are discussing DLR's area in particular. It's funny because I am roughly about 45 minutes away from DLR (with no traffic; maybe about 90 minutes away on a day with LOTS of traffic), which seems very far to me, but a lot of people from other states have assumed it was so close, like I practically live next door to DLR. But DLR and I are actually in two different counties! So I get so used to people thinking that way (that I live so close to it), that if I start talking about weather in my corner of SoCal, I assume it sort of broadly covers Orange County as well, which is not necessarily always the case, as we see!

I would also assume the wind chill where you are, HydroGuy, could get very nasty, right? Still, I think I would love the cold weather!

And yes, it is not humid here in SoCal as consistently as it is in the Southern states, etc., but people often say out here that once it hits 90 degrees and the air is stifling, no one is thinking about whether it is humid or dry. it is just plan HOT!!

At one point, I lived literally 5 miles from Disneyland. And I still thought it seemed hotter in the parks than outside my apartment....haha.

Hot is hot. Humid or dry...it all stinks pretty badly, in my opinion.

 

[Sherry E]

I'm with you! We take our trips to DLR and WDW in January.

Yep! Nice chilly months! It is always nicer and more comfy to bundle up and get warm than it is to be roasting in the sun.

Well, actually, what you said, LucyDingo, brings up a question for me about WDW. What ARE the temperatures "normally" like at WDW in the winter months? I have never been to WDW, so am curious. I recall seeing on that Samantha Brown-Travel Channel Disney Holidays special where she is talking about it being winter at WDW, and then she takes off her sweater/jacket and is walking around in a sleeveless shirt, saying that it is not cold in Florida during the winter. I know a a lot of folks assume that it is a steady 80 degrees year-round in California and that we never see 30 degree or 40 degree temps at night (incorrect!), but I never had a sense of what a night at WDW would be in the middle of December or January. Is Samantha Brown correct? Is December in Florida the kind of weather where you can run around sleeveless at night in The Magic Kingdom? Or is that a bit of a stretch?

 

[LucyDingo]

Well, I did for one. Because it can happen and did once when I was there. And Lucy's data supports it.

SuperVet said it here:
According to Lucy's wunderground data for the last two weeks of August for the last three years, it made it to 100 degrees one day (out of 42 days).

When you were talking about "SoCal" temps of 100 degress I took your meaning as Anaheim since SoCal can vary so much from beach to inland and north to south, and the thread was about DLR. It sounds now like you meant LA when you said SoCal, and I would expect LA to be hotter than Anaheim.

Regarding heat index, to each his own. I never pay attention to it. I rarely see it in weather forecasts. I do pay attention to wind chill (a little) but still temperature (and wind speed FWIW) means more to me than anything else. Oh yeah, and humidity too when I am in the midwest, east or south in the summer. I never pay attention to humidity in California or Colorado. To my relative experience the humidity in California is nothing compared to the midwest, Florida, Texas, etc. That is why I ignore it.

For what it's worth....websites like weather.com and accuweather always list the "feels like" temp (or "real feel") on the main forecast page for each city. That "feels like" temp is either the heat index or windchill depending on the area/time of year.

 

[LucyDingo]

Yep! Nice chilly months! It is always nicer and more comfy to bundle up and get warm than it is to be roasting in the sun.

Well, actually, what you said, LucyDingo, brings up a question for me about WDW. What ARE the temperatures "normally" like at WDW in the winter months? I have never been to WDW, so am curious. I recall seeing on that Samantha Brown-Travel Channel Disney Holidays special where she is talking about it being winter at WDW, and then she takes off her sweater/jacket and is walking around in a sleeveless shirt, saying that it is not cold in Florida during the winter. I know a a lot of folks assume that it is a steady 80 degrees year-round in California and that we never see 30 degree or 40 degree temps at night (incorrect!), but I never had a sense of what a night at WDW would be in the middle of December or January. Is Samantha Brown correct? Is December in Florida the kind of weather where you can run around sleeveless at night in The Magic Kingdom? Or is that a bit of a stretch?

Well, I can only comment on the days we were there in late January 2008. We were there for about a week. I wore jeans the entire time. I wore a t-shirt. I also had a hooded sweatshirt that I wore at various times throughout the day (other times I'd tie it around my waist.) In the morning and at night, I put a light jacket on as well. I do get cold fairly easy though....haha. I think the highs were in the 60's and 70's the whole time we were there. The lows were 40's and 50's.

I did see a lot of people in shorts in the parks though. In one photo we have, it looks like DH and I are the only ones not wearing shorts...haha.

I will say that Animal Kingdom park seemed the hottest. I think maybe because all of the huge trees trap so much heat in or something. Being at AK was the only time I really felt hot at all.

 

[DLSuperVet]

Oh, it doesn't surprise me at all - in fact, I always assumed that Anaheim would have pretty miserable temps in the peak of summer based on what it FELT LIKE when I used to go there in the summer. I think I just missed where it was stated in this thread originally. I probably overlooked it when skimming through! But I totally can see where it could be 100 degrees and probably feel like 110 in the middle of August in DLR, just based on what it's like up here by me in the summer! Yikes! Not for me! I will take a cold December DLR trip any day rather than taking a chance that an August trip MAY drop down to 85 degrees instead of 95. No way!

I live a few minutes from the park and rest assured it's all about the heat index. It will always feel a good 15 to 20 degrees hotter than the actual temps. I do not have a vendetta against my home town either. We just happen to have Summers that feel very hot.

I wish I could get Hydro those figures he's looking for but I don't want to pay for membership to almanac.com and it doesn't look like anybody records heat index figures. I guess I could take a picture of the outdoor thermometer my mom has in her backyard next August and post it but I think the OP will take my word for it as an Orange County resident that it was hot last year and it most likely be hot this year as well.

 

[Sherry E]

At one point, I lived literally 5 miles from Disneyland. And I still thought it seemed hotter in the parks than outside my apartment....haha.

Hot is hot. Humid or dry...it all stinks pretty badly, in my opinion.

I think it MUST be a bit warmer (or feel that way) in the middle of DLR, really all throughout the year. I have noticed that myself. All those thousands of people crammed in together have to generate some wicked body heat, don't you think? And when you are standing in an outside line that just happens to be right in the path of the sun's rays, it can be 72 degrees but if you are getting that sun right on your face it feels much hotter. As we know, people get sunburnt even when it is overcast. So with no cloud cover, it can be brutal.

Just a couple of weeks ago when I was at DLR, and it was a lovely (for ME!) low 60-something in the daytime for a couple of the days - like maybe 61 or whatever. Can't recall the exact number. Anyway, on the first day and the second day, it felt about 62 or 65. Not bad at all. Very comfortable. Of course, at night, it dropped down to the low 40's, which I LOVED because it meant I could drag out the coats and neck scarves and all that fun warm stuff! But, all of a sudden, on the third day in Anaheim, it was probably only a few degrees higher - maybe 65 or 66 or so in temperature - but it FELT much warmer. I couldn't figure out what happened! The previous two days had felt more or less what their corresponding temps were. All of a sudden it seemed like it was downright warm but I knew the temps had not climbed that much. I was uncomfortable because the sun seemed strong - out of the blue! I felt too hot to wear my hoody/jacket, and was ready to walk around in bare arms. I suppose more of the cloud cover burnt off or whatever. And then on my fourth day it started raining, so it was all over the place, weather wise.

 

[mrswh]

Well, actually, what you said, LucyDingo, brings up a question for me about WDW. What ARE the temperatures "normally" like at WDW in the winter months? I have never been to WDW, so am curious.

I was there in mid-January 2007 and first week of February 2008. We had gorgeous weather both trips. In January, highs were in the mid to upper 70s - absolutely perfect! Still warm enough to go to the pool but not too hot for the parks. I do recall one evening we went back to the park around 6 and it was blustery and chilly (sweatshirt weather) for the rest of the evening. Still better than the 5 degrees it was in Denver!

Our early February trip last year was just as perfect - low 80s each day. It got a bit hot in the parks, esp. on the high humidity days, but we were still able to go swimming at night. I think the nights we stayed for fireworks we brought along long sleeve shirts but I can't recall whether we wore them. It was very comfortable weather all around.

We're heading that way later this month so wish us luck for great weather again!

 

[mrswh]

No way I'm going in August. Thanks for all the great insight and research. (And I thought weather was just small talk!)

We were in Anaheim last September (very end) and it really was hot. Two days over 90 and the others mid 80s. I thought that was excessively hot for September? We still had a great time, but I don't think I'll sign up for weather that will likely be even warmer.

Shall I start a new thread, or should we talk about mid-June on this one?

We were there in mid-June 2007 and I recall it being pretty nice (mid to upper 70s) other than one blazing hot day. If I can count on that again, maybe we'll go in June instead. I wish we could go in May or September but DD starts Kindergarten this fall which means we'll no longer be able to take our Disney trips in nice weather and low season.

When do the crowds get thick in June? Is mid-June going to be super crowded? Last we were there wasn't a good measuring stick - it was the week that the new Nemo Subs opened so DLR was a nightmare and DCA was empty.

Thanks for all the discussion!

 

[DLSuperVet]

I was there in mid-January 2007 and first week of February 2008. We had gorgeous weather both trips. In January, highs were in the mid to upper 70s - absolutely perfect! Still warm enough to go to the pool but not too hot for the parks. I do recall one evening we went back to the park around 6 and it was blustery and chilly (sweatshirt weather) for the rest of the evening. Still better than the 5 degrees it was in Denver!

Our early February trip last year was just as perfect - low 80s each day. It got a bit hot in the parks, esp. on the high humidity days, but we were still able to go swimming at night. I think the nights we stayed for fireworks we brought along long sleeve shirts but I can't recall whether we wore them. It was very comfortable weather all around.

We're heading that way later this month so wish us luck for great weather again!

It can sometimes be obnoxious when you see temps like that in February but I'm sure anybody from out of town probably thinks it's great.

 

[blackjackdelta]

When I posted earlier there was no disrespect meant for Hydroguy or anyone else. Other than 1 trip in June back in 97, we have always gone in August.
Having lived in Culver City, Venice, Santa Monica and Mahatten Beach and living in homes or apartments that do not have central air just because So Cal never gets hot or "we always have a breeze from the ocean."
I had the priviledge to be there when it open(I was 10) and it was fun but absolutely miserable. So where ever they record the temps, I have always felt the park was hotter than the surrounding enviroment. For some reason it sure brings the people out.
We will continue to go mid to late August, we do like the heat and love the SoCal part of the ocean. It is not for everyone and you do need to take precautions.

Jack

 

[Krissy Marissy]

I haven't read this last page because...well I dont have time. But I do want to say that I think the heat index is also MORE important than an actual number. They can tell me it's only 78 outside until they are blue in the face but if it feels like it is 86 then that is all I care about. The PNW talks about it a lot and the wind chill and I think it's important because the actual number can be quite deceiving.

And Gisele and Sherry, I also dont do too well in anything above 80. At least not while out in the hot sun for hours with little or no shade, no breeze. I start to feel dizzy and sick and no matter how much water I consume it just happens. I have done better as I have aged but when I was young it was tough...too many sunburns to count for this pale redhead

 

[LucyDingo]

I haven't read this last page because...well I dont have time. But I do want to say that I think the heat index is also MORE important than an actual number. They can tell me it's only 78 outside until they are blue in the face but if it feels like it is 86 then that is all I care about. The PNW talks about it a lot and the wind chill and I think it's important because the actual number can be quite deceiving.

And Gisele and Sherry, I also dont do too well in anything above 80. At least not while out in the hot sun for hours with little or no shade, no breeze. I start to feel dizzy and sick and no matter how much water I consume it just happens. I have done better as I have aged but when I was young it was tough...too many sunburns to count for this pale redhead

Hey...I'm a pale redhead too so I'm right there with you! Haha.

 

[HannaBelle]

So, August sounds miserable...

What about early to mid June?

I have 2 kiddos in MS & HS and my niece will be in HS...we are not going to take them out of school (whole other thread!!!) to go to DL.

I am thinking spring break, mid March for us Texans, or 1st thing after school is out, 1st week of June. What do you think?

I have looked at the averages, the highs, the lows...looks like Texas weather. Could be 100 degrees...could be 50!

What about spring break crowds vs. early June crowds at DL?

 

[HydroGuy]

Yep! Nice chilly months! It is always nicer and more comfy to bundle up and get warm than it is to be roasting in the sun.

I am glad we have our difference preferences or we would all be at the parks at the same time of year! For us summer is king at Disney parks. Wearing shorts and tee shirts, swimming, water rides with no fear of getting wet, that is part of our experience. The thought of bundling up at a Disney park seems so unappealing.

Well, actually, what you said, LucyDingo, brings up a question for me about WDW. What ARE the temperatures "normally" like at WDW in the winter months? I have never been to WDW, so am curious. I recall seeing on that Samantha Brown-Travel Channel Disney Holidays special where she is talking about it being winter at WDW, and then she takes off her sweater/jacket and is walking around in a sleeveless shirt, saying that it is not cold in Florida during the winter. I know a a lot of folks assume that it is a steady 80 degrees year-round in California and that we never see 30 degree or 40 degree temps at night (incorrect!), but I never had a sense of what a night at WDW would be in the middle of December or January. Is Samantha Brown correct? Is December in Florida the kind of weather where you can run around sleeveless at night in The Magic Kingdom? Or is that a bit of a stretch?

I created a weather comparison here (based on temperatures and not heat index ):

"Comparison of Weather For WDW and DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1711098

We really cannot tolerate Florida weather in the peak summer so our two trips have been early summer.

We can take Anaheim weather any day of summer. But for the occasional really hot days I agree it can get uncomfortable even for us "heat lovers". But we have been lucky on our last four summer trips and never had a day like that. Most of the summer days we have been have been it has been low-to-mid 80's. Just perfect for us.