Tri Cities weather? (Johnson City, Bristol: real estate, camper, living)

[AnthonyJ34]

How are the Johnson City/Bristol, Tennessee areas in terms of summertime heat and humidity? Those areas are a bit higher in elevation than most other areas of Tennessee; therefore, the summertime heat and humidity should be a bit lower than it is in lower-lying areas. Although, I do realize that those areas are likely still pretty hot/humid in the (June-August) period. I, too, grew up in coastal Southern California, so I’m used to a very mild, moderate climate — but I do prefer a four-season climate: the climate over much of So. Cal is rather boring and bland — and the low rainfall throughout the year is annoying.

I’d love to live someplace that has more seasonal variation along with more rain and even a bit of snow without going too far in any direction (climate-wise). I’m in Southern Washington currently, but I’m not sure that this is the place for me. It’s pretty up here, of course, but the real estate prices are a bit high. And the months and months of gray, overcast skies and drizzle gets old after a while. I’d love to find a nice, scenic area in which to live that is near a moderate population center but that also does not have sky-high real estate and cost of living. Washington is an improvement over California (generally speaking), but it’s nevertheless still expensive. But Tennessee looks promising.

[Serious Conversation]

I would call it a mild four season climate.

Winters are usually average highs in the mid-upper 40s with lows in the upper 20s - low 30s. We do get snow, but outside of the mountains, it usually melts within a day or two. I would say we generally get one or two "big snows" per year - 5"+ - with maybe another handful of dustings to 2"-3"

Springs generally range from mid-late March to around Memorial Day. Weather is generally mild, somewhat wet, usually pretty good.

Summers can be hot and muggy, but it is not the Gulf Coast or even the Piedmont. It's generally wet and somewhat mild through mid to late July, then the worst of the season sets in August and September. Things generally start cooling off late September into early October.

[drinkthekoolaid]

Originally Posted by Serious Conversation

I would call it a mild four season climate.

Winters are usually average highs in the mid-upper 40s with lows in the upper 20s - low 30s. We do get snow, but outside of the mountains, it usually melts within a day or two. I would say we generally get one or two "big snows" per year - 5"+ - with maybe another handful of dustings to 2"-3"

Springs generally range from mid-late March to around Memorial Day. Weather is generally mild, somewhat wet, usually pretty good.

Summers can be hot and muggy, but it is not the Gulf Coast or even the Piedmont. It's generally wet and somewhat mild through mid to late July, then the worst of the season sets in August and September. Things generally start cooling off late September into early October.

Thanks that's a solid write up

[AnthonyJ34]

Originally Posted by Serious Conversation

I would call it a mild four season climate.

Winters are usually average highs in the mid-upper 40s with lows in the upper 20s - low 30s. We do get snow, but outside of the mountains, it usually melts within a day or two. I would say we generally get one or two "big snows" per year - 5"+ - with maybe another handful of dustings to 2"-3"

Springs generally range from mid-late March to around Memorial Day. Weather is generally mild, somewhat wet, usually pretty good.

Summers can be hot and muggy, but it is not the Gulf Coast or even the Piedmont. It's generally wet and somewhat mild through mid to late July, then the worst of the season sets in August and September. Things generally start cooling off late September into early October.

Thank you for the detailed info. This is really helpful. I used to spend every summer as a teenager out in southeastern Oklahoma (near the Arkansas border — not far from Fort Smith) and those summers were very hot and humid. The area was very pretty and scenic, and I enjoyed the area, but those summers were intense. And what made them worse was that it stayed warm at night and into the early morning hours, so you didn’t experience the nice cooling off after sunset that many warm to hot places experience. I don’t think I would mind warm and humid if things cooled off nicely late in the day.

[CrazedCamper]

Spring: Rain and gloom.
Summer: Kinda like spring but more sunny days and oppressive humidity.
Fall: Beautiful and beautifully mild.
Winter: Like spring but colder. If you want snow, you won't find much here.

I'm moving to West Tennessee or Arkansas to avoid the gloomy weather.

[AnthonyJ34]

Originally Posted by CrazedCamper

Spring: Rain and gloom.
Summer: Kinda like spring but more sunny days and oppressive humidity.
Fall: Beautiful and beautifully mild.
Winter: Like spring but colder. If you want snow, you won't find much here.

I'm moving to West Tennessee or Arkansas to avoid the gloomy weather.

The oppressive part is concerning!

[suzytx]

Originally Posted by AnthonyJ34

The oppressive part is concerning!

Been here since 2018 and that's not been my experience re Spring weather.

[AnthonyJ34]

Originally Posted by suzytx

Been here since 2018 and that's not been my experience re Spring weather.

I believe the oppressive part was referring to summertime.

[DubbleT]

Originally Posted by AnthonyJ34

I believe the oppressive part was referring to summertime.

Oppressive is subjective. What are you used to, at what point do YOU find it becomes intolerable? Some people will find our weather in July and August oppressive while others just find it uncomfortable. Having spent nearly ten years living along the Gulf Coast I don't find the summers here oppressive at all. But someone coming here from the southwest mind find it unbearable.
Best bet is to familiarize yourself with dew points and how you can use that information to compare different locations.

[AnthonyJ34]

Originally Posted by DubbleT

Oppressive is subjective. What are you used to, at what point do YOU find it becomes intolerable? Some people will find our weather in July and August oppressive while others just find it uncomfortable. Having spent nearly ten years living along the Gulf Coast I don't find the summers here oppressive at all. But someone coming here from the southwest mind find it unbearable.
Best bet is to familiarize yourself with dew points and how you can use that information to compare different locations.

True. It’s all subjective. I’m thinking I could learn to tolerate the summer months in eastern Tennessee well enough over time. As I mentioned previously, I used to spend every summer as a teenager in southeastern Oklahoma, and the heat and humidity there were stifling to me. My frame of reference, though, was coastal Southern California, where the climate is very mild and generally very dry, so summers in eastern Oklahoma were a shock. It was made worse, however, by my aunt and uncle’s reluctance to use their air conditioning: they would use it only on the hottest, most uncomfortable days. So that was a big issue.