How awful is Orlando in August, compared to DC?
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Anonymous
| Do yourself a favor and go between November and March. Sooo much better from a weather perspective. I personally think the sweet spot is November/December or February/March for not too hot, not too cold. |
Anonymous
|
Most of Florida is not great to visit in the summer, although if you're staying on the beach and have a pool and AC it's no worse weather wise than most other beaches in the summer on the east coast, except perhaps New England.
If you live in Florida year round you just get used to it, which is probably the case with OP's uncle. Orlando is about 45 minutes from some nice east Florida beaches like New Smyrna. |
Anonymous
It’s not the same as DC. I’ve lived in both places. We are back in Florida now. DC is a swamp. It’s humid. But, Florida is a hotter swamp. We see actual temp over 100 degrees. Add in the humidity and the blazing sun plus afternoon storms…..it feels wayyyyyy hotter than DC. I love it. We have fully acclimated. But it is most definitely hotter than DC. |
Anonymous
| Disney is miserable in August, like the worst DC summer day but more humid. I’d never do it again. |
Anonymous
| Another family that went to Disney in August and it was miserable. It was so hot and humid. Disney was so crowded and it is miserable to stand in line and dodge people all day with strollers everywhere when it’s like that. Everyone has a short fuse and it’s not worth it, especially for the cost. Also if staying at the resorts, they close the pool when a thunderstorm is within so many miles and that happens everyday. We’ve also been in October and November and those months are so much better! |
Anonymous
It is 100 or higher more often in Washington than it is in Orlando. Record high temps in July and August in DC are 106 whereas in Orlando they are 101. The highest temp on record in Orlando was in a September and it was 103. In DC it was 106. (Not much difference, I will admit!) The mean maximum in DC in July is 98.1 vs Orlando 96.1. The humidity in Orlando acts as a buffer, usually preventing temperatures from exceeding 100, but also causing the heat index to be in the 100s, whereas this is not as common in DC, so it often feels hotter in Orlando with similar temps. But to say "we see actual temp over 100 degrees" in Orlando is actually rare, moreso than in DC. There was a period from 2010-2012 where there were over 17 days over 100 which was unusual even for DC but is pretty much unheard of in Orlando. Here is a link to an article from 2015 with the headline "Orlando hits 100 degrees for first time since 1998" https://www.wesh.com/article/orlando-hits-100-degrees-for-first-time-since-1998/4442957# It rarely hits 100 even in Miami! It's a Florida thing related to the humidity buffer, and again, it typically feels hotter than 100 when it's in the 90s. It gets pretty humid in DC too but Orlando wins that category. |
Anonymous
August in Florida? Absolutely no way. Yuck. |
Anonymous
| Every time we’ve gone in August there’s been a hurricane. We don’t go in August anymore! |
Anonymous
| I find August in DC and Orlando to be just about the same. I actually visited Disney with kids (5&9) in late August pre-pandemic. It was hot, certainly, but we went in expecting it. Everyone had a good time. |
Anonymous
| The Real Feel is usually higher in Orlando and that's what's dangerous. On websites about DC in August it describes the humidity and Real Feel. Look at a similar page for Orlando in August and it will include lists of symptoms for heat stroke. |
Anonymous
| It's miserable--don't do it. |
Anonymous
I'm less than 2 hours west of Disney right now and it's 50 degrees and raining all day! I feel for people here on vacation-although the rest of the week looks nice (but not swim/beach weather). I've been here nearly 5 years and never seen it at or over 100 degrees. 90's, yeah, but not more. |