Погода: Хьюстон, декабрь

Regulars widely call this the year's best weather month, with humidity noticeably lower than the stifling summer stretch that runs through September, though they're honest this is relative - someone who genuinely dislikes humidity may still find it uncomfortable even by the city's own improved standard. Our row backs that read, 29C over 18.4C nights, with 82.4mm of rain across 6.4 days. Regulars note early-month days can still push into the high 80s or low 90s Fahrenheit before a cold front typically arrives later in the month to cool things down, and that hurricane risk has largely passed by this point, with the more serious storm activity concentrated in August and September instead. The record: humidity 72 percent, 9 hours of sun, a 16.3 kph wind and AQI 45.

Regulars call February one of this city's two worst-behaved months, alongside January, and describe a real split within it: early in the month lows can sit in the mid-30s to 50s Fahrenheit, while late February can swing to highs in the mid-50s to 70s. Our row averages across that at 20.7C reading as 20C over 10C nights, with 79.3mm of rain across 7.7 days - and a trace of snow, 0.6cm, that most years never lands. Whichever half of the month you land in depends on how far south a Canadian cold front has pushed, which is the honest reason no single number describes it well. Humidity stays real even in the cooler stretch, and Houston's own line for it is warm-feeling sixties and seventies. The record: 6.7 hours of sun, a 20.3 kph wind and AQI 44.

April is one of the three months regulars name for outdoor plans here, alongside March and November, and their instruction is layers you can shed: a late cold front can still come through and drop the temperature sharply for a day. Our row gives 26.8C reading as 28C over 16.6C nights, with 76.4mm across 5.7 days. The number that separates this from Austin two hundred miles west is humidity - 75 percent here against 68 there, on nearly identical temperatures - and it is why the same 27C feels heavier. Their other rule is negative and firm: do not come in summer. The record: a dew point of 14.7C, 9.2 hours of sun, a 21.4 kph wind and AQI 43.

March is the month Houston regulars name without hesitation: outside hurricane season, relatively dry, and sunny enough that mid-70s Fahrenheit days are the expectation, with lows nearer 50F. What they warn about is the swing inside a single day - you can start in jeans and a sweatshirt and be out of the sweatshirt by ten in the morning - so the packing is layers and a lined windbreaker rather than a heavy coat. The one thing March will not give you is the Gulf: the water at Galveston is still too cold to swim in and the beach can be blustery. The other thing to know is that the rodeo and the local school spring break both land mid-month. The record: 24.5C days, 14.2C nights, 4.8 precipitation days carrying 75.3mm and 8.3 hours of sun.