Gaylene touches on an important component of "hot" weather for me: does it cool off significantly at night? If yes, I feel better. For one thing, I can exercise early in the morning and beat the heat. But when we get stretches of time where it does not go below 75 at night, it wears me down. Also, breeze helps. We tend to get hot, humid, and still weather here, and it's compounded by air pollution and bad air quality -- a big reason why is take 95 and humid in Hawaii over 95 and humid in DC anyday. Well, that and it's Hawaii.

And yes, I know other places have it worse. But knowing that there is miserable heat and humidity in other places does not lessen my discomfort in the home where I otherwise love living. It makes me sympathetic toward those who live in those even more challenging climates though! This is why we will NEVER move to east Texas, where my husband's ranch is.

Like you, Angie, I run kind of cold and am therefore one of the last people to complain about heat. In my humid part of the Midwest, temps above 85F feel hot to me. It's relative, though. If we go for a couple of weeks in the high 90's, the high 80's are a relief, in comparison.

I am hot at anything above 80 when humidity is high. I can deal with any amount of heat if there is no humidity involved, but around here, that's rare. Right now, it's 90 degrees with 40% humidity outside, even though it's partly cloudy, it's icky outside. There's not a breeze to be felt.

Now, 90 degrees with about 10% humidity, I'm fine, I just hate being sticky I think.

Upper 80s starts to feel too hot for me too – 70s is really enjoyable! I'm lucky that I work in an air-conditioned office, have A/C in my car and at home... I choose when and how long to expose myself to the heat pretty much.

I always heard people in Las Vegas used pot holders to open their cars. When we went to Las Vegas Memorial Day weekend, one guy insisted they were having a cool spell - it was only 97. I took a bandana and soaked it in water and tied at around my neck to stay cool. Of course we weren't just walking between an air conditioned car and an air conditioned building, we were walking around in the sun on trails at nature preserves.

The past few days have been in the upper 80s and it felt nice sitting in the shade. Right now at 1:30 it is 86F and 10 percent humidity. When it gets to 90F, though, it feels hot to me.

For me it isn't so much the temperature. Humidity kills me. So if it 75 and humid, I am a mess. The breeze also affects me. If it is 95 with a cool breeze, I am ok. How is that for a straight answer ? LOL

Here it's heat and humidity. The humidity is a killer. Hot to me is anything over 85 degrees. So technically it is hot here 9 months out of the year.

I completely agree. 70s F is sweater weather.

Humidity is another matter. As are cloudless days because of the burn factor. And also after living in AZ, I'd like to say at 125 F, it really doesn't matter that it's a "dry heat."

On a side note: I can tell when we've reached 72 F, because Lilypup sticks her tongue out. She's a very good thermometer. I'm convinced she's got Welsh corgi in her, because of this. I mean, you'd have to be from Wales to think 72 is hot, yes?

I agree - the humidity is what gets to you. Low 80s with humidity is hot to me, and 110+ dry heat in Phoenix is also hot.

I like Amiable's answer, but I suspect we live in the same state.

We had 24c about a month ago and I was flagging!!

See, right now I'm sitting in our shady back yard and we have this, and it's glorious. Note the low humidity and generous cloud cover. I wish every summer day were like this!

Bonus: Sunny and my worn-out lounge pants -- puppies and new clothes don't always mix well!

Humidity, breeze and cloud cover make a big difference. It's not usually humid and hot here, so that's nice, but we get lots of sunny days in the summer. Lovely, but it makes it a lot hotter when you are out and about, and warms up the car in parking lots, etc.

For me, anything over ~75 is pretty warm, and anything over 90 is hot. I will rarely wear jeans on days where it's warmer than the mid-70s, just in case I get caught in a stuffy place or out in the sun for a long time. When it's in the 90s I am in the breeziest, most lightweight clothes I have. What I really hate is those days where it's so hot that the carpet feels warm on your feet, or all the bottles of shampoo etc. in the shower are warm to the touch. Yuck.

Anything above 95F is hot to me here in the Sacramento area. I will take the heat any day over the cold, 65F.

Hot starts closer to 90F (at least 30C) for me and the 70s F (early 20s C) are what I call cool!

90F+.
Okay, I won't quibble over 88, but 80F is not hot, it's warm.
70's is balmy and I may need a long sleeve!
Of course, it depends on whether one is sitting vs. doing heavy exercise and whether one can dress correctly for the weather. For example, if men are wearing suits to an outdoor wedding and it's 80, they will likely BE hot.

Humidity means everything. Here, we have had temperatures in the low to mid 70's F, but it has been sticky and muggy and uncomfortable. I consider that hot. But when we were out west, there could be temperatures in the upper 80's F that felt the same as the humid 70's F.
However, I will grant that my definition of "hot" weather is whenever it is uncomfortable for me, and that is generally at a lower temperature than for most others. I run hot, and greatly appreciate arctic air conditioning (I keep my own home at about 67 or 68 F winter and summer).

In our climate Angie, I'm with you. 85F is starting to border too hot for me. In places with more/less humidity I think I tend to feel similar with the equivalent feeling temperatures... so lower humidity I can handle slightly hotter weather, higher humidity I get hot at slightly lower temps. And like Janet, being able to cool off at night is hugely helpful for me! I'm really affected by heat, and take a loooong time to cool down once I've overheated. So I tend to dress precautionarily cooler than the temps will call for. Like today, it's only in the low 70s but I'm wearing a sleeveless top+vest+ankle pants+pumps. I feel pleasant. I'd also feel equally pleasant in a summer sweater+shorts+short boots.

(Janet I had to laugh at the generous cloud cover while looking at photo 2 with one cute, little cloud. Though yes, I can see there are some hiding behind the trees there. That's, like, really clear sunny weather for us here hehe ^^)

I agree that 30+ degrees is hot, although I typically start whining about the heat at greater than 25. Anywhere between 20 and 25 is comfortable. Any hotter and I'm a sweaty, sleepless mess.

Having lived in Middle East and South East Aisa for many years, I know where you are coming from. I have a much higher tolerance for heat and humidity than a lot of people here. I would call above 30 degrees hot. Interestingly, in summer I love to wear breezy and covered clothing even when it is very humid and hot for other people. I used to think I am the only one here but now that I know you, I don't feel so alone

I wonder how the fans of hot vs. cooler weather would line up if we also took a poll of who *sweats* a lot. I am a sweater. I hate it. I've been told that it's good, and it means my body is cooling itself efficiently, but I'm one of those people who is red-faced and soaked after a three-mile run, while other women look like they just walked out of the grocery store. So one of the reasons I hate the heat is because it makes me *look* a mess.

Oh, I hear you, Janet. I take a towel with me when I'm working out at the gym and jump into the shower immediately afterwards. There is a woman next to me who wears a full face of make-up and barely has a wisp of moisture on her upper lip when she gets off the treadmill. Is she an alien?

Angie, if you're from Mars, then I'm on the same planet eating cheese with you (which, actually, might be quite enjoyable!).

I consider weather hot when it's in the high 80s, like 88. I love mid-70s and that's my favorite temperature of all, from 75 to 76 degrees (yes, I know, not much of a range there). Low 70s and dropping in to the 60s, then I'll start looking for a wrap or jacket as I'll want something close by just in case.

Janet, I think you are right. The first time I was in Florida in August I "glowed" (sweated) so much that I am pretty sure that people thought I had a medical condition. I bike a fair number of miles (generally 20-25) daily in the summer, and I have to carry a damp paper towel with which to wipe my face with occasionally so my sunscreen doesn't run into my eyes and blind me.

When I look at temperatures in the summer, I ignore the actual temp. and focus instead on the humidex. Over 30 is hot and over 40 is stay inside!

Angie, your humidity would indeed make 86 feel "hot" to me.
But, since I live in the desert, it works like this. I'm freezing in the 70s. I'd have to wear a jacket to take a walk, even in the high 70s. I'm not truly comfortable until it's at least 82. Then I can wear a dress and take off my sweater, yay (too bad that only happens in my own home). 90 in the shade with a breeze is delightful. I would dine outside in that temperature. Hot doesn't begin for me until it's over 100. Up to that point, the weather man/woman just calls it "warm". I thought that was so funny when we first moved here.

My favorite? When the sun is warm and the breeze is cool. Heavenly! Usually, I like 60-75F best, but I don't generally think it's hot until about 85, unless it's a humid night and there's no AC ---

I really don't like being hot, and I live in the midwest!

Yes, other 30 is hot, but over 32 or 35 is when I really have to pull out the coping strategies and the entire "hot summer" wardrobe category - no sleeves, no collar, no waistlines, no long skirts etc - almost all dresses (though am thinking of trying to get some lightweight shorts this summer).

I find hot nights very wearing too, especially if they are consecutive and the whole house heats up, and you don't have AC. Over 20 at night is not my preference! And a day with a 32 max which has a cool night and evening is quite bearable.

We have dry summers here, but I find, like so many others, that humidity makes everything much worse. When I lived in Japan, the humid summers though not as hot, were terrible. It is the only weather that has made me lose my appetite!

Let's put it this way, I have to either plan my brick bike/run before 10am or after 4pm tomorrow.

Last year was my first summer in my current, semi-tropical climate. I actually find it quite pleasant most of the time, the humidity can build but there's almost always a breeze (something decidedly lacking from the humid summers of my midwestern childhood), and it's regularly broken by brief showers or thunderstorms. The locals kept apologizing/trying to commiserate with me about the weather last summer, and I just laughed about enjoying the (thankfully, rarely arctic) air conditioning, which was definitely lacking in my previous hot (30-40 in the summer) and humid European city. In the latter, as others have mentioned, it was the heat waves in which the temperature didn't ever drop enough at night that were really killers. I miss a lot about the Euro lifestyle, but not trying to sleep in still, humid air on damp sheets! I would say in both places, though, that 35 C is more the temperature at which people start to *talk* about the heat.

A fashion-related addendum: when I first moved abroad in the late 90s, before most shops were air conditioned, you weren't allowed to try on clothes in many shops during the summer months, for fear of perspiration -- it really put a damper on shopping the summer sales!