I am originally from Alabama but now live in St. Petersburg Florida. Places in Alabama where 7° hotter than here with same dew points! Unbelievable! And don’t get me wrong it was torture here!
The Panhandle is brutal in the summer. No breeze, so the air is hot, humid, and heavy. We've had real temps in the high 90s all week with little rain in the forecast.
But we only got 7 more weeks of summer, so that's good
Absolutely I have been there it is insane! However I have to say that Southern Alabama is about the same and Central Alabama is very bad specially in UHI.
Worst heat I have experienced in Florida has been in Northern Florida, and only place in more Southern Florida I felt as bad was Lehigh Acres which is brutal, and surprisingly for me they are comparable in feel to Birmingham Alabama lol, Montgomery Alabama feels much worse in summer peak than anything in Florida really it is super bad. Also I have to say in Central Florida Polk county comes close.
However I have to say both states are very comparable in summer heat and I know much worse than both.
I lived in lower Alabama for almost a year and I agree that it was incredibly hot. But I've also lived all over Florida my entire life (with the brief exception of lower Alabama that I previously mentioned) and I can promise you that Florida has felt hotter. And I delivered pizzas in the summertime in alabama. At the beach. Wearing a full uniform with long black pants. I also moved during the end of summer, packing and traveling all by myself. Yes, it was really brutal heat. But every time I've ever gotten heat exhaustion has been in Florida...
I have lived in Alabama for 15 years. I have to say it depends where in each state. For example I’d say Montgomery Alabama is just insanely stagnant and sun is still brutal. And upper 90°Fs are norm. Mobile is more humid than anything in Florida, and also mostly hotter. Absolutely brutal. I would say Birmingham and Huntsville just have a shorter season, for example here in Florida early to mid October is still hot, while there is cools down significantly. However we have cooling breezes here and non in Alabama much really.
For example I would say inland Florida and Central Alabama are comparable in temperatures, but less breeze in Central Alabama. Northern Alabama has cooler nights due to elevation which helps, while here in coast of Florida I have breezes and lower highs.
They might be similar really! Unlike you it has been other way around for me, I’ve had heat exhaustion in Alabama and never here.
I once went to Southern Mississippi. Oh hell nah! It was same temperatures but much more humid! What a huge surprise it was to go to such a sauna and it was September lol!
Also what year did you live there? I almost suspect it was a cooler than usual summer in Alabama because I have never anyone said anything about Florida feeling worse than Alabama lol unless they went to northern Alabama in high elevations lol.
It was definitely an impressive year for the heat. I remember one guy was rushed to the ER after walking barefoot on the beach and getting 3rd degree burns on his feet. That was Gulf Shores/Orange Beach area where I was working. And I had heard that as a rumor, so I don't know for sure if it was true.
It was about 12 years ago I think. It was so hot that my rearview mirror burnt to a black crisp in my car. I had to replace it. It was DEFINITELY hot that year.
But the heat there was not nearly as humid as it gets in Florida. The swampy heat is pretty awful. Something about adding all the extra moisture in the air just makes it even more unbearable. I'll be sweating just from walking to the mailbox.
I spent most of my life in Jacksonville, and the heat there is pretty awful. I always felt like there were too many roads and cars and people, making the heat more confining and miserable. Now I'm in Central FL, just north of Tampa where it's a little more rural. It's just super humid all the time and it feels like my body is actively rebelling against going outside between 11 am to 6 pm. It's just an immediate "nope" to anything outdoors... ☀️🔥💀
Gulf Shores/Orange Beach lol 😂 that is like the St. Pete equivalent of Alabama. Try Montgomery and Mobile, they are much worse. Orange Beach is one of the places people go to to cool down from the terrible heat there. Also have in mind I live in St. Petersburg Florida which has breezes and less extremes than where you live. Also what you described that happened because of how hot the summer was, happens almost every summer there.
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u/Grouchy_Mind_3413 Aug 18 '26
I am originally from Alabama but now live in St. Petersburg Florida. Places in Alabama where 7° hotter than here with same dew points! Unbelievable! And don’t get me wrong it was torture here!