# What's fall like? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 23, 2018, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796 "2018-09-23T22:19:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796/1 "2018-09-23T22:19:32Z")
I live in Texas, where we don’t get seasons. For those that actually get fall, what is the season like? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796/2 "2018-09-23T22:42:01Z")
Fall is AWESOME! Let’s turn off the air conditioning and open the windows. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796/3 "2018-09-23T22:53:06Z")
At best, crisp and sunny with the trees changing color beautifully. At worst, wet and cold, with soggy brown leaves covering the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796/4 "2018-09-23T22:55:13Z")
It’s OK. It’s not summer though. I love hot weather, and fall is a precursor as to what will shortly arrive next: dreaded winter with cold, ice, slush, and snow. Spring is wonderful as snow melts and warmer temperatures are in the forecast. Fall would be fine, if we could skip winter, which in Ottawa is soul sucking. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796/5 "2018-09-23T23:01:19Z")
Yep, in Arkansas it’s generally still warm until late October. I have seen shirtsleeves well into December. But the nights get cooler, and that is pleasant. But actual Autumal weather is lost down here. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796/6 "2018-09-23T23:02:34Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > It’s OK. It’s not summer though. > > I love hot weather, and fall is a precursor as to what will shortly arrive next: dreaded winter with cold, ice, slush, and snow. > > Spring is wonderful as snow melts and warmer temperatures are in the forecast. > > Fall would be fine, if we could skip winter, which in Ottawa is soul sucking. I am way down south in New York City\* and I agree with this 100%\*\*. \*I am not in NYC proper. I am a five minute walk away from Queens Village in Belmont, NY but nobody knows where Belmont is. \*\* I hate hot and humid. Over 85 degrees and over 70% humidity and I am sure I’m going to die. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796/7 "2018-09-23T23:03:24Z")
Massachusetts: cool nights, days are bright and windy or overcast and cold, trees turn gold and red and everyone wanders around staring at them. ---
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796/8 "2018-09-23T23:04:23Z")
Would the best place to experience fall and four distinct seasons be the northeast? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796/9 "2018-09-23T23:07:52Z")
> [@CastletonSnob](#): > > Would the best place to experience fall and four distinct seasons be the northeast? I would say so. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796/10 "2018-09-23T23:10:08Z")
Texas does too have seasons. When I lived near Houston we had Raunchy Damp, March Muggies, Soggy Transition, Summer (late April through most of September), Norther Front, Reheating, and Post-Freeze. There was that golden moment around the end of September when the first real front would come through, it would get down below the mid-80s, and later the bald cypresses and sweet gum turned color (late October-early Nov. on average). Fall of a sort. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796/11 "2018-09-23T23:18:06Z")
For those of us in the Midwest: Summer is an almost unrelenting wave of heat and humidity, such that the heat index is almost dangerous (it _is_ dangerous to the young, and elderly, and those with various health problems). Sometime in September, on a typically late summer hot, muggy day, something almost miraculous happens: the humidity drops ten, twenty percent, and cool air from the northwest (thank you, Canada!) moves in, dropping the temperature twenty, thirty degrees (Farenheit). Dewfall in the morning, and a long-sleeved shirt or light jacket feels good; by noon, T-shirt and shorts feels great. Sometime after sunset, the long-sleeved shirt/light jacket is again welcome. The trees, lushly green, begin to fade somewhat; by late September, or early October, tinges of light green, or even yellow, appear. It’s the time of year where you can run the air conditioner by day (although you could probably do without), and open the windows for pleasantly cool, dry air by late afternoon/early evening; by nightfall, closing the windows and turning on the furnace might feel good. Sometime around mid/late October, through early/mid November, the A/C is turned off for good for the year; the tinges of color on the leaves of the trees spreads; shorts and T-shirts are still seen, but less and less in mornings and evenings. Chilly, cloudy, overcast days become more prevalent, with accompanying rain. By mid/late November, the weather is screwy; you can go a week with sunny, warm, dry weather, and then another with cold, damp rain, and overcast. I’ve worn shorts and T-shirts to Thanksgiving, as well as sweaters and jackets; sometimes on the very same day! The leaves on the trees are have transformed to a riotous splendor of red, yellow, orange, and gold, but plain brown and natural gray are beginning to show, as well as small piles of dead leaves on the ground. By early/mid December, the red/yellow/orange/gold is going away, fading to brown/gray, and falling in ever-increasing drifts to the ground. The sky may be clear and sunny for days on end, but even on the sunny days, long-sleeved shirts, or even light to medium jackets are becoming the norm; when the overcast comes, it brings cold rain with it, sometimes for days on end. Sleet, and light snow, are not unheard of. But then the sun comes back out again, and all the cold, damp weather melts away for a week, two, three, even, before it’s back again, maybe with more snow this time. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796/12 "2018-09-24T00:04:14Z")
The onset of Autumn in the Northeast is proof that there is a God and that she loves us. It’s best experienced in New England, but it is also a great relief from the humid sweaty horrors of high summer here in NYC. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796/13 "2018-09-24T00:07:03Z")
I don’t know what part of Texas you live in but here in Central Texas we do indeed have seasons. Only two weeks ago the early morning temp was nearly 80, and this morning it was 68. That, friend, is a seasonal change, and I love it. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796/14 "2018-09-24T00:17:37Z")
Fall is wonderful. The air gets cooler but not cold. The leaves change color. People start getting more home and family oriented. Football starts (although that is not as much a big deal for me as it used to be). Halloween and Thanksgiving are both great times of year. Yay Fall! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796/15 "2018-09-24T00:20:06Z")
Also, you can start having dinners that aren’t just salads, or grilled vegetables and meats. Tonight we had homemade soup. SOUP! ---
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796/16 "2018-09-24T00:30:49Z")
I heard someone say that the majority of countries in the world don’t get four distinct seasons. Is that true? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796/17 "2018-09-24T00:39:38Z")
In MI, “fall” means winter. Just like “winter” means winter and “spring” means winter. I hate winter. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796/18 "2018-09-24T00:48:33Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > In MI, “fall” means winter. Just like “winter” means winter and “spring” means winter. I hate winter. I endorse this post. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796/19 "2018-09-24T00:52:34Z")
Pacific North **wet** : Autumn is the start of nine months of rain. Except in Winter, when it may snow. Seriously, the calendar turns September and it’s like someone flipped the weather switch. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796/20 "2018-09-24T01:15:56Z")
Ohioan here. It’s my favorite time of year. No bugs, no sweating, and cool evenings = good sleeping weather. It’s also the start of deer hunting season. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-fall-like/821796.md?page=2)