Humidity in Atlanta, Georgia Today

Atlanta sits at roughly 1,000 feet of elevation on the Piedmont plateau, which would normally mean drier air than the Gulf Coast cities below it. Instead, Atlanta's humidity is a tale of two sources that converge over north Georgia. Southerly winds pull deep tropical moisture up from the Gulf of Mexico, while the city's own dense urban tree canopy — Atlanta is famously one of the most forested major cities in America — traps moisture near the ground and slows evaporation. The elevation takes the edge off the absolute worst of the Gulf mugginess, but not by much, and the tree cover means the humidity that does settle in takes longer to burn off.

Summer is the season that defines Atlanta's humidity reputation. From June through September, Gulf moisture combines with strong afternoon sun to push dew points into the upper 60s and low 70s°F. The thick greenery that gives the city its "City in a Forest" nickname also means the air carries a heavy load of pollen in spring and a persistent dampness through much of the warm season. Atlanta does not get the daily sea-breeze thunderstorms of the Gulf Coast, but pop-up afternoon storms are common and they recharge the moisture just as quickly as the sun depletes it.

The city's inland position gives it one advantage over coastal Southern cities: cold fronts occasionally sweep through from the northwest and scrub the humidity out for a few days, particularly in spring and fall. These dry, crisp spells are Atlanta at its best — but they are the exception rather than the rule, and by mid-morning the day after a front passes, Gulf moisture is often already creeping back.