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I'm planning on visiting Texas (Flying to Houston, planning to drive around somewhere between Houston and New Orleans) from The Netherlands some time soon. We want to do a mini (=2 weeks) roadtrip in and around the Houston area.

However, we are not used to hot and humid weather and would like to avoid really hot weather if possible. So far I have been reading good things about the end of October, beginning of November. (Good temperature)

Will this be a good time to visit this area? What about hurricanes or storms? Do some tourist attractions close during specific months?

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    Where in Texas? It varies quite a bit from the south to the north, the desert areas, the sea-side etc...
    – Mark Mayo
    Commented Jun 28, 2016 at 13:42
  • In all honesty, we're not sure yet. Like I said we want to see as much as possible of the state and some surrounding sight-see points. Main activities will be; visiting a ranch, seeing the desert, visiting a bayou and visiting new orleans. But what exactly isn't sure yet and depends on what month we go so I can check hotel options etc.
    – Kelly
    Commented Jun 28, 2016 at 14:08
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    Kelly, if you want this question re-opened, specify which places in Texas you plan to visit.
    – Fiksdal
    Commented Jun 28, 2016 at 18:06
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    @Kelly Good. Maybe state even more explicitly that you're only asking about that particular region. You can then flag the question for moderator attention, and write that you've edited it so that it's no longer broad. You can also ask on meta.travel.stackexchange.com to get it re-opened.
    – Fiksdal
    Commented Jun 29, 2016 at 10:54
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    For hurricane trends, check out the NOAA's website. It looks like September is the most likely month for the Texas coast to be affected by a hurricane; by November, the threat has gone down considerably.
    – Michael Seifert
    Commented Jun 29, 2016 at 14:21

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I'm planning on visiting Texas (Flying to Houston, planning to drive around somewhere between Houston and New Orleans) from The Netherlands some time soon. We want to do a mini (=2 weeks) roadtrip in and around the Houston area.

Well, with this in mind you would want to avoid the summer months. In Houston it can get quite hot and its humid since its right on the coast.

The drive to New Orleans (which I have done as well) is nice, as you get to go across the bottom of Texas and Louisiana (on I-10). Its about a 6 hour drive (depending on the traffic). You may even catch a glimpse of a riverboat casino around Beaumont (the border town to Louisiana).

However, we are not used to hot and humid weather and would like to avoid really hot weather if possible. So far I have been reading good things about the end of October, beginning of November. (Good temperature)

Will this be a good time to visit this area? What about hurricanes or storms? Do some tourist attractions close during specific months?

Thunderstorms and other severe weather is a spring time phenomenon. I would be surprised if you ran into a tornado warning in October or November, as during these months the weather is getting progressively cooler. This would a good time to visit as you'd have quite a respite from the heat.

The major tourist attractions in Houston have to do with the space program, and these are open during your time frame.

I spent a great amount of time in central Texas; here is what I can tell you:

  1. Texas is big. It is the largest of the contiguous states; (the largest by area is actually Alaska). You can find all kinds of terrain, environment and even weather in Texas. You can easily spend a few weeks and still not explore everything there is to see.

  2. It gets hot in the summer time. You are looking at temperatures around 45C during the day. At night it cools down a bit.

  3. The really humid part of Texas is in the south near Houston / San Antonio.

  4. If its not hot, then you have to worry about severe weather (tornadoes) and thunderstorms. They are rarely as bad as what the movies show. The midwest is also known as tornado alley.

In my opinion:

  1. July - August (hot + humid)
  2. September - November (best time in my opinion, very nice mild weather, and it gets pleasantly cool at night)
  3. December - Jan (avoid, it can get cold during these months).
  4. Late Feb - Mid-march (great time to visit, lots of sporting events and great weather).

Budget wise, Texas is actually quite affordable. The main metropolitan areas (Dallas, Austin, Houston) have similar price structures as any other major city. However, taxes are quite forgiving.

My personal favorite city is Austin because I am a fan of live music and you can always find live music in the clubs/bars. It is known as the "Live Music Capital of the World".

Try to stay in the outskirts as accommodation within the city limits can get quite expensive.

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    Note that the "cold" of December & January (in Houston, at least) means an average daily high temperature of 17°C and an average overnight low of 6°C. This is still significantly warmer than temperatures in the OP's home country (the Netherlands) during the same months.
    – Michael Seifert
    Commented Jun 29, 2016 at 14:17
  • Yes but similarly we don't know if the OP is going to Houston - in central / north Texas it gets much colder (overnight frost / below freezing).
    – Burhan Khalid
    Commented Jun 29, 2016 at 16:55
  • The question was edited after posting to specifically discuss the area "in and around Houston". You're right that the winter climate in places like Amarillo is probably about as cold as what the OP experiences in the Netherlands, though.
    – Michael Seifert
    Commented Jun 29, 2016 at 17:06
  • You forgot the neatest part of the drive on I-10 to New Orleans: driving over long stretches of swamp. To me, it's surreal if you've never seen anything like it. And to the OP: as a former Houstonian, I would think that Houston wouldn't be very interesting for a tourist; I never knew where to take guests.
    – Max Starkenburg
    Commented Jun 30, 2016 at 11:56
  • You know I didn't find it that interesting - except for the sign that said the police are patrolling by helicopter for speed traps (that was kind of cool). The best thing for me though was when I reached New Orleans; was the bridge across the lake? (forgot the name of it now) That was nice.
    – Burhan Khalid
    Commented Jun 30, 2016 at 19:00

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