I thought we had this one for sure
Published 9:00 am Thursday, July 17, 2025
There are some prizes you just don’t want to win. Like an ugliest sweater contest when you didn’t know your sweater was ugly. Or the worst breath of the day award.
Apparently, there are also some prizes you may want to win simply because you think you deserve it — not necessarily because you want it. I’m not talking about being hyper-critical of yourself, so stick with me.
As I have often said, I get a lot of emails. A lot. Every day of the week I receive links to articles like: “The best strange food item in every Southern state”; “7 things you didn’t know about (whatever or whoever)”; and “See where your state ranks in pickle availability.” OK, I made that last one up, but it’s not far off.
Trending
Today I got a link for something I was certain Mississippi was best at, or top of the list — surely there was no other state that was higher in the list than my Magnolia home. Well, no more than one, I would think.
The article was “The 10 Most Humid States.” Having been outside for at least one minute every day, I can personally testify that this summer is huh-YOU-mid. I walked outside with my dog a couple of mornings ago early, and in about 30 seconds my shirt was stuck to my back. Ugh. Just one example of many instances.
For those of you who work outside every day, or just a lot, my sympathies.
So when I saw the article link, I thought I had to just confirm that we “won” this. Louisiana and Florida would be just behind us on the list, and if we were beat by anyone, it might be Hawaii.
So when I saw that Mississippi was fourth on the list (yeah, fourth, as in three more humid than the state where northerners can’t breathe), I gasped. And sucked in a double-lungful dosage of wet air.
Who in the ever-lovin’ Southern steam bath of dewpoints scored higher than M-I-crooked-letter-crooked-letter-I-crooked-letter-crooked-letter-I-humpback-humpback-I??
Trending
By the way, a dewpoint (or dew point) is the temperature the air must be cooled to in order to produce a relative humidity of 100%.
Well, first let me tell you who came in fifth-10th: Alabama, Texas, Georgia (each with average annual dewpoint of 54 degrees); and then Arkansas and the Carolinas (each with an average dewpoint of 51).
In slot 4, Mississippi’s average dewpoint is 55.6 degrees, with the highest humidity measured in July. I know most of us would think August, but the humidity there comes mostly from our own sweat, I believe.
The top three were the states I mentioned earlier as being just behind us in my personal thinking — Louisiana (58.3) and Florida (62.7), with Lake Charles and Orlando being two of the nation’s muggiest cities. Not the cities where you’re most likely to get mugged. That honor goes to such cities as Baltimore, Minneapolis, Chicago, DC, and Little Rock.
Number one was Hawaii at 65.2. I’ll concede that. With family in ’Bama and LA, and having lived several years in LA (Louisiana, not Lower Alabama), I still would’ve given the dampness honor to Ms. Sippi.
Oh, well. Guess I shouldn’t be disappointed we didn’t “win” this one. But for some weird reason, my wet shirt and I are equally let down.
Editor Brett Campbell can be reached at brett.campbell@dailyleader.com.