[Moth]

Originally Posted by MOforthewin

The northeast and upper South, yea.

But not much warmer, mainly at night than Memphis, TN is for example.

Like I don't run into many people from far southern MO down here. It's mostly St. Louis on north where it gets colder. Like Branson, MO for example the weather is pretty mild in the winter. If I lived there I wouldn't move to FL. I can tolerate the occasion cold snap that only last a few days.

I can't imagine even walking on the beach in the winter. Last winter I went out to eat at the beach in Feb. It was about mid 50s for the higher and at the time it was mostly outdoor dining still. It was NOT a fun time eating outside. I can't imagine what that would be like in Destin on the Gulf and being 47 degree high after a cold front. The day temps feel cold at the beach when the Gulf is cold!

Well, Memphis is in the South and is rated USDA Zone 7B. Jacksonville is rated 9B. Pensacola is 9A.

There is more than a wee bit of difference there.

Moving on to the Middle Atlantic, New England, the Midwest, and the Rocky Mountain states would yield even more drastic differences.

[MOforthewin]

Originally Posted by Moth

Well, Memphis is in the South and is rated USDA Zone 7B. Jacksonville is rated 9B. Pensacola is 9A.

There is more than a wee bit of difference there.

Moving on to the Middle Atlantic, New England, the Midwest, and the Rocky Mountain states would yield even more drastic differences.

Only half of Missouri is the Midwest. The other half of the state's weather is the upper south and culturally too.

Anyway, Memphis also has a BIG time heat island. Like cities to it's south in northern MS actually have cooler lows and highs than Memphis.

Little Rock and Nashville also have a heat island as well.

[Moth]

Originally Posted by MOforthewin

Only half of Missouri is the Midwest. The other half of the state's weather is the upper south and culturally too.

Anyway, Memphis also has a BIG time heat island. Like cities to it's south in northern MS actually have cooler lows and highs than Memphis.

Little Rock and Nashville also have a heat island as well.

The USDA Zone rating takes Memphis' heat island effect into account which is why it is 7B while the rest of the state mostly 7A and 6A to 6B. It also is in the most southern part and the Mississippi water might help.

All cities have heat islands.

Does not make their climate comparable with Northern Florida.

[MOforthewin]

Originally Posted by Moth

The USDA Zone rating takes Memphis' heat island effect into account which is why it is 7B while the rest of the state mostly 7A and 6A to 6B. It also is in the most southern part and the Mississippi water might help.

All cities have heat islands.

Does not make their climate comparable with Northern Florida.

When it comes to the winter low temps it's not far off! Memphis coldest average low in the middle of Jan is 33 degrees! Crestview, FL at the coldest time of year the average low is 38 degrees!

Caruthersville, Missouri, in the Missouri Bootheel the coldest average low is only 29 degrees in Jan. Only 9 degrees off from Crestview.

I you're right about the water, and for the night time low temps being warmer in the MS Delta as well. That swampy land helps keep it warm in the winter.

The MS Delta that extends from just north of Cairo IL on down to southern MS is very swampy, hence rice and Cotton thrive.

I think this is also why the native range of Alligators is further north in this area. Actually gators have been spotted around Cairo IL before in the Ohio river and in the Missouri Bootheel they're seen in the MS river sometimes. A few years ago a large, dead gator was found in Jonesboro Arkansas just across the Missouri state line. Currently Gators are living in the MS river in the Memphis area year round, and further north a few gators live in Reelfoot Lake as well near the MO border.

So yea, I think this region of the upper south has a warmer micro climate, the areas of SE Missouri, southern IL, western TN and Arkansas in the delta.

[Moth]

Originally Posted by MOforthewin

When it comes to the winter low temps it's not far off! Memphis coldest average low in the middle of Jan is 33 degrees! Crestview, FL at the coldest time of year the average low is 38 degrees!

Caruthersville, Missouri, in the Missouri Bootheel the coldest average low is only 29 degrees in Jan. Only 9 degrees off from Crestview.

I you're right about the water, and for the night time low temps being warmer in the MS Delta as well. That swampy land helps keep it warm in the winter.

The MS Delta that extends from just north of Cairo IL on down to southern MS is very swampy, hence rice and Cotton thrive.

I think this is also why the native range of Alligators is further north in this area. Actually gators have been spotted around Cairo IL before in the Ohio river and in the Missouri Bootheel they're seen in the MS river sometimes. A few years ago a large, dead gator was found in Jonesboro Arkansas just across the Missouri state line. Currently Gators are living in the MS river in the Memphis area year round, and further north a few gators live in Reelfoot Lake as well near the MO border.

So yea, I think this region of the upper south has a warmer micro climate, the areas of SE Missouri, southern IL, western TN and Arkansas in the delta.

I am kind of confused as to what you are saying.

The Memphis and Crestview lows still have a 5 degree differential. And you are not calculating how long the lows stay. I would think Memphis stays at 33 for a good part of the day while in Crestview that describes the dew point. Memphis is slightly warmer (Zone 7B) than where I live (Maryland Zone 7A). Rest assured, Crestview and the rest of northern Florida is a helluva lot warmer than here.

Any Alligator in any part of Illinois is either lost or a released pet. Alligators most northern range in that direction is two small bits of both southern Arkansas and Oklahoma and most of Mississippi.

Any Alligator around Memphis is rare and is probably lost. The same thing happens in Virginia Beach. Occasionally one wanders up there from North Carolina. Even here they sometimes find one in the Potomac and again, it is probably a released pet.

Rice and Cotton are not tropical crops per se. Cotton does better in the South- as do most crops- because of the longer warm season. Makes the bols bigger and more lucrative.

Northern Florida benefits from the Gulf Stream and a very southern location. Memphis and these other places cannot compete with that.

[beachmouse]

I've lived both two hours north of Memphis and along the coastal FL panhandle. Tennessee winters are a lot harsher than they are here and we'd get snow that stuck multiple times a year.

[MOforthewin]

Originally Posted by Moth

I am kind of confused as to what you are saying.

The Memphis and Crestview lows still have a 5 degree differential. And you are not calculating how long the lows stay. I would think Memphis stays at 33 for a good part of the day while in Crestview that describes the dew point. Memphis is slightly warmer (Zone 7B) than where I live (Maryland Zone 7A). Rest assured, Crestview and the rest of northern Florida is a helluva lot warmer than here.

Any Alligator in any part of Illinois is either lost or a released pet. Alligators most northern range in that direction is two small bits of both southern Arkansas and Oklahoma and most of Mississippi.

Any Alligator around Memphis is rare and is probably lost. The same thing happens in Virginia Beach. Occasionally one wanders up there from North Carolina. Even here they sometimes find one in the Potomac and again, it is probably a released pet.

Rice and Cotton are not tropical crops per se. Cotton does better in the South- as do most crops- because of the longer warm season. Makes the bols bigger and more lucrative.

Northern Florida benefits from the Gulf Stream and a very southern location. Memphis and these other places cannot compete with that.

The average high in Memphis in Jan is around 50 but they also get a lot of days before a front that will touch the 70s. That's what lead to that big tornado outbreak a few days ago.

Wrong about the alligators. They live in Northern Arkansas. There is a thriving population now in the Memphis area.

They can stick their nose up in ice as well to survive. That's how Southeastern OK has a gator population.

[Moth]

Originally Posted by MOforthewin

The average high in Memphis in Jan is around 50 but they also get a lot of days before a front that will touch the 70s. That's what lead to that big tornado outbreak a few days ago.

Wrong about the alligators. They live in Northern Arkansas. There is a thriving population now in the Memphis area.

They can stick their nose up in ice as well to survive. That's how Southeastern OK has a gator population.

Wel,l that is interesting. Still, I would take a northern Florida winter over one in Memphis any day.

[MOforthewin]

Originally Posted by Moth

Wel,l that is interesting. Still, I would take a northern Florida winter over one in Memphis any day.

Well of course. One thing the Delta region gets a lot of is ICE storms! bad ice storms. Same with Southern Missouri. Where they lack the snow they make up for it with ice storms. St. Louis we had a couple bad ones BUT we were just far enough north to usually miss them. Even just 40 miles south of us would get slammed with ice storms.

The only reason why northern AL and places like Atlanta never had a thriving gator population is because of the fall line. They could survive winter in Atlanta but the natural fall line prevents most gators from inhabiting it because of the elevation is a physical barrier. That doesn't apply to TX, OK or the MS Delta area hence they make it further north. There are rare instances gators have made it into the Ohio River in the summer as well.

[bigsix5066]

husband and I are 55 year old GenX's from the midwest, 2-3 years from retirement and have about had it with winter weather. It's great to live here but for that. Tonight's low is -21.
So, for three/four months we'd like a reprieve. We don't know whether to buy or just rent for those few months. We know where we want to be.
We'd keep our two midwestern homes (primarily residence and lake home) and travel between the three.
Not sure if we should sit on our cash until the housing bubble bursts as we likely won't need a mortgage. We probably will.