My ranking of America's largest cities from coldest to warmest winters (move, trees)

[Smyle12]

You reversed Saint Louis and KC, belmont22.

[waviking24]

I remember waiting for the school bus in Miami as a kid and everyone being all bundled up when it got down near 60 degrees. Now I live in the PNW and wear shorts unless it is below 40.

[tom77falcons]

Originally Posted by belmont22

Cold winters:

Minneapolis: 8-24F (January) Very long, extremely cold, very snowy, dry, windy
Detroit: 19-32F (January) Very long, very cold, very snowy, wet, windy
Chicago: 18-32F (January) Long, very cold, snowy, wet, windy, windy
Cleveland: 22-34F (January) Very long, very cold, very snowy, wet, windy
Indianapolis: 21-36F (January) Long, very cold, snowy, wet, windy
Pittsburgh: 21-36F (January) Long, very cold, very snowy, wet, windy
Boston: 22-36F (January) Long, very cold, very snowy, wet, windy
Denver: 17-42F (December) Very long, very cold, very snowy, very dry
Cincinnati: 23-39F (January) Long, very cold, snowy, wet, windy
St. Louis: 24-40F (January) Long, very cold, snowy, wet, windy
Kansas City: 22-40F (January) Long, very cold, snowy, dry, windy
Philadelphia: 26-40F (January) Long, cold, snowy, wet, windy
New York City: 27-38F (January) Average length, cold, snowy, wet, windy
DC: 29-44F (January) Long, cold, snowy, wet, windy

Mild winters:

Portland: 35-46F (December) Long, mild, little snow, wet
Seattle: 36-46F (December) Long, mild, little snow, wet
Charlotte: 30-51F (January) Short, mild, little snow, wet
Atlanta: 34-52F (January) Short, mild, little snow, wet, windy
Dallas: 37-57F (January) Short, mild, little snow, wet, windy
Sacramento: 38-54F (December) Short, mild, snowless, wet

No winters:

San Francisco: 46-57F (January) 52F
San Antonio: 41-63F (January) 52F
Houston: 43-63F (January) 53F
Phoenix: 45-66F (December) 56F
San Diego: 48-65F (December) 57F
Los Angeles: 48-68F (December) 58F
Orlando: 60-71F (January) 66F
Miami: 60-76F (January) 68F

Look at a little climate data and see what happened to Houston in the 1980's. Dead and dying palm trees and citrus trees everywhere. Houston can get pretty cold and it will return when the cold cycle comes back.

[tom77falcons]

Originally Posted by rnc2mbfl

I am always amused by the "averages" reported for Miami in January.
In my last 12 Winters in Miami, it's never been my experience that the average low in January is 60 degrees. I decided to pull up the almanac for this past Winter and look at Miami day by day in January. What I discovered is the following:

1 day where the morning low was below 60. It was 56.1 degrees on the morning of January 18th.
11 days where the morning low was in the 60s with 4 of those days being above 69 degrees.
3 days where the mean temperature was below the reported 68 degrees
19 days where the overnight low was actually 70 or above including 13 days at 73 or above.
Every single day of the month had a high in the 70s ranging from 71.6 to 77.9
Some of the variances in low to high temperatures were only 2 degrees or less.

While this past Winter was warmer than normal for the US, I found Miami's Winter to be its typical "perfect". While some past Winters have had a few outlier days where the lows actually dipped into the high 40s and the highs reached only into the 60s, the reality is that the typical January day in Miami is more like 70 for the low and 75 for the high.

Again, look at the year to year data from say 1977 to 1989 during our last cold cycle. Miami didn't have many nights like you mentioned. Check the historical data.

[Dawn.Davenport]

I think the OP should factor in sunshine as well. Due to their sunny winters, fringed cities like Minneapolis and Omaha doesn't seem as bad as places like Buffalo, Cleveland, or Detroit where it's not as cold but totally gloomy from late October through May.

[Yn0hTnA]

Originally Posted by tom77falcons

Look at a little climate data and see what happened to Houston in the 1980's. Dead and dying palm trees and citrus trees everywhere. Houston can get pretty cold and it will return when the cold cycle comes back.

Yeah, the 80's was bad once-in-a-hundred-years cold across all of the South, killing loads of citrus all the way down to South Texas and Florida. If such a cold happens again, Miami might not have a tropical climate anymore...or at least, it wont be as tropical.

But as cold as Houston got, San Antonio got even colder. Even the western US can see cold, although they are more protected. And the threat of such cold snaps is why I think an East-West barrier needs to be constructed across North America to prevent such cold snaps.

The averages for Houston though factor in cold times. If such cold times were prevented, then Houston's average would go up. Same with San Antonio, Orlando, Miami, etc.

[Yn0hTnA]

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

Dallas can get down into the teens & Houston lower 20's.

Not needing coats & sweaters in Houston is a myth.

Greater Houston is a large region that stretches from the sea to near the Austin area. Northern, inland regions can get to the 20s only a few times during the winters, but coastal areas can go years without freezing.

The only thing you need for most Houston winters is a sweater, and thats only for the windchill. And Dallas, for that matter, doesn't see temps in the teens all that often during winter.

[hipcat]

Next weeks weather forecast in Los Angeles. This is way higher than average. This is like Summer Weather, and this summer has been mild in So Cal this year.

[tom77falcons]

Originally Posted by rnc2mbfl

I am always amused by the "averages" reported for Miami in January.
In my last 12 Winters in Miami, it's never been my experience that the average low in January is 60 degrees. I decided to pull up the almanac for this past Winter and look at Miami day by day in January. What I discovered is the following:

1 day where the morning low was below 60. It was 56.1 degrees on the morning of January 18th.
11 days where the morning low was in the 60s with 4 of those days being above 69 degrees.
3 days where the mean temperature was below the reported 68 degrees
19 days where the overnight low was actually 70 or above including 13 days at 73 or above.
Every single day of the month had a high in the 70s ranging from 71.6 to 77.9
Some of the variances in low to high temperatures were only 2 degrees or less.

While this past Winter was warmer than normal for the US, I found Miami's Winter to be its typical "perfect". While some past Winters have had a few outlier days where the lows actually dipped into the high 40s and the highs reached only into the 60s, the reality is that the typical January day in Miami is more like 70 for the low and 75 for the high.

Wrong. Stop using warm recent winters.

The current NOAA averages use 30 year periods to even out warm cycles and cold cycles.

1981 to 2010 are what the current averages are based on. Next year the really cold winters could return or even this year.

Here is winter Dec 84 thru Feb 85

Dec average high 79.5F, average low 61.5F
Jan average high 74.9F, average low 50.6F
Feb average high 78.4F, average low 58.2F


In those 90 winter days, there were 44 nights that dropped below 60F, and 28 nights that dropped below 50F, with two nights that dropped to 30F. That is a temp that will easily kill tropical plants and flowers. And that is exactly what happened multiple times in the 80's. Miami is unlike any other area at such a low latitude besides S. Texas.
Blame Canada, but we in the US are unique in that we are very prone to severe arctic outbreaks with nothing to stop the cold air due to a lack of an east west mountain range. Personally I wish Canada didn't exist and was replaced with an ocean. Just kidding.

I wonder how you would feel with 28 nights in the 40's and 30's there, or two nights down to 30F.

[Hawaii4evr]

You've left out Honolulu, which has the warmest winters of them all.