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Zombie is right, and @wavehunter, Hawaii is surrounded by year-round warm waters. SoFla waters get cooler than waters around Hawaii in winter, except for Hilo beaches which are cooler, but still warm all year. Hawaii is much more tropical than SoFla because it does not have those intnse cold snaps SoFla gets. Even the Keys are affected, though not as severe as mainland SoFla. There is no arguing that Honolulu has a true tropical climate.
Since Honolulu is semi-arid (undeniable), it can't be considered tropical because to be tropical you need a sufficient amount of rain as well as high temps year round. The word "tropical" is loosely used since you're implying that any hot climate (like Dubai) can be tropical. They just need to sustain high temps for 99% of the year, which is not the complete definition of a tropical climate.
Honolulu gets less than 20 inches of rain a year. A typical semi-arid climate gets between 10-20 inches of rain a year. Tropical climates need to average well over 20 inches of rain a year, whether its distributed evenly, or distinct seasons of wetness and dryness.
Except that Honolulu does get enough rain, but it is measured in the coastal areas, which are indeed dry, rather than the inland areas which receive the most rain. And I said before, on wikipedia's page for Honolulu, Koppen classifies it as a tropical savannah climate, despite their rainfall requirements. And look at this website, which claims Honolulu gets 41 inches or rain each year.
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
Except that Honolulu does get enough rain, but it is measured in the coastal areas, which are indeed dry, rather than the inland areas which receive the most rain. And I said before, on wikipedia's page for Honolulu, Koppen classifies it as a tropical savannah climate, despite their rainfall requirements. And look at this website, which claims Honolulu gets 41 inches or rain each year.
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
The only areas in Honolulu where they receive sufficient precipitation, are the mountainous regions where the temps are cooler. I calculated the aridity stats in 2 different areas in Honolulu, using 1981-2010 data on both on Koppen's formula. According to the the formula, both are semi-arid BSh climates. I used both Honolulu Airport and Honolulu Obsrvy, and got the same semi-arid climate results. Eastern Honolulu seems to have more precipitation, but the temperature stats are not recorded, so I cannot calculate the ones on the mountainous regions, though as you go up the mountains you get much cooler. I can't imagine Honolulu maintaining its heat with more precipitation. It's like non-semiarid precipitation and high temps are almost mutually exclusive.
Honolulu is really a microclimate, but primarily a semi-arid climate, since their 2 most reliable climatic sites say so.
^^^Honolulu is indeed warm when it rains. It is not like CA. It seems like you have never been, since you use phrases like "I can't imagine". Maybe if you went you would change your mind about the climate, which happens to be truly tropical. It gets the temperatures needed to be tropical, the rain needed to be tropical, and is in the tropics. It doesn't matter if the rain is mostly in the mountains or not, Honolulu still gets the rain and heat needed to be tropical
^^^Honolulu is indeed warm when it rains. It is not like CA. It seems like you have never been, since you use phrases like "I can't imagine". Maybe if you went you would change your mind about the climate, which happens to be truly tropical. It gets the temperatures needed to be tropical, the rain needed to be tropical, and is in the tropics. It doesn't matter if the rain is mostly in the mountains or not, Honolulu still gets the rain and heat needed to be tropical
Sorry, I can't conclude Honolulu is tropical, if anything. I know it breaks your heart to know you were born in a climate that isn't necessarily tropical...I can only imagine what is going through your head right now that I have exposed to the public Honolulu's climate for what it really is.
Hilo, I have no problem with, but the city is nowhere near as important as Miami, and it gets nowhere the recognition as Honolulu, so I don't care much for Hilo. You can't even compare it to my little brothers, WPB and Fort Lauderdale. You already know the feedback you got when you tried to do that on the Big island forum.
Man, I'm not gonna lie, when I first heard Honolulu is not necessarily a tropical climate, I was very curious, knowing how much people admire Honolulu for its tropical flair. So, I decided to experiment, and to my surprise, Honolulu indeed didn't make the precipitation threshold required, in it's 2 main stations to be qualified as a tropical climate. Man, how does it feel to now learn you were born in a BSh climate. You must feel devastated bro. But, hang in there. It's still a great city.
Sorry, I can't conclude Honolulu is tropical, if anything. I know it breaks your heart to know you were born in a climate that isn't necessarily tropical...I can only imagine what is going through your head right now that I have exposed to the public Honolulu's climate for what it really is.
Hilo, I have no problem with, but the city is nowhere near as important as Miami, and it gets nowhere the recognition as Honolulu, so I don't care much for Hilo. You can't even compare it to my little brothers, WPB and Fort Lauderdale. You already know the feedback you got when you tried to do that on the Big island forum.
Man, I'm not gonna lie, when I first heard Honolulu is not necessarily a tropical climate, I was very curious, knowing how much people admire Honolulu for its tropical flair. So, I decided to experiment, and to my surprise, Honolulu indeed didn't make the precipitation threshold required, in it's 2 main stations to be qualified as a tropical climate. Man, how does it feel to now learn you were born in a BSh climate. You must feel devastated bro. But, hang in there. It's still a great city.
I'm not devastated because Honolulu has a tropical savannah climate. Honolulu is certainly more tropical than anywhere in SoFla because it is warmer and lies within the tropics.
This is from Koppen directly, regarding the climate of Honolulu and similar tropical areas:
Sometimes As is used in place of Aw if the dry season occurs during the time of higher sun and longer days. This is the case in parts of Hawaii, East Africa (Mombasa, Kenya) and Sri Lanka (Trincomalee), for instance. In most places that have tropical wet and dry climates, however, the dry season occurs during the time of lower sun and shorter days because of rainshadow effects during the 'high-sun' part of the year.
Examples:
1. Honolulu
2. Miami/Broward County/Southern half of Palm Beach County
3. Rest of Peninsular Florida/South Texas/Texas Gulf/Mexican Boarder
4. Florida Panhandle/Southern Louisiana/Southeast Texas/Southern Bama/Southern Mississippi
5. Piedmont South/Upper South
Best answer.
I'll add in something. I know South Florida is truly tropical but most of the year Orlando South (Including Tampa) feels tropical for a long portion of the year. They should have another category for us. Hell Cincinnati is border line Sub-Tropical if I'm not mistaking. I know damn well they don't have the same tropical characteristics weather as Central and Southern Florida to be any more or equally tropical.
Sorry, I can't conclude Honolulu is tropical, if anything.
So you don't consider Aruba tropical then either? Just curious have you ever been to Honolulu? Definitely feels and looks more tropical than Miami with its short, stubby stressed Coconut Palms and sub-60 degree lows.
I'll add in something. I know South Florida is truly tropical but most of the year Orlando South (Including Tampa) feels tropical for a long portion of the year. They should have another category for us. Hell Cincinnati is border line Sub-Tropical if I'm not mistaking. I know damn well they don't have the same tropical characteristics weather as Central and Southern Florida to be any more or equally tropical.
Yeah, alot of Florida isn't like the rest of the South.
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