Cold or Hot (St. Paul, Duluth, Marshall: to buy, health club, versus)

[BECLAZONE]

This really depends on what I'm doing, as to how hot I like it.

If I’m doing something physical such as exercise, the low 50s, if I’m lolloping, hot is great!

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by stockwiz

I think a compromise would be nice, 70 degrees year round. Southern CA.

Absolutely perfect (if boring) until it slides into the sea.

[SnowPrincess]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Absolutely perfect (if boring) until it slides into the sea.

I thought it was supposed to just break away and go north? Maybe visit Alaska for awhile.

I admit I would love those temps for awhile but it would get boring after a bit.

[dober1]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Absolutely perfect (if boring) until it slides into the sea.

And don't let stockwiz kid you. 70 year around only applies to the costal areas. I'm in so Cal but inland 45 miles and it frequently gets over 100. Today was 104.

[Green Onions]

For me, it's the humidity more than the heat.

Generally, I am very comfortable anywhere between 40F (my personal cut-off for shorts) and 90F ... the latter varying on the humidity.

[Green Onions]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Absolutely perfect (if boring) until it slides into the sea.

Boring, if you never leave the house. On the other hand, it can be 70F where you are, 90F (or hotter) a short distance in one direction, 50F (or colder) in another direction. But no matter the season, it's generally nice somewhere nearby.

[slamont61]

I like all four seasons but the extreme heat of summer is harder to tolerate than the extreme cold of winter. One can always cover up while there's only so much one can take off.

[Green Onions]

Originally Posted by slamont61

I like all four seasons but the extreme heat of summer is harder to tolerate than the extreme cold of winter. One can always cover up while there's only so much one can take off.

Indoors is easy -- with air conditioning and a furnace, it's always nice.

But outdoors, I find it easier to adjust during the summer. I'd rather be in shorts and a t-shirt than boots, long pants, a sweatshirt, a coat, a hat and gloves. And I can do the latter, comfortably, up to 90F (and beyond, depending on the dew point). And those days (90F or hotter) represent fewer than 5% of our days, annually. On the flip side, boots/coat/hat/gloves account for at least 25% of the year.

The cold extreme is also more painful. 100F is energy-sapping and uncomfortable, while -20F is downright painful with any wind at all (and there almost always is).

[tvdxer]

I definitely prefer the warmth of summer to the cold of winter here in Duluth, and I find it hard to believe how anyone cannot, unless they are hardcore into skiing, snowboarding, ice fishing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, or snowskiing, or other winter sports. Even if it's hot during mid-day (as it has been much of this month), it cools off enough by sundown to do any outdoor activity comfortably. During mid-day most people are at work anyway. I can see how people who work outside might suffer on the hotter days, though, but on the other hand I can't imagine them feeling much better on 0-degree days, which are about just as common as 80-degree days in Duluth.

Winters here, on the other hand, are awful. I dislike being all bundled up, having to bundle up just to go outside, and even if you are bundled up, your face tends to get cold. I can't make up my mind as to the worst thing about Duluth winters: their severity or length. The 30's are cold, but not that bad for winter - but you only get them on a few days a month in a typical Duluth winter (last year was an exception). However, a more typical Duluth mid-winter day is in the 10's, which is awful, and there are a few days every winter that do not get above zero, even in the afternoon. These days sometimes have morning windchills in the -40s. I remember the walk at college from the parking lot to class being almost unbearable under these conditions, which occurred on many days in my four-year career. That walk was about 500 yards, if that. It was certainly worse than my walks during my summer internship at USF in Tampa, where I walked a similar distance to my shortest class and a much longer distance to my farthest-away class, as well as to church. That was in the lower 90s with moderate humidity.

The length is just as bad or worse than the intensity. Duluth, unlike most other places in the United States, gets virtually zero spring-like days in the winter. We might get a couple of days in the 40's, but that's as warm as it gets. And those days, if they occur, are usually spaced far apart. Other areas in the Midwest and on the East Coast tend to get a sprinkling of days in the 50's and even 60's in the winter. Here you can go over a month or even two (in rare cases, admittedly) without a single temperature reading above the freezing mark. And while Spring starts in March and leaves are on the trees by late April in most places, you'll be lucky to have a March 31st without snow on the ground or the trees turning green in early May in Duluth. Of course, the fantastic March of 2012 was an exception to the rule.

Also, the cold weather has a severe effect even inside. While heating systems obviously raise the temperature, they do not raise the dew point as much, so indoor environments - unless humidified (rare), tend to be bone-dry. Walk around in the Mall or work stocking shelves overnight in Duluth and you will feel literally like your eyes are going to pop out of your head - at least I did! (Other people, though - in fact, most - seem not to be affected as much by the lack of moisture as me)

I find it interesting that while many have mentioned the intensifying effect of humidity on hot temperatures, nobody has mentioned the effect of humidity on cool or cold temperatures. I personally find that the more moisture there is in the air beginning at 25 and ending at around 60 degrees, the warmest and more pleasant it feels. 38 degrees with 90% or 100% humidity feels great in the winter; much better than 38 degrees and 30% relative humidity.

[Govie]

Originally Posted by SnowPrincess

I've been noticing the heat wave going on in MN, is it normal to get that hot in the summer or is this more of a freak heat outbreak?

We are a state of weather extremes. From Wiki:

The climate of Minnesota is typical of a continental climate, with cold winters and hot summers. Minnesota's location in the Upper Midwest allows it to experience some of the widest variety of weather in the United States, with each of the four seasons having its own distinct characteristics.

I personally like Fall the best. Can finally open those windows up and get that pleasant cool breeze.