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What are the seasons really like in NYC? Are there still four distinct seasons or is more like winter and summer with a barely-existent fall and spring?
I wanted to move to NYC by October so I could enjoy the autumn season, but it looks like I might have to move in January instead. For someone from Southern California, will moving in January be a very harsh culture shock weather-wise?
December, January and February are the cruelest months. But every January, almost without fail, there is a "January thaw" which is a week or so in which the temperature spikes, sometimes going into the 60s. So who knows. You might luck out and move in when its warm and dry.
And yes, the four seasons here are pretty distinct. After winter (this past one was unusually mild however, with little snow), you will learn to revel in the spring before wiliting in the summer and reviving again in the fall before winter hits again.
From mid-December to mid-February is usually the coldest (bitter cold) weather of NYC with a high probability of snow (although last winter there was very little snow).
As already mentioned there are definitely 4 distinct seasons which is quite different than Southern California.
Well, I'm glad to hear there are four distinct seasons though. What I was getting at was that some people have said it's basically just winter and summer there now, but you guys all seem to agree that autumn and spring -do- exist and do last for about three months each just like summer and winter?
We absolutely have a distinctive autumn with fall foliage, crisp apples, golden days of sunshine with cool nights, along with pumpkin picking and activities at the vineyards just a few miles outside of the city. IMO, spring some years can be nonexistant or very brief. You start to see a glimmer of the warmer weather to come in March with longer days and some small changes in the flora, but it is still mostly a winter month. Bright green grass and real leaves on the trees, tulips sprouting, usually doesn't happen until May and then it can start feeling like summer-like by the end of the month or in June. The big diifference between our weather and CA weather is that we have humidity, we don't dress so much in layers, and there is no big drop in temperature at night like you have in CA where it can be 75 degrees during the day and 40 degrees at night. If it reaches 75 here during the day, then it may get down to 60 at night or it could be 30 degrees during the day and 18 degrees during the night but there is no huge 30 degree difference in temp between day and night unless there is some sort of front coming through. I would say that winter is more like late Nov.- March. By mid Sept. ocean swimming and hot sticky days are over for the year so I would say that is the start of fall.
Definitely four distinct seasons. I love autumn in NY. Winter can be rough sometimes. Other times it can be very mild - depends on the year!
I think spring & autumn/fall are best seasons of the year in NYC as there is are several mild (not too hot and not too cold) days during these seasons.
I love having 4 distinct seasons. Summer is hot, yes, but there is so much to do in NYC at that time (free concerts, events, block parties, festivals etc). It's NYC at its best. Fall is beautiful, especially if you're in the park(s) or stroll through the Botanical Garden(s). Same goes for spring and all of the flowers sprouting up- it's gorgeous. But I love the winter snow! Fresh snowfall is so pretty! Is it cold? Yes. But for the most part you're inside when the weather is at its worst in the winter and because we have an excellent mass transit system, getting around in the snow is not a problem.
Our autumn is the best. They write songs about it.
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