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Interesting article on the only day that supposedly failed to reach zero in NYC.
The Day the Mercury Stayed Below Zero in New York City (http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Day-the-Mercury-Stayed-Below-Zero-in-New-York-City&id=250854 - broken link)
Although the central and northern parts of the USA can be downright cold in the depths of winter (average lows below 20 F/-7 C)…much of the USA (on average) will not see anywhere near 0 F lows in winter. A rule of thumb (a rough one) is that only places that have average lows below 20 F have a chance of seeing a few nights below 0 F. On average…only about 20% of the land area of the USA will see subzero lows in any given winter.
Of course in the coldest areas of the USA (the Intermountain West/Upper Midwest) have average lows below 0 F, so one would expect to see lows well below zero in these areas more often:
Actually even as a lifelong weather nut who's seen the statistics and understands the reasons I have trouble really believing how cold it gets in winter in the US/Canada at latitudes that in western Europe never get such cold weather. For example, I've been sunburnt (a little) after spending the day on the beach in February at 42N in more than 20C, so to think that across the Atlantic at the same time it can be well below freezing yet with the same sun in the sky at presumably the same strength, takes some understanding. Most British people would take some serious explaining that Florida has a lower lowest temperature than Northern Ireland and that Dallas (32N) has a record low significantly lower than anything Aberdeen (57N) has ever seen.
A lot of it isn't the averages, but just that our climate is very variable. The days can be much warmer than the nights. I think the person I should the forecast got the impression that temperatures that cold might regularly. Florida is definitely not cold for its latitude but can have extreme cold snaps.
In any case, I was surprised how cold it gets up here. I grew up in Long Island near the coast, and while the winters there were cold, extreme cold days are rare. The average high in January is about 39°F (4°C) and the diurnal range is relatively smaller than away from the coast. I had never experienced negative Fahrenheit temperatures and many winters never got colder than 10°F. I was shocked at how much colder it gets here. In about 100 miles from Long Island, it is about 5°C cooler in the winter. Long Island averages about 0.5°C, and I think London is about 5°C warmer still.
Hey, thanks for all the interesting replies, would have posted earlier but I'm having some computer issues =( .
We have been planning our upcoming relocation/exodus from South Florida for a couple of yrs now and weather has definitely influenced our decisions. One of the towns we were looking at, Ely, MN, we decided to forgo because the Winter weather is so harsh. They are already seeing temps below zero(F) already so I can't imagine how Jan. and Feb. would feel. We have still chosen a cold climate in Marquette, MI however the extreme temps seem to be replaced by an amazing amount of snowfall. Oh well, at least it will be a change, lol. Ironically, my area of South Fla. is experiencing quie a cold snap right now. We are in the 50's at 10/11 am which is HIGHLY unusual. We have wind chill warnings and Freeze warnings for Mon. night-Tue morn and Tue night-Wed morn and it should be well below normal for several days. Needless to say, I'm loving it but I'm definitely in the minority as you wouldn't believe the amount of
I a meteorologist at NWS Grand Forks, North Dakota. We have been below zero F 3 times so far from mid Nov through early Dec....coldest was -11F at the airport...in town more like -3F or so. Not uncommon... our record lows are in the -20s degrees F. We usually have about 60 days or so each winter season when at some point we are below zero. Coldest in Grand Forks was -44 back in 2004. Below zero highs are pretty common....but usually longest stretch to stay below zero consecutively is 2-3 days at a time.
No below zero for me in NE Wisconsin yet, but we are going to have a brutal stretch the next few days after this snow storm decides what it is going to do!
Marquette, you say, interesting choice! My sister lives in da UP, a little too much for me, so I'm 3 hrs. from her! She has to go to Marquette for major medical and I must say I am very impressed with the hospital there, excellent. Being a college town, Marquette has more to offer than some areas of the UP, but the extreme weather to go with it.
No below zero for me in NE Wisconsin yet, but we are going to have a brutal stretch the next few days after this snow storm decides what it is going to do!
Marquette, you say, interesting choice! My sister lives in da UP, a little too much for me, so I'm 3 hrs. from her! She has to go to Marquette for major medical and I must say I am very impressed with the hospital there, excellent. Being a college town, Marquette has more to offer than some areas of the UP, but the extreme weather to go with it.
Yup, Marquette seems to have a great deal of what we are looking for however, we will be checking out some places in WI as well before we make our final decision. Are you familiar with Appleton? We are looking there as well in case Marquette fall through for some reason. Any suggestions of any towns in WI, middle or north_ to check out?
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She has to go to Marquette for major medical and I must say I am very impressed with the hospital there, excellent. Being a college town, Marquette has more to offer than some areas of the UP, but the extreme weather to go with it.
