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I think the averages for places like Charleston are misleading. Say the average high in Jan is 58. I'm curious what the standard deviation from the average is for Janurary vs. a place like Rome or Barcelona.
A person travelling to Rome or Barcelona in January is pretty much assured that temps will be in the low to mid 50's for a high. While a person going to Charleston in Jan might have a week of 70 and then followed by a week of high 30's low 40's. I don't enjoy that kind of variability and much more enjoy a stable climate. That is why places like Aus and Europe always win out for me in winter.
Just to be fair to Charleston…daily highs in the 30’s and even low 40’s is kind of pushing it. A winter day (Dec/Jan/Feb) that fails to reach 45 F is rare…even in the record cold January of 2010 and January 2011 very few days stayed below 45 F. If you query the NWS at Charleston and look at the last five January’s…it breaks down like this :
Jan 2011 – 5
Jan 2010 – 6 (coldest January since 1982)
Jan 2009 -3
Jan 2008 -2
Jan 2007-1
Also, as you point out, it’s not uncommon for Charleston to have daily highs in the 70’s in January...so it 's a good bet the daily highs will be from 55 to 65 F most of the time. Also, it’s a bit untrue that the Mediterranean is stable in the cold season. Cyclonic storms/ fronts often occur in the cooler months in the Mediterranean - in fact a city like Naples, Italy averages more rainfall in January (4.8 inches)….than Charleston, SC (2.9 inches). With the exception of the three main winter months (Dec/Jan/Feb)…Charleston is often very stable with a consistent diurnal rise/fall in temperature. From late March to mid November…the sun is very much in control of the daily weather: Daily high temperatures are much more affected by variations in the amount of cloud, then changes in pressure and fronts/mid latitude storms, which is typical of lower subtropical latitudes outside a few winter months.
Based on average temperatures, snow in Barcelona doesn't seem too unusual. Average winter highs and lows are similar to the southeast US. Record lows are still much colder in the US though.
Average temps may be the same, but maybe it is those extremes that make the look of Barcelona more tropical than Charleston, at least to me. When I was in Barcelona I was floored that there were green parakeets flying all over the place, with the tropical foliage. I know that in manicured gardens in Charleston you get that foliage (especially in sheltered warm spots), but when I was in SC I just didn't see that much overall, expecially once out of the city center.
And yes, maybe there aren't that many days below 45, but there certainly are quite a few just above 50, and with nights in the 20's it doesn't feel that warm. Many winter mornings in Charleston start off in the upper 20's to low 30's and it feels pretty cold. I'll always choose a climate in Aus over the US due to the stability. I can't stand going from 70F one week to 40F the next. To me that is the South in winter.
And yes, maybe there aren't that many days below 45, but there certainly are quite a few just above 50, and with nights in the 20's it doesn't feel that warm. Many winter mornings in Charleston start off in the upper 20's to low 30's and it feels pretty cold. I'll always choose a climate in Aus over the US due to the stability. I can't stand going from 70F one week to 40F the next. To me that is the South in winter.
Again, just to be fair to the climate numbers...it's untrue that "many winter mornings in Charleston" start off in the upper 20's and low's 30's". In Dec/Jan/Feb...the average low is around 41 F in Charleston city. Again, I think your in error at the fluxuation in temps in Charleston in an average winter. I have spent parts of several winter months in Charleston, and the weather is normally quite nice, with sunshine and highs around 60 F. I would pick Charleston, for it's wamrer overall climate, more sunshine, and better history and scenery.
Again, just to be fair to the climate numbers...it's untrue that "many winter mornings in Charleston" start off in the upper 20's and low's 30's". In Dec/Jan/Feb...the average low is around 41 F in Charleston city. Again, I think your in error at the fluxuation in temps in Charleston in an average winter. I have spent parts of several winter months in Charleston, and the weather is normally quite nice, with sunshine and highs around 60 F. I would pick Charleston, for it's wamrer overall climate, more sunshine, and better history and scenery.
Average temps may be the same, but maybe it is those extremes that make the look of Barcelona more tropical than Charleston, at least to me. When I was in Barcelona I was floored that there were green parakeets flying all over the place, with the tropical foliage. I know that in manicured gardens in Charleston you get that foliage (especially in sheltered warm spots), but when I was in SC I just didn't see that much overall, expecially once out of the city center.
And yes, maybe there aren't that many days below 45, but there certainly are quite a few just above 50, and with nights in the 20's it doesn't feel that warm. Many winter mornings in Charleston start off in the upper 20's to low 30's and it feels pretty cold. I'll always choose a climate in Aus over the US due to the stability. I can't stand going from 70F one week to 40F the next. To me that is the South in winter.
I can see your point. Charleston winters are anything but stable, IMO. Winters in the southeast US in general aren't stable and are not reliably warm. Some argue that the exteme cold weather they experience are misleading, but I can agree with you that the averages can be more misleading than anything.
December 2009: 3 nights at or below freezing
January 2010: 16 nights at or below freezing
February 2010: 11 nights at or below freezing
March 2010: 3 nights at or below freezing
Total: 33
December 2010: 21 nights at or below freezing
January 2011: 15 nights at or below freezing
February 2011: 2 nights at or below freezing
Total: 38
Plenty of winter mornings in the 20s and 30s. Not very conducive to growing citrus. It's a problem in Florida, let alone South Carolina.
I can see your point. Charleston winters are anything but stable, IMO. Winters in the southeast US in general aren't stable and are not reliably warm. Some argue that the exteme cold weather they experience are misleading, but I can agree with you that the averages can be more misleading than anything.
December 2009: 3 nights at or below freezing
January 2010: 16 nights at or below freezing
February 2010: 11 nights at or below freezing
March 2010: 3 nights at or below freezing
Total: 33
December 2010: 21 nights at or below freezing
January 2011: 15 nights at or below freezing
February 2011: 2 nights at or below freezing
Total: 38
.
I think one of the reasons that the National Weather Service uses data from long time frames is it smoothes out extreme months, seasons, even years. This winter was within the top ten coldest in Charleston in the last 25 - 30 years.
December 2006: 4 nights at or below freezing.
January 2007: 7 nights at or below freezing.
February 2007: 7 nights at or below freezing.
March 2007 : 1 night at or below freezing. Total: 19
December 2007: 2 nights at or below freezing.
January 2008: 9 nights at or below freezing.
February 2008: 3 nights at or below freezing.
March 2008: 1 nights at or below freezing. Total: 15
December 2008: 4 nights at or below freezing.
January 2009: 9 nights at or below freezing.
February 2009: 9 nights at or below freezing.
March 2009: 4 nights at or below freezing. Total: 25
I think one of the reasons that the National Weather Service uses data from long time frames is it smoothes out extreme months, seasons, even years. This winter was within the top ten coldest in Charleston in the last 25 - 30 years.
December 2006: 4 nights at or below freezing.
January 2007: 7 nights at or below freezing.
February 2007: 7 nights at or below freezing.
March 2007 : 1 night at or below freezing. Total: 19
December 2007: 2 nights at or below freezing.
January 2008: 9 nights at or below freezing.
February 2008: 3 nights at or below freezing.
March 2008: 1 nights at or below freezing. Total: 15
December 2008: 4 nights at or below freezing.
January 2009: 9 nights at or below freezing.
February 2009: 9 nights at or below freezing.
March 2009: 4 nights at or below freezing. Total: 25
That's true. I think December 2010 was one of the coldest Decembers on record in Charleston, as well as other areas of the south. Myrtle Beach was 12 F below average.
Also interesting to note that December 2010 was the coldest December on record in Key West, FL and the 2nd coldest month ever since records began. 2010 was the 4th coldest year on record. Miami was 8.5 F below average in December as well.
I agree that long term averages should be used and it comes to 27.5 for the "Charleston Area". That is almost 4 weeks of lows 32 or below. So roughly one month of winter has temps pretty cold for a "sub-tropical" location. It seems that most people consider Charleston to have a sub-tropical climate, however, it appears Charleston lost the climate battle with Newcastle in the poll.
And I still think the shock factor would be much higher on a person from Aus in the SE USA in winter, vs an American from the south in Aus in their summer.
I agree that long term averages should be used and it comes to 27.5 for the "Charleston Area". That is almost 4 weeks of lows 32 or below. So roughly one month of winter has temps pretty cold for a "sub-tropical" location. It seems that most people consider Charleston to have a sub-tropical climate, however, it appears Charleston lost the climate battle with Newcastle in the poll.
And I still think the shock factor would be much higher on a person from Aus in the SE USA in winter, vs an American from the south in Aus in their summer.
So much about climate is local...and old college professor once told me (lol).
To tell you the truth, I was even surprised that the long term avage was 27 days with frost. In several trips to Charleston I can’t ever say the weather was a disappointment. Yea, it’s not Miami in February, but it still has one of the best climates on the mainland in winter and summer if you like warm and sunny weather. I can remember many 70 F days on Folly Beach in mid winter watching the snowfall on TV in Denver, Chicago, and Boston…cold dreary rainy weather in Seattle/Portland……and -20 F wind chills in the upper Midwest. The handful of cool days/nights is a fair bargain for a climate with almost 3000 hours of sunshine. Also, as a history buff - I'd go with Charleston any day
I think the saying "climate is what you expect, weather is what you get" applies well here.
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