Overall what city FEELS colder, Vancouver or Toronto? (average, temp, days)

[theunbrainwashed]

Originally Posted by dunno what to put here

The snow scenario.

I don't know why this topic is turning from what feels colder to what you would last longer in?

[ColdCanadian]

Originally Posted by Kaul

I concur with the OP's post. Most dwellers of cold climate will agree that -5C and snow is much more preferable to 5C and cold rain. Nothing irritates me more than cold rain. I can understand why Deneb feels miserable in Vancouver, because I would too.

But 5C/42 F rain is WARM rain, in Canada.

I would think Toronto feels colder overall when you ignore summer.
Annual average is something like 12/2 C (54/37 F) for Toronto and 14/7 C (57/45 F) for Vancouver.

Deneb78 also confirmed my suspicions that Vancouver typically has lighter winds than Toronto, making it feel even milder.

I wonder if Vancouver can have a high of 9 C/48 F in late-September or late-May.
I would assume it cannot have a high of +1 C/34 F in early May!

[Joe90]

Originally Posted by theunbrainwashed

To me and the other posters on here beg to differ. I live only several hours south of Toronto, and I've been in the UK since January, this is my 2nd time. I can definitively say 5°C here in the UK feels colder to me than -5°C in Pennsylvania when it's snowing. Keep in mind, I'm originally from Puerto Rico, which has temperatures similar to Darwin's. I'm more sensitive to lower temperatures than people who come from temperate climates like yourself, deneb, and others

We're talking about apparent temperatures, not real temperatures. In the end, anyone outside at 5°C or -5°C will die of hypothermia if they have no warm clothes.

You are more sensitive to colder temps, yet you find -5C colder than 5C? Dry air will cool you faster than humid air of the same temp- a simple fact.

You have to compare like for like. If you are prepared for rain- no problem, like wise snow. If you aren't prepared for either, you will last a lot longer in the rain.

[dunno what to put here]

No Joe, I would last longer in jeans and a cotton top in snow and -5C then rain and 5C. You're just as likely to get something like hypothermia or pneumonia in 5C and pouring rain as in -5C and snowing, but 5C and pouring rain feels a lot worse. I know what my body can handle, I have experienced both, in light clothing, and I know which one I would prefer to be stuck outside in.

[Patricius Maximus]

Originally Posted by Joe90

You have to compare like for like. If you are prepared for rain- no problem, like wise snow. If you aren't prepared for either, you will last a lot longer in the rain.

Not if you get soaked . Water siphons heat from the body far faster than air does, so if one gets wet and soaked at +5C that cold water will act to make one feel a lot colder than if there wasn't any water there to begin with. Of course that same soaking would be worse at -5C, but at that temperature there isn't any rain! Precipitation falls as snow, powdery snow at that. One cannot get soaked with powdery snow seeing as it blows around a person, and even if it stuck on contact it wouldn't melt down to much water.

Of course if we're talking light rain or drizzle here one will last longer in the rain, assuming that such temperatures would prove hazardous in the first place. Think those temperatures being hazardous is a necessary assumption? The natives of Tierra del Fuego would tell you to guess again while they were running about the subfreezing island in the nude. The entire discussion is in a way pointless as it assumes that temperatures around freezing spell a creeping death; they usually do if one is nude, but tolerance varies widely. As for myself I've found both -5C and snow and +5C and (non-pouring) rain quite enjoyable in light clothing.

[burloak]

Joe90, I suspect you don't have alot of experience in colder temps
and snow living in balmy New Zealand. I know you have mountains nearby so maybe I'm jumping the gun here

I have alot of experience in the cold, trust me on that, maybe too much

A cold rain IMO feels miserable, I much prefer being out when it's snowing,
no comparison/no contest, infact it's enjoyable outside when it's snowing.

I remember one day just last fall, I went out for walk, well the cold chill went right thru me, it was raining, not hard, just drizzle, I thought man it must be cold, I went inside, checked my weather station, it was
9c (48F), I was really surprised.

In the winter I can feel very comfortable outside at -5c easily, of course I'm wearing a winter jacket, but I'm ok in a dry cold down to about -7c (20F) without a hat or gloves. If there is a strong wind then it's totally different.

I live 50 kms from Toronto, there are a few days where it is cold, even for me, when it's tough to grip the steering wheel of my car without gloves.

In college I shared a locker with a guy from Winnipeg, he only wore a light windbreaker all winter, no winter boots either. This was in Montreal !!Those Pegers are tough Soon as college was done he headed back to Winnipeg, still there loving it years later.

Anyway back to Toronto vs Vancouver , epic battle....

Winter ....Toronto highs Dec 2c Jan -1c Feb 0c
...........Vancouver highs Dec 7c Jan 7c Feb 8c

Toronto obviously colder but Vancouver is very damp gloomy and rainy
I'll still give edge to Vancouver

Spring.....Toronto highs March 5c April 11c May 19c
...........Vancouver highs March 11c April 14c May 18c

Vancouver wins in springtime....nice early springs

Summer ....Toronto highs June 24c July 26c Aug 25c
..............Vancouver highs June 20c July 22c Aug 22c

Toronto wins ....nice sunny warm days ...mild nights

Fall............Toronto highs Sept 21c Oct 14c Nov 8c
..............Vancouver highs Sept 19c Oct 14c Nov 9c

Toronto wins again ....September can be quite summerlike
....Toronto holds it's own with Vancouver in Oct and Nov
and generally is nicer as Vancouver starts into it's rainy season in fall....tends to be gloomier than Toronto...where temps above 20c are not uncommon in October

Temps are averages from "downtown"
Toronto Annex (Bloor /St George area)
Vancouver Harbour

[deneb78]

the worst combination for Vancouver is snow and just below freezing temperatures.. then you get the worst of both worlds.. high humidity and wet sticky snow that chills you to the bone..
I agree with burloak's assessment.. it seems about right. Vancouver is warmer in winter and spring while Toronto is warmer in summer and fall. As I said in my first post on this thread, people discount Lake Ontario as a large source of moisture. If you're in close enough proximity, the humid damp air from the lake can chill you to the bone.

In regards to ColdCanadian's remark about the wind here.. overall it's probably less windy than Toronto due to us being mostly blocked by Vancouver Island to the west from gales from the Pacific although every now and then one comes storming through and does a lot of damage like the 2006 Windstorm that blew over a good chunk of Stanley Park.

[wavehunter007]

Originally Posted by Joe90

Higher humidity doesn't not make people feel colder, just the opposite, although the effect gets less as the temperature gets lower. I think you fail to understand why hot humid air is less preferable (to most people)to dry hot air.

If you had to stand outside in rain at 5C, or snow at -5C, in just a cotton shirt and jeans, do you think you would laster longer in the snow scenario?

I’m not an expert on how moisture affects temperature…but I’m think that might be incorrect:

Higher humidity at cooler temps (below 50 F/10 C) normally is less comfortable …as opposed to dry air at a similar temp. I’ve spent some time in both the arid and humid areas of the USA, and cool temps with higher humidity lives one with a distinctly chilly/raw feeling…while cool temps and low humidities/dew point at the same temp feels more pleasant. Also, dry air warms faster than humid air, so standing in the sunshine at a similar temps - I would think one would warmer quicker and feel warmer.

[Candle]

Not that Toronto sees 10F daytime highs very often but 10F and sunny feels nicer/warmer than 35F and rain/no sun. Factor in a modest wind (15 mph) and I'd still come to that conclusion.

[MrMarbles]

In my opinion:
If there is precipitation, I'd rather it be snow than rain. Cold rain is the worst thing in the world.
If there is no precipitation, +5C will always feel warmer than -5C, regardless of humidity.