Does the Pacific Northwest have a Mediterranean climate? Is it similar to Coastal California? (cities, USA)

[nei]

We're leaving the topic of Mediterranean climates entirely. Also remember to be civil.

[nei]

Since no one was interested in discussing the thread topic, I moved all the off topic posts to a new thread. Off topic posts may be deleted, but I'd rather not delete pages of conversation unless necessary. It'd be best to create a new thread if you want to discuss something new.

[Hawaii4evr]

Originally Posted by MrMarbles

The problem is that even in Southern California many coastal locations have rather cool summers, and thus are technically oceanic. But most people regard them as Mediterranean.

Coastal SoCal summers aren't cool by any means-the temperatures are anywhere from 77-85F for months on end! Sure the nights are cool (65F), overcast and windy, but the days are sunny and warm!

[french user]

Originally Posted by Hawaii4evr

Coastal SoCal summers aren't cool by any means-the temperatures are anywhere from 77-85F for months on end! Sure the nights are cool (65F), overcast and windy, but the days are sunny and warm!

I've just looked at temperatures for Santa Barbara. Winter are mild, almost warm; but the summers These are definitly quite low compared to what are summer temperatures in mediterranean costal places in Europe (I don't speak about the inland). In Europe a place that have mean highs of 24.4°C are hardly seen as "mediterranean". This is less than in Paris... In Europe we expect that "true" mediterranean climate are supposed to have summer highs above 27°C, usually around 30°C.

[tarzan_taborda]

All coastal Portugal is considered mediterranean and half of it averages around or below 25ºC for the average max in the hottest month, some locations average around 22ºC.
And the night are cooler than 65ºF, more like 58/60ºF

[french user]

Originally Posted by tarzan_taborda

All coastal Portugal is considered mediterranean and half of it averages around or below 25ºC for the average max in the hottest month, some locations average around 22ºC.
And the night are cooler than 65ºF, more like 58/60ºF

That's why many people do not see many parts of Portugal Atlantic shores to be of a mediterranean climate, but rather a semi-oceanic/mediterranean one. Koppen might classify most of Portugal coasts as mediterranean, it is not the case of all classifications. The limit between mediterranean and oceanic is somehow unprecise. All places of "mediterranean climate" outside of the areas around the mediterranean sea (Portugal, California, central Chile) are rather diverging form the typical mediterranean climates.

[nei]

I think we have a definition difference here. I use Mediterranean climate to mean dry summer climate with mild winters. If the annual precipitation total is too high, then it's not Mediterranean as the vegetation can be less affected by the dry season. Otherwise, Mediterranean.

[french user]

Originally Posted by nei

I think we have a definition difference here. I use Mediterranean climate to mean dry summer climate with mild winters. If the annual precipitation total is too high, then it's not Mediterranean as the vegetation can be less affected by the dry season. Otherwise, Mediterranean.

Yes, but this is where it is difficult to define the limits. What is dry? Most areas in Atlantic coast of France has relatively dry summers, and quite mild winters also, but because the dryness is not strong enough as in the med, and the summer high temperatures are more around 23°C/27°C than above these; they are classified as oceanic. The exemple I gave of Ile de Ré is representative of this; relatively mild winters, quite dry and sunny summers, but summer temperatures quite too low to be considered typically mediterranean.

There is in Koppen classification a clssification called "cool summer mediterranean climate" (Csb), but these areas are also often regarded as a sub-division of oceanic climates in other classifications.

To come back to the original topic: Pacific north west of the USA, for what I can see has nothing mediterranean; and most of Californian coasts neither (maybe in the inland it is more typically 'mediterranean', but on the coasts I don"t think that outside of southern California there are areas that have climate ressembling to the areas around the mediterranean sea.

[Joe90]

Originally Posted by Hawaii4evr

Coastal SoCal summers aren't cool by any means-the temperatures are anywhere from 77-85F for months on end! Sure the nights are cool (65F), overcast and windy, but the days are sunny and warm!

Windy nights off the sea? How does that work?

[wavehunter007]

Originally Posted by french user

To come back to the original topic: Pacific north west of the USA, for what I can see has nothing mediterranean; and most of Californian coasts neither (maybe in the inland it is more typically 'mediterranean', but on the coasts I don"t think that outside of southern California there are areas that have climate ressembling to the areas around the mediterranean sea.

…and I would agree.

I’ve been to southerly Italy, to San Diego, to Laguna Beach…etc…and there is a look and feel that is “Mediterranean”. To me true Mediterranean regions share nothing in this look/feel with locations like the PNW (among other areas). True temperate climates (like the PNW) are just too cool, cloudy, and wet to have the same feel.

I would only caution that folks overseas forget how large the USA – and even Califorina is. The Mediterranean areas of coastal California is always thought of as right around San Diego and maybe to southern LA regions. In truth, from San Diego to at least Santa Barbara (a distance of at least 225 miles – further than the distance from Nice to Montpellier, France) a classic Mediatteran climate prevails.

This is Santa Barbara – 100 miles north of Los Angeles and 225 miles north of San Diego: