Seasonal lag (average, place, most, annual)

[AdriannaSmiling]

Where I live, we are more likely to have heat waves of 100 F + in September than in July. It's a dry heat but it's still uncomfortable.
As a kid, I went to one school where one of my classes was in a portable without AC and it sucked having to do school work when it's that hot in the classroom.

Our June is very mild most of the time with highs in the upper 70s but still get some hot days.

As far as winter is concerned, our "coldest" nights of the year are ALWAYS in late December or January. I put the term "coldest" in quotation marks because we don't ever get truly cold....
Coldest night of the year is usually right around freezing or slightly below but during the day it always warms up to at least 50 F (10 C)

By the time March rolls around, 70 F (21 C) is common as a daytime high and nights below freezing are unheard of.

So I say we have seasonal lag w/ summer but not with winter.

[The East Frisian]

The eastern coast of the japanese Island of Hokkaido and the nearby Kuriles also seem to have a very strong seasonal lag.

Look at the temperatures of Nemuro, August has the highest averages but September follows very close.
Nemuro, Hokkaido - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Its even more noticable in Yushno-Kurilsk, the September record low is even higher than the July record.
Yuzhno-Kurilsk - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And like the on West coast area of the US, the foggy conditions in the summer months are probably the answer for this strong lag.

[ragnarkar]

Originally Posted by cBach

I remember the first year I moved to California, it was in the 70's in the Bay all summer with 60's in San Francisco. I remember wearing a jacket to July 4th fireworks. Then came fall and it jumped up to 108 even along the coast (in Monterrey of all places). That was the only time the Pacific Ocean actually felt decent. Actually, it was still cold but the sun warmed you up quick.

That same year was 87 at Halloween. It finally cooled down in December to mid 50's and rain which it stayed until March, when it was in the 80's for a time period and then 60's from April through May as the fog settled in. That summer however featured several heatwaves into the 100's in June, July, August, September, and October.

The only real constant was mid 50's to mid 60's and rainy/overcast in the winter.

I have to say I kind of liked the lag...

Here in Southern California, you would think that the days would be getting cooler once you start noticing the sun rising later and setting sooner around late August and early September but it's typically when the heat is just peaking.

Heat waves in October are the worst if you like the outdoors as you'd be in the scorching heat during the limited hours of daylight.

On the flipside, April and May are some of the best months as there's plenty of daylight in mild weather.

I'd say that maritime locations in the tropics probably experience the most temperature lag with autumn likely much warmer than spring and inland locations near the arctic having the least lag.

[arctic_gardener]

Originally Posted by ragnarkar

I'd say that maritime locations in the tropics probably experience the most temperature lag with autumn likely much warmer than spring and inland locations near the arctic having the least lag.

You are correct about inland arctic (and subarctic) areas experiencing the least lag - Fairbanks Alaska and Yakutsk, Russia all have significantly warmer Junes than Augusts, and much colder Decembers than Februaries. However, I disagree about the greatest lag being in maritime tropical locations. I believe they would be greatest in maritime temperate locations, for example, the Atlantic Provinces of Canada and coastal New England. Newfoundland is a particularly extreme example.

[Saritra]

I like when August is the warmest month, and snow in April/May is nice, but I don't want too much lag.

[tenkier7]

Prefer early September is significantly cooler than August and early March is significantly warmer than February.
It's weird how most of the Pacific Northwest cities (Seattle, Portland etc.) has the hottest month in August(seasonal lag),
but the coldest month fits in December(early season).
Shift meteorological patterns corresponding with the solstice of solar activity would be better. (Highest peak=Around late June / Coldest peak=Around late December)

[The East Frisian]

We have a seasonal lag of about a month here in summer and winter.
Usually the warmest time of the year is between Late July and Early August and vice versa the coldest between Late January and early February.

Actually i would rather prefer having the warmest and coldest times of the year, shortly after winter/summer solstice, having a white christmas is less likely than having a White Easter and well its looks kind of odd seeing a wintry landscape in Late March when daylight already lasts until after 8 PM and then in return an already gloomy December appears way darker with rainclouds and on some days you have to leave on the lights all day.

[arctic_gardener]

Originally Posted by tenkier7

It's weird how most of the Pacific Northwest cities (Seattle, Portland etc.) has the hottest month in August(seasonal lag),
but the coldest month fits in December(early season).

Yes, it is odd. I asked a question on this forum a few months ago regarding this phenomenon but didn't get a satisfactory answer as to why this is the case.

[ral31]

We have seasonal lag here for the summer. Mid-August has the hottest average high temps of the year. There is not as much lag for winter, with mid-January being the coldest time of the year.

[wawa1992]

I would say about four weeks is perfect on both seasons. January 18 for coldest, July 18 for hottest.