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London has only won 3 climate battles as far as I'm aware; a narrow win against Warsaw, a win against Bogota and a thrashing of La Paz. I think people must just see the name and vote for the other city, without actually looking at the averages.
It's a pretty neutral climate, so you'd expect it to win and lose roughly the same amount.
No, it loses because of its neutrality. London is a very inoffensive climate, but hampered by low amounts of sunshine (Greenwich). It really doesn't please warm lovers (too cool) or cold lovers (too warm), so it ends up pleasing nobody. Cities like Helsinki or Miami at least pleases one of those categories of people.
3) London is always being pitted against N.American climates, in a forum dominated by N.Americans, many of whom have the above-mentioned climatic preferences. So no one should be too surprised if London always seems to lose these silly battles. Try London vs the Faroe Islands if you want a better result!
And the European posters have a continental climate bias, as well.
There are a lot of people here (both Americans and Europeans) who feel that Chicago winters are too cold. So that would be a strike against it.... I guess they are outnumbered by the people who are more of the extreme weather types (like myself), or those who prefer a Chicago's warm summer to London's cool summers.
I would never rate Chicago's climate anything better then a C+. More like an average C
Winters:B
Summers C
Spring: D+
Autumn: C
My seasonal rating for London is as follows:
Winters:F
Summers:F
Autumn: D
Spring: C
I give London a better grade during the spring even though Chicago has a higher average maximum in both April and May. Our spring is just too unpredictable. I love the thunderstorms, but sometimes I have to where a thick winter coat in the morning, and shorts in the afternoon. That can get on my nerves, especially by mid or late April when I'm already itching from summer.... London seems more tranquil in the spring (albeit with less sunshine then Chicago), and in recent years, has posted some very respectable April temperatures...
Here is an example of what I mean about spring here.
Local weather forecasters call them pneumonia fronts. Northeast winds blow in off of the still icy Lake Michigan and dramatically drop temps in minutes
Winter on the shoreline, and summer 20 miles inland....
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Last edited by chicagogeorge; 09-15-2013 at 11:27 AM..
London is too tepid for me. Chicago may have summers far warmer than desired, but it is more interesting with colder, snowier winters and more thunderstorms.
London is too tepid for me. Chicago may have summers far warmer than desired, but it is more interesting with colder, snowier winters and more thunderstorms.
Our summers aren't that warm imho.... I wish they were warmer by about 2C. However every 3 or 4 years we get a hot one. Last year was quite a scorcher (by our standards) here.... We had 75 days at or above 30.0C, and 47 days above 32.2C....
This year to day we have had 39 days at or above 30.0C and 17 days at or above 32.2C. Pretty lame.
London has been involved in just about every climate battle imaginable, so the notion that people are just voting without being aware of London's stats is hardly credible.
The real reason why London's always loses out is probably because:
1) Most members here are North Americans who:
a) like climates with hot summers - for the vast majority of Americans, and even Canadians, average summer highs in the low to mid-20s Celsius is NOT "hot."
b) AND/OR climates with cold and snowy winters - and London's winters typically are NOT.
2) These members far outnumber those who favour more oceanic climates (and if they do, they don't vote for London)
3) London is always being pitted against N.American climates, in a forum dominated by N.Americans, many of whom have the above-mentioned climatic preferences. So no one should be too surprised if London always seems to lose these silly battles. Try London vs the Faroe Islands if you want a better result!
I think it loses more because of lack of winter cold than warmer summer. I voted for London against Chicago.
The real reason is this forum is dominated now by cold and snow lovers, and those predicting another ice age.
That is the standard rainfall pattern from March until September/October. In summer drizzle is rare, in winter it is common. Rain only falls about 5% of the time anyway so I wouldn't say London and Paris have 'long spells of drizzle' (as opposed to somewhere like the PNW).
For Chicago the wetest month is July or Aug. in theory but you really don't notice it. Fall and winter tend to be dry(some parcipitation but not a lot).
What I have always wondered is if London has wild unpreditable springs like Chicago or is it more calm. Chicago's spring can go from 30, 40, 50F one day and then 60,70,80F the next so you get wild swings. Then the thunderstorm(which I love) from Spring into Summer can be quite intresting.
Chicago might get more snow than london, but the snow is overated, it does not last all winter. It just snows hangs around for a week or two then goes.
I prefer London's climate, which is not bad at all. Winter is very mild for 51°N, autumn and spring are quite good, while summer is too cool for me. Unfortunately sunshine is low too.
Chicago is one of my favourite cities and it's located on its beautiful lake. For me it's too cool in autumn and spring, and far too cold and snowy in winter.
For Chicago the wetest month is July or Aug. in theory but you really don't notice it. Fall and winter tend to be dry(some parcipitation but not a lot).
What I have always wondered is if London has wild unpreditable springs like Chicago or is it more calm. Chicago's spring can go from 30, 40, 50F one day and then 60,70,80F the next so you get wild swings. Then the thunderstorm(which I love) from Spring into Summer can be quite intresting.
Chicago might get more snow than london, but the snow is overated, it does not last all winter. It just snows hangs around for a week or two then goes.
London's springs are far more stable than Chicago's. The average high in April is 14-15C, and most days are between 10-20C.
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