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Location: The Valley Of The Sun just east of Canberra
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Thought this might be an interesting debate.
Taking this week, I note some Canadian cities are beginning to shake off winter , e.g. Edmonton, though it's likely to be a false dawn as I know they can get snow as late as April-May:
Eastern cities such as Montreal are still dealing with mostly wintry weather, but a warm up might not be too far off if you project likely outcomes from cities further south and west e.g. New York, Chicago.
Meanwhile in Australia, the four largest cities in Australia's south are expecting temperatures above 30C this week. This week may be the final time Melbourne goes above 30C for the warm season, whilst Sydney and Adelaide probably have a few more days to go (especially western Sydney). Perth with its seasonal lag can see 30C temps as late as May some years. I'm excluding Canberra and Hobart from the analysis due to altitude and latitude respectively, which results in a more temperate climate in these cities.... though both of these may eclipse 30C too!
Going back to the start of the current season, Sydney eclipsed 30C in September (as it usually does these days). Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth take a little longer to warm up because of their exposure to maritime westerly winds- but 30C isn't unknown in September in Adelaide. Snow in a major Canadian city in September is pretty rare I think.
Additional note- we should focus on the main cities of Canada that aren't above the 60th parallel north (i.e. not Yellowknife or Whitehorse). Similarly, Brisbane and Darwin are excluded on the Australian side (above the 30th parallel south).
It's pretty much subjective - it depends entirely on the person and how they perceive hot and cold.
For me, the Canadian winter would last longer since since they have 8 months of temps below 20C (Toronto, for example). That's pretty much a long winter for me. Even though a couple of days at 16C-19C would feel 'warm' to a Canadian, but definitely not for me (so again, it's subjective).
Btw, our summers also seem to last long (7 months) - we usually start warming up on September and cool down at around April.
Location: The Valley Of The Sun just east of Canberra
414 posts, read 797,633 times
Reputation: 362
Maybe some additional clarifications are in order:
A (southern) Canadian winter might be defined as the time in which snow and/or average temperatures below freezing are a regular occurrence, at least one day per week. This constitutes winter for the average Canadian.
A (southern) Australian summer might be defined as the time in which >30C (86F) day temps and >18C (65F) night temps are a regular occurrence, at least one day per week. This constitutes summer for the average Australian.
Using this definition, a Toronto winter wouldn't be 8 months (and rightly so, the average Canadian would laugh at the notion of 20C being considered a 'winter' temp). Sydney's summer would last from mid/late September to mid March, Melbourne's a bit less than that.
I think Winnipeg and Sydney are quite evenly matched in terms of the length of their "bad" seasons. I know summer lovers will disagree with me, but most of Sydney's inclement weather is in the warm season (extreme heat, bushfires, severe storms, flooding). The cool season is a lot tamer, save for the occasional East Coast Low and a few hours of gusty winds with a cold front.
Sydney doesn't get much in the way of extreme heat in summer. A lot of the days are mid 20's with cloud and onshore winds, sometimes bringing drizzle. They do get mild 18-20C lows for a good 3 months though, but again, it's cloudier than one might expect.
Melbourne gets stronger hot spells (e.g. in Jan we got 5 days over 40C, while Sydney Airport maxed out at 37C). But Melbourne also gets more crappy cold spells that Sydney avoids.
Maybe some additional clarifications are in order:
A (southern) Canadian winter might be defined as the time in which snow and/or average temperatures below freezing are a regular occurrence, at least one day per week. This constitutes winter for the average Canadian.
A (southern) Australian summer might be defined as the time in which >30C (86F) day temps and >18C (65F) night temps are a regular occurrence, at least one day per week. This constitutes summer for the average Australian.
Using this definition, a Toronto winter wouldn't be 8 months (and rightly so, the average Canadian would laugh at the notion of 20C being considered a 'winter' temp). Sydney's summer would last from mid/late September to mid March, Melbourne's a bit less than that.
LOL, in Canada *spring* is when you get only one day per week with snow and/or freezing temperatures.
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