Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Often it's mentioned North America has a atypically variable climate, at least in the cooler months. Is that really true compared to East Asia? I'm curious to see some comparisons.
Depends on what you are comparing, I think. Only the eastern seaboard can be matched up with Japan, the states west of the Appalachians should be compared with China until the Rockies. I think my city's climate is more variable than Akita, Japan's because the North American High is weaker than the Siberian High. Your climate analogue seems to be Sapporo, and both cities in Japan are significantly colder in winter than ours with little to no chance of mild days. I don't know about how China's climate works. Of course Japan's climate is maritime influenced for obvious reasons.
I think that's true. There's the Himalayas preventing warm air from accessing most of non-coastal China during the winter. During summer, the vast land mass of Siberia moderates cold air coming in from the Arctic Ocean, so again China doesn't get bouts of refreshingly cool weather in summer the way most of North America does.
The more northern parts (north of ~45') do get cold waves in summer. 40-45', like the latitude of Great Lakes, get them in June and August. Weaker and more rare than the respective latitudes of North America but not impossible.
I think the Siberian high being stronger than the North American high in winter is the main reason East Asia has a much more stable winter than Eastern North America. You don't have the same competing airmasses which I think is better.As a result, Southern China while cold for its latitude, does not get the extreme temperature fluctuations in the winter like North America east of the rockies which allows it to grow subtropical flora more reliably.
Wow look at Harbin's temps! Not only is southern China cooler for its latitude, northeast China is way colder for its latitude! 46°N and yet its winters are more similar to Labrador's than Minneapolis's!
Wow look at Harbin's temps! Not only is southern China cooler for its latitude, northeast China is way colder for its latitude! 46°N and yet its winters are more similar to Labrador's than Minneapolis's!
Except that's just one month I randomly picked. On average, Winnipeg and Harbin have roughly the same January mean:
Harbin has a warmer annual average, which can be partially explained by its latitude. Harbin is 5°F below its monthly average in Jan 2013, while Winnipeg was 1°F below. Which could be another possibility: North American climates may have a higher daily variability but no higher or lower monthly variability.
I think the Siberian high being stronger than the North American high in winter is the main reason East Asia has a much more stable winter than Eastern North America. You don't have the same competing airmasses which I think is better.As a result, Southern China while cold for its latitude, does not get the extreme temperature fluctuations in the winter like North America east of the rockies which allows it to grow subtropical flora more reliably.
Good point. It seems a place like Shanghai rarely if ever goes below around 25F. It is zone 9a or 9b. Similar latitude to Savannah, GA yet only in the 1980's was Savannah in the single digits for record low temperatures. Shanghai has an average January low temp of 34F, only a couple degrees above freezing. Loads of CIDP in Shanghai that seem to do very well there. Temp's only in the upper 40's for winter high temps.
Why is their winter std deviation so low, yet they have a massive very cold continent north of there going all the way to the Arctic? How does a very strong Siberian High prevent them from having warmer winter minimum temps every year? North America doesn't have nearly the landmass north of it that Shanghai does. I get it that our temps fluctuate all over due to a weaker high pressure, but how does that weaker high pressure allow much colder air to come south. That is what I'm not understanding.
I would think a much stronger Siberian High would allow much colder air to come sweeping down from the North Pole. Supposedly that Siberian High is responsible for the cold in China.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Not only is southern China cooler for its latitude, northeast China is way colder for its latitude! 46°N and yet its winters are more similar to Labrador's than Minneapolis's!
