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Paris- it's summers aren't that warm [NZ has places that warm in summer.] and it has very uniform rainfall.
Vancouver is just a Mediterranean climate at a higher latitude.
Not really. Portland and Seattle are, but Vancouver gets a decent amount of summer rain and isn't very warm and sunny in the summer. Though it does depend on the year, drier years in Vancouver can feel Med-ish.
Not really. Portland and Seattle are, but Vancouver gets a decent amount of summer rain and isn't very warm and sunny in the summer. Though it does depend on the year, drier years in Vancouver can feel Med-ish.
I think the ratio of rainfall is the most significant feature of a Mediterranean climate rather than just totals, because that says that the rainfall undergoes a major seasonal change - the opposite of Oceanic rainfall definition.
The problem with calling Vancouver Oceanic, is that there is no acknowledgement that rainfall in the driest month, is one fifth of the wettest month.
Classifications are meant to provide better understanding of a climate, and I just don't see it, if Vancouver is called Oceanic.
I think the ratio of rainfall is the most significant feature of a Mediterranean climate rather than just totals, because that says that the rainfall undergoes a major seasonal change - the opposite of Oceanic rainfall definition.
The problem with calling Vancouver Oceanic, is that there is no acknowledgement that rainfall in the driest month, is one fifth of the wettest month.
Classifications are meant to provide better understanding of a climate, and I just don't see it, if Vancouver is called Oceanic.
So are you saying Vancouver's climate has more in common with Naples or Los Angeles than it does with London or Amsterdam? I think what defines a Med climate is having a distinctly arid summer (as in at least a month with less than 1" of rain), and mild warm winters. Vancouver's winters are nearly as cold as winters in the Mid-Atlantic states and their summers, while much drier than the winters, still receive an ample amount of rain and are fairly cloudy.
So are you saying Vancouver's climate has more in common with Naples or Los Angeles than it does with London or Amsterdam? I think what defines a Med climate is having a distinctly arid summer (as in at least a month with less than 1" of rain), and mild warm winters. Vancouver's winters are nearly as cold as winters in the Mid-Atlantic states and their summers, while much drier than the winters, still receive an ample amount of rain and are fairly cloudy.
The colder and wetter climate is explained by latitude. It's a weak Mediterranean effect rather than an unusual Oceanic pattern.
Climates needn't feel the same, to be in the same grouping. I don't think my climate would feel like Amsterdam or London either.
I think what defines a Med climate is having a distinctly arid summer (as in at least a month with less than 1" of rain), and mild warm winters.
Italian cities like Rome, Naples, Lecce, Messina, Grosseto, Genoa (actually almost the entire peninsula) have a mediterranean climate but they get much more rainfall than that in summer thanks to strong thunderstorms. Some don't even qualify as mediterranean in Koppen classification (Bari, Pisa), and the same is valid for Barcelona.
Not really. Portland and Seattle are, but Vancouver gets a decent amount of summer rain and isn't very warm and sunny in the summer. Though it does depend on the year, drier years in Vancouver can feel Med-ish.
Vancouver gets 290 hours of sun in July so it's a good deal sunnier than oceanic climates in Europe.
Vancouver gets 290 hours of sun in July so it's a good deal sunnier than oceanic climates in Europe.
I think it's hard to compare since they measure sunniness differently. I was in Vancouver in July once and it was very dreary. They get an average of 7 rain days a month in July and August, which means it rains roughly once every 4 or 5 days. I think it's clear about 50 percent of the time. That's not exactly what I'd call an arid summer. I think Vancouverites just want to think they have a balmy LA-like climate lol. I suppose compared to the rest of Canada they do.
I define a climate more by the kind of vegetation it produces than the meteorological energy that produces the weather. If Vancouver was truly a Mediterranean climate it would have semi-arid chaparral vegetation or oak savanna, not temperate rain forest. I don't think you encounter true Med climates until you get as far south as Roseburg, Oregon.
I think Vancouver had one of its hotter summers? At least Seattle did. Vanouver's record high isn't very hot at all; I think it's 93F. I remember we did a comparison of hot days for Seattle and Portland with a few French cities. Portland had much hot days than Paris; I think Seattle was a bit less?
Seattle average 9 days at or above 86 F/30 C. I imagine Vancouver being close to that, maybe a little less.
Not sure if Vancouver or Paris has a higher standard deviation throughout the year.
Random side note about Seattle: High Wind Warning in effect with a quarter inch to half an inch of rain expected today. Seems a little early in the season for such stormy weather. Guess that's why it'll be hot here in the east. Rainfall Warning in effect in Vancouver: Alerts for: Metro Vancouver - Environment Canada
Definitely Paris. Relatively even distribution of rainfall through the year is the deciding factor. Vancouver, like the rest of the inland PNW, has a weird summer dry signal which shows in some of the native vegetation.
I define a climate more by the kind of vegetation it produces than the meteorological energy that produces the weather. If Vancouver was truly a Mediterranean climate it would have semi-arid chaparral vegetation or oak savanna, not temperate rain forest. I don't think you encounter true Med climates until you get as far south as Roseburg, Oregon.
You would be wrong about that. Semi-arid chaparral vegetation and oak savanna occur very near Vancouver, in the Gulf Islands and southeastern Vancouver Island. There are even a few garry oak meadows in the Fraser Valley east of Vancouver, although these are small remnant populations.
The city of Vancouver itself was never "temperate rainforest" either. What you need to understand about British Columbia (and the entire PNW) is that rainfall varies dramatically within a couple miles. Downtown Vancouver was mainly Douglas fir forest, not rainforest. The nearest temperate rainforests would have been on the North Shore. The nearest oak savannas would have been a few miles south, near Anacortes, WA. Across Georgia Strait, on the Gulf Islands and southeast Vancouver Island, oak savannas and dry Douglas fir forest once predominated (and still predominates, where development hasn't taken over).
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