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The debate would be whether cold/mild, wet rain in endless cloud cover is more appealing than cold and snowy sunshine. I think it's certainly debatable, and you may too if you are used to lots and lots of sunshine (in UT you probably are). Coldness isn't 100% correlated with misery, despite the notion that it is. For instance, once you have sunshine and elements to enjoy the outdoors like snow and ice, the cold is markedly preferred over dreary wet mildness.....to me, at least. We get both here in NE Ohio (cold/mild, snowy/drizzly and dreary).
My favorite altruism here on C-D is that Seattle has ideal weather.....yet you'll NEVER hear that about Minneapolis! I think Minneapolis accepts their image better than Seattle does.
I can agree with "coldness" isn't 100% correlated with misery. But have you ever been to Minnesota in February? My last trip there, it was around -20 on average, with the last night there, -30. That's not skiing weather my friend. That is called a harsh winter. There is nothing harsh about Seattle's climate. Here in Utah, yes, we get snow, but it doesn't feel that cold because it's dry. And Minneapolis winters aren't all sunshine either. Not to mention Seattle's rainy, never gets sunshine reputation is greatly exaggerated. I get that some don't like overcast days, but there is nothing harsh about Seattle's climate, where as Minneapolis has a pretty brutal winter.
I can agree with "coldness" isn't 100% correlated with misery. But have you ever been to Minnesota in February? My last trip there, it was around -20 on average, with the last night there, -30. That's not skiing weather my friend. That is called a harsh winter. There is nothing harsh about Seattle's climate. Here in Utah, yes, we get snow, but it doesn't feel that cold because it's dry. And Minneapolis winters aren't all sunshine either. Not to mention Seattle's rainy, never gets sunshine reputation is greatly exaggerated. I get that some don't like overcast days, but there is nothing harsh about Seattle's climate, where as Minneapolis has a pretty brutal winter.
Yes, I lived there for 22 years. Last year's Polar Vortex events were epic and fairly unprecedented, but far from normal. A couple years before last no monthly average hi temp was below freezing in Minneapolis all winter. Similarly, the Western U.S. has experienced a fairly unprecedented mild streak lasting almost 2 years now, including Seattle. Also quite uncommon. To compare Seattle's mild weather today vs. Minneapolis' record cold last year is inconsistent, to say the least.
Seattle is 44% sunny, Minneapolis is 58% sunny. That's a big difference.
I can agree with "coldness" isn't 100% correlated with misery. But have you ever been to Minnesota in February? My last trip there, it was around -20 on average, with the last night there, -30. That's not skiing weather my friend. That is called a harsh winter. There is nothing harsh about Seattle's climate. Here in Utah, yes, we get snow, but it doesn't feel that cold because it's dry. And Minneapolis winters aren't all sunshine either. Not to mention Seattle's rainy, never gets sunshine reputation is greatly exaggerated. I get that some don't like overcast days, but there is nothing harsh about Seattle's climate, where as Minneapolis has a pretty brutal winter.
That's odd, considering the all-time Minneapolis February low is -33 degrees, and that hasn't been seen since the 1800s, most likely because they were measuring wrong/poorly. Hey, it was the 1800s! Looking at daily record lows in February, the all-time record range is from -10 to the -20s. I don't see a single day over the last 50 years where it's gone under the -20s in Minneapolis in February, though. Are you sure you're not exaggerating for effect?
Minneapolis has a worse winter. It's really cold. I understand preferring a bit of winter and more sun, though. It would be a much harder call for me if the city going up against Seattle were New York or Chicago or something like that - Minny is much, much colder than that.
I have lived in both Seattle and Minneapolis more than anywhere else. I'm curious which has a worse winter in the eyes of others. Both are great, comparable cities that have the probably have the most notoriously worst winters for major US metropolitan areas.
Minneapolis winters: snow 6 months of the year lots of times, deathly cold, frequent subzero temperatures, but a decent amount of sunshine.
Seattle winters: Chilly, almost always overcast, usually drizzling, 6+ months of the year.
Which notorious winter do you think is worse?
I'd love to hear from people who have lived in these cities as well as the opinions of others from elsewhere!
Feel free to speak your mind as well about why you choose one or the other.
is that even a serious question? Seattle doesn't even have winters because they last 2-3 weeks when it is below 40. Unless you call 46-56 degrees harsh winter. It's currently 58 in Seattle and partly cloudy.
Yes, I lived there for 22 years. Last year's Polar Vortex events were epic and fairly unprecedented, but far from normal. A couple years before last no monthly average hi temp was below freezing in Minneapolis all winter. Similarly, the Western U.S. has experienced a fairly unprecedented mild streak lasting almost 2 years now, including Seattle. Also quite uncommon. To compare Seattle's mild weather today vs. Minneapolis' record cold last year is inconsistent, to say the least.
Seattle is 44% sunny, Minneapolis is 58% sunny. That's a big difference.
I sense a bias here...
I'm not comparing today or even last years near record setting, what was it, 54 days below zero? You're simply trying to downplay Minny's winters, and that's just absurd, while making a bigger issue of a few overcast days. Yea, I sense a bias too. You're trying to downplay a harsh winter as some polar vortex. My last trip to the twin cities was over 6 years ago, so I don't think your weather anomaly for the past 2 years applies. So you can't blame my experiences on my 3 trips there on unprecedented events from the last couple of years. The data is all available online for anyone to see. To pretend like someone can't just google what the average temp was in a month of any year is just absurd. The Average HIGH in Jan in Minneapolis is 24. There are obviously countless days where it is well below that and above that. But it's a good starting point. And that point is that Minny's high is substantially lower than Seattle's LOW, which I might add is above freezing. Not to mention, Seattle doesn't get snow but maybe once a year. A little drizzle doesn't prevent people from getting out and doing things. I would imagine the 20mph winds with the 28 degree's that Minneapolis would hinder people more than 57 degrees and overcast skies.
That's odd, considering the all-time Minneapolis February low is -33 degrees, and that hasn't been seen since the 1800s, most likely because they were measuring wrong/poorly. Hey, it was the 1800s! Looking at daily record lows in February, the all-time record range is from -10 to the -20s. I don't see a single day over the last 50 years where it's gone under the -20s in Minneapolis in February, though. Are you sure you're not exaggerating for effect?
Minneapolis has a worse winter. It's really cold. I understand preferring a bit of winter and more sun, though. It would be a much harder call for me if the city going up against Seattle were New York or Chicago or something like that - Minny is much, much colder than that.
I should have added, this was windchill. My mistake for omitting that info.
Seattles is worse. Why? Clouds and rain. Clouds are depressing, and you cant really do much in the rain. At least in MPLS there is decent sun, and tons of winter sports to partake in. Plus, its more fun sliding around in the snow if you know car control. Every parking lot and corner turns into a mini drift session.
Miami has the worst winters in my opinion. No snow... ever.
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