[papafox]

I've heard it mentioned a lot that coastal CT can be classified as subtropical, rather than humid continental, which seems bogus since in order for a location to be classified as subtropical, it must experience 8 months with an avg temp of at least 50 as well as an avg temp of at least 36 during its coldest month.

Even BDR and GON don't meet either of these criteria, so how can they be considered subtropical?

Not to mention, it seems like a huge disservice the the word that you could even begin to classify a place that has an average annual minimum temp in the single digits (zone 7) with 20'' of snow
as subtropical.

Seems to me that a subtropical place, should have temps below freezing on just a handful of nights as well as no more than 1 to 2'' of snow annually.


Hopefully Cambium will be around shortly to set me straight!!

[FutureTown]

No way! Not at all! Think Barcelona, Mexico City, or even parts of Vietnam when you're thinking subtropics!

Coastal CT has a more milder temperature than the inland during Winter, that's for sure. I'm guessing cause of heat retention near a large body of water. Coastal CT drops below freezing plenty of times over Winter. Especially our last Winter! That felt NOTHING like the subtropics, lol! I suggest you look at places like Madison or Guilford and compare it to Barcelona.

[papafox]

Yea, that's pretty much down the lines of what I was thinking!!

[Armyvet1]

Florida is subtropical

[EricS39]

Coastal Connecticut is humid continental beyond the extreme southern coast and even borders a third climate zone ...oceanic. But really the appropriate climate zone for Connecticut is "humid continental" not "humid subtropical"

With everything south of Manhattan down to South Florida being humid subtropical and Miami being tropical monsoon

[smackfu]

It sounds like there is an older and newer definition of "humid subtropical." Here is the older one:

The Köppen definition of this climate is for the coldest month's mean temperature to be between −3 °C (26.6 °F) and 18 °C (64.4 °F), and the warmest month to be above 22 °C (71.6 °F).

New Haven just barely meets this criteria, with a 30.5 F average for January, and a 76.1 F average for July.

New Haven, Connecticut Travel Weather Averages (Weatherbase)

So that's probably where it comes from, but there is a reason they have a new criteria, because the old one sometimes grouped together places that don't really have the same climate.

[newerabuzz]

Vietnam is considered humid tropical (the southern section) and humid subtropical the northern section- highland areas may differ slightly.

Barcelona Spain is considered dry subtropical (Mediterranean)

Mexico City is considered a highland temperate climate.

Remember this the term 'subtropical' has a broad meaning. Shanghai China is considered 'humid subtropical' as is Washington DC and in some maps NYC and Long Island fall under 'humid subtropical' So the Connecticut Coast is edging closer to that type of climate. Also because of Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the humid sub tropical line is moving 'north' from LI sound at the rate of about a mile a year.

[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by newerabuzz

Vietnam is considered humid tropical (the southern section) and humid subtropical the northern section- highland areas may differ slightly.

Barcelona Spain is considered dry subtropical (Mediterranean)

Mexico City is considered a highland temperate climate.

Remember this the term 'subtropical' has a broad meaning. Shanghai China is considered 'humid subtropical' as is Washington DC and in some maps NYC and Long Island fall under 'humid subtropical' So the Connecticut Coast is edging closer to that type of climate. Also because of Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the humid sub tropical line is moving 'north' from LI sound at the rate of about a mile a year.

There is no comparison between Connecticut and Shanghai. I've been to Shanghai in the summer and it makes Houston or Atlanta summers look mild by comparison. (I think the oppressive humidity combines with the heavy pollution to make the air seem thicker - you walk outside at 7am there and you just feel dirty after a few seconds - like, "I really need to take another shower" dirty.)

[Henry10]

Coastal Connecticut is in between Humid Continental to Humid Subtropical climates.

[newerabuzz]

NEWJEFFCT

I did not say first of all that the climate of Shanghai China 'is like CT' please read my post over again. I said that coastal CT is beginning to see a borderline Humid Subtropical climate- air pollution has nothing to do with the climate in Shanghai, except making the population sick and miserable. Smog does not trap heat, greenhouse gases do. The humid sub tropical zone extends in the US from NYC and south to northern Florida- so you should also ask the question does Washington DC which has a humid subtropical climate look like Jacksonville FL?

Tokyo Japan is another humid subtropical station, yet it differs also from Shanghai, and Jacksonville. There is great weather variability- for instance last winter we had a cold winter here, where large parts of the world where warmer then average. A sub tropical climate does not have one set of 'criteria' they differ and do vary, but remain within a certain range of temperature's in winter and summer. Also remember that the west coasts of the continents have a 'sub humid' or its usually called 'dry subtropical'. San Francisco is called a 'cool water' coast dry subtropical, while Perth Australia is called a 'warm water' coastal location, but still dry subtropical.