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The oppressive heat and humidity alone are enough to classify Oklahoma as subtropical. And to the poster above, I am not sure how you can say Miami is not subtropical in climate.
It's not subtropical by climate type. It's tropical. Of course, there is a contingent of people on C-D that will argue that Miami does not have a tropical climate because it's not between the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn but climate zones don't always follow geography. Climate zones follow....well....the climate. That's it. It's why Miami has a tropical climate and much of California is considered a Mediterranian climate though it's nearly half a world away from the region.
According to my weather App, the highs for the next seven days in Miami Beach is as follows:
81, 82, 82, 81, 82, 81 and a chilly 79. While this is a bit above normal for mid January, it's far from unusual. As for the overnight lows, they range from 66-70.
Yes, Miami has a tropical climate but it is not in the tropics. Just like California has a Mediterranean climate, but it is not in the Mediterranean. It is very interesting because it shows that climate patterns can be mimicked across the globe for different reasons.
There are also places in the tropics that do not have tropical climates. Examples include the Sahara Desert and much of the Australian Outback. Despite the common association with "the tropics" and warm, wet weather, climate can vary within the tropics as well.
Well according to the Koppen climate classification, the qualification for subtropical is that the coldest month has an average temperature of either 0C or -3C. Internationally they use the =3C value since that is persistant frost line while many US sources use the 0C value. Cities like St. Louis and New York are in between those values making it vary depending on what is used. (would be interesting if updated climate charts show them trending towards 0C)
The reason US sources tend to use 0C as the value is due to the marine climate. They can call it a west coast climate if the border is 0C since it is exclusively on the west coasts of continents. But if it is -3C then Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard would also fall under marine climate. Also depending on climate change and how it changes averages, the -3C line might be the 0C line soon anyway, especially if they used the 1970's in climate data for current climate. (that was notoriously a cold decade)
Actually even using the 0C isotherm, lots of places that under the 1961-1990 averages qualified as "humid continental" are now "subtropical" (cfa) as per the 1981-2010 averages. I suspect one of the reasons why the 0C isotherm was preferred in the US was that many cities like New York were excluded from the "continental" category, which lots of people "felt" should be in that category. It was also thought to be too broad as you mentioned, since it encompasses anywhere from northern Florida to Long Island. However, under the 1981-2010 averages, places like NY fail to qualify even using the already generous 0C. If this warming trend continues to the next climate average period (1991-2020 and beyond...) it would be interesting to see if scientists would then raise the isotherm further to 3C or even 5C because by that time, fewer and fewer places will qualify as "humid continental". Some modified versions of Koeppen's classification already split the "subtropical" category into two roughly equal parts. This might gain more traction in the future as this climate category becomes more dominant. Perhaps, climatologists might also decide to split the tropical (A climates) into two subcategories, one encompassing places with occasional cool spells such as Hong Kong and Miami and the other would be the remaining tropical climates with no (or extremely rare) cool spells.
Nyc, philly, Baltimore,dc all have similar weather. On any given day, there isn't much of a difference in temperature between the four cities.
The only reason NYC can be grouped with the other cities is the massive urban heat island effect. Otherwise, it would be very noticeably cooler than Philly, Baltimore, and DC. Places like Staten Island are already two or three degrees cooler than Manhattan, particularly at night.
Baltimore is actually a bit warmer than DC, though you wouldn't notice it unless you're up walking the streets late at night. Likewise, Baltimore suburbs are slightly warmer than DC suburbs due to a more pronounced urban heat island effect and proximity to the ocean.
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Phoenix
Atlanta
Miami
New Orleans
Houston
Dallas
Portland
Seattle
Redding
El Paso
Oklahoma City
St. Louis
Cincinnati
Nashville
Charleston, SC
DC
New York City
Richmond
Out of the listed El Paso, Houston, Miami (tropical), Phownix, Los Angeles, Atlanta. Savannah
Los Angeles WTF??? Is the OP serious? Generally Mediterranean, leaning on the Arid "summer-dry" side of that classification. San Francisco Believe it or not is also Mediterranean. But being on a penninsula it is moreso influenced day-to-day by microclimates. It's not the same class as the PNW, oddly enough SF is too dry. Phoenix BWh Arid subtropical. Precipitation classifies it as a desert, though the monsoonal influence in the late summer is why it's considered Arid subtropical. Atlanta Humid Subtropical but can still get nippy in the wintertime; obviously not indicative of a true Subtropical place. It has a temperate continental vibe as well. Miami A f**king sauna. New Orleans Humid subtropical, though like Atlanta can get nippy and sometimes snowy in winter. Though not nearly as often. Houston Humid subtropical, not too dissimilar to New Orleans actually. But absolutely UNBEARABLE 359 days a year. No wonder they all wander around in tunnels. Dallas Humid subtropical, but much cooler in the winter and drier overall than Houston or New Orleans. Less humidity to moderate temps thus 100 + degrees can be rather common in the summer. Portland Slightly Maritime but still slightly Mediterranean on the "cool summer" side. Seattle Mostly maritime; cool wet winters. But not perpetually wet during the summer either (c'mon guys, it isn't Scotland). Drier summers are a result from the Mediterranean influence that dominates the Pacific Coast. Redding Mediterranean. Hot summers and wet, nippy winters. Snow isn't unheard of there. El Paso Same as Phoenix. Hot and dry and WINDY AS HELL. But chilly in the winter and sometimes cold. Oklahoma City Humid subtropical, not as dry as some might think. Weather can be extreme: thunderstorms and tornadoes occur in that area St. Louis A mix of Humid Continental and Humid Subtropical. It's flat, so they get screwed. Cold Canadian air hits them in the winter and hot humid air from the Gulf in the summer. 18" of snow per year JUST SO WE ARE CLEAR. Cincinnati Quite like St Louis, but much snowier. No real "dry season", precipitation is rather uniform from month to month. Nashville Humid Subtropical. Cool, sometimes cold winters. Little snowfall. Hot humid summers. Rainfall averages between 3-4" each month. Charleston, SC Humid Subtropical, mild winters and hot muggy summers. No "dry season" most rainfall falling in summer months. DC Humid Subtropical by definition but much more temperate in reality. Chilly sometimes cold winters with light snowfall. Warm humid summers, mostly bearable. Rainfall consistent year long. New York City Considered America's Northernmost humid subtropical city. No real "dry season", summers are warm, sometimes hot and sticky. Adirondacks and Catskill Mtns keep out most of the Cold interior air/lake-effect snow and allow the Atlantic to hold greater influence during winters making them much more mild for a city of it's lattitude. Richmond Humid Subtropical. Hot humid summers, cool but generally mild winters. Appalachians keep the cold interior air away most of the time. Not a lot of snowfall per year, no dry season.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lovely95
Yes, Miami has a tropical climate but it is not in the tropics. Just like California has a Mediterranean climate, but it is not in the Mediterranean. It is very interesting because it shows that climate patterns can be mimicked across the globe for different reasons.
There are also places in the tropics that do not have tropical climates. Examples include the Sahara Desert and much of the Australian Outback. Despite the common association with "the tropics" and warm, wet weather, climate can vary within the tropics as well.
Tropical climates are defined as those with a mean temperature of no less than 18C (65F) in the coldest month. Yes, there are many places within the two tropics that do not technically have a tropical climate. Although some arid climates still qualify as tropical, such as Somalia. Not all tropical climates are humid.
Hate to bring this up, but some have said that by 2050 or 2070, both Seattle and Portland will be mediterranean due to climate change. I kind of doubt such serious change will occur, but this is the prediction of some. Mediterranean is defined in wikipedia as: "The climate is characterized by warm to hot, dry summers and mild to cool, wet winters.".
OK, Seattle and Portland are still maritime, but not far off from this definition. There could be some truth here.
What's crazy is that this puts DC, Baltimore, Philly and possibly NYC as "Subtropical"! And you hear complaint after complaint of how "harsh" the weather is there....ha!
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While this is a bit above normal for mid January, it's far from unusual. As for the overnight lows, they range from 66-70.
Believe it or not is also Mediterranean. But being on a penninsula it is moreso influenced day-to-day by microclimates. It's not the same class as the PNW, oddly enough SF is too dry.
