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As I've stated before, the only part of the south that really sees a winter that can be compared to that of the north is the inland areas well into the continent, such as the Appalachian region. The Coastal South is pure subtropical paradise, with a warm climate that can grow all kinds of plants. Winter weather events, and extreme cold, such as that seen this past winter are highly unusual. You can see palms like CIDPs, queens, washingtonias, sabal palmettos, and even Royals (in Texas and Florida). Citrus plants, sugar cane, rice, cotton, and other crops can be grown with ease in this coastal south region, along with vegeation like hibiscus, oleanders, etc. Even tropical plants can be grown in many areas of the coastal south, especially in Texas and Florida. There are lots of deep subtropical jungles in the region, lush, evergreen water-worlds with huge trees draped with spanish moss.
Weather in the coastal south is subtropical paradise with nice lukewarm winters, and nice hot summers that is good for the beach. Winter only merely visits the Coastal South at best, before it is driven out by the warmth, that then stays put. Lots of warm, sunny days in the middle of winter. In contrast, the North in general is a miserable place during winter, where clouds and gray, and snow dominate the landscape much of the time. The fall colors are pretty, but then all winter, you are stuck with a dead landscape.
Until the North has deep subtropical jungles draped with spanish moss, until the northern cities can grow CIDPs, Dates, queens, hibiscus, citrus, rice, and other subtropical plants effortlessly, and until Northern cities have AVERAGE winter lows above the 40s, and AVERAGE winter highs above 60, there is no way that ANYONE with even the slightest bit of SENSE can claim that the North is not much different than the South climate-wise.
The thread is flawed and to some degree everyone is wrong, but the thread set it up to be that way.
"The South" is huge land wise and takes up a big chunk of this country. It varies alot within itself.
Additionally, so does the north.
Man, the difference between the relatively mile northeastern coast and the midwest is huge.
The coast and the mountains really help them stay fairly mild. The northern high pressure systems with really cold, dry air really travel south in the midwest. Often parts of the south off the coast can get pretty cold when those systems come far enough south, luckily for us it involves dry air and pushes away the low pressure storm systems.
NYC is barely north of the border between a humid, subtropical climate and a bit drier humid, continental climate.
Inversely the different between Atlanta, Northern Tennessee, and Miami is pretty big. Atlanta has 4 seasons, Miami doesn't.
I go to NYC (I'm from Atlanta) a decent amount. I usually expect a 8-10 degree avg different. The summers are a bit milder and the winters are just a bit colder. They do get more rain when the high pressure systems push across (more snow). There are also plenty of times in the year NYC will have a warmer day than Atlanta or Atlanta will have a colder day than NYC. But I do expect a small difference.
Also the other day I had an interesting discussion with someone from Seattle. No doubt Seattle is further north and cooler, but that person didn't seem to understand we have frost, freezing soils, continental high pressure systems from the north that push down south, and below freezing temperatures frequently in the winters.
I looked up a climate chart, their winters aren't that much colder. They actually have somewhat mild winters. It is their summer that are so cool!
Chicago, Minnieappolis... that is where its FREEEEZING. The NE coast is closer to the Piedmont in the south than that.
I found this graphic interesting. It is simply a map of the average annual minimum temperature.
I think this shows what I'm talkin about rather well.
The thread is flawed and to some degree everyone is wrong, but the thread set it up to be that way.
"The South" is huge land wise and takes up a big chunk of this country. It varies alot within itself.
Additionally, so does the north.
Man, the difference between the relatively mile northeastern coast and the midwest is huge.
The coast and the mountains really help them stay fairly mild. The northern high pressure systems with really cold, dry air really travel south in the midwest. Often parts of the south off the coast can get pretty cold when those systems come far enough south, luckily for us it involves dry air and pushes away the low pressure storm systems.
NYC is barely north of the border between a humid, subtropical climate and a bit drier humid, continental climate.
Inversely the different between Atlanta, Northern Tennessee, and Miami is pretty big. Atlanta has 4 seasons, Miami doesn't.
I go to NYC (I'm from Atlanta) a decent amount. I usually expect a 8-10 degree avg different. The summers are a bit milder and the winters are just a bit colder. They do get more rain when the high pressure systems push across (more snow). There are also plenty of times in the year NYC will have a warmer day than Atlanta or Atlanta will have a colder day than NYC. But I do expect a small difference.
Also the other day I had an interesting discussion with someone from Seattle. No doubt Seattle is further north and cooler, but that person didn't seem to understand we have frost, freezing soils, continental high pressure systems from the north that push down south, and below freezing temperatures frequently in the winters.
I looked up a climate chart, their winters aren't that much colder. They actually have somewhat mild winters. It is their summer that are so cool!
Chicago, Minnieappolis... that is where its FREEEEZING. The NE coast is closer to the Piedmont in the south than that.
I found this graphic interesting. It is simply a map of the average annual minimum temperature.
I think this shows what I'm talkin about rather well.
The cold really comes down in the middle of the US and the East and West coasts stay more mild.
I'm from Atlanta and NYC and DC seem a bit colder to me, but not that much. Chicago is a different story.
Yea, as I've stated many times on these forums, NYC and Atlanta have remarkably similar weather, one being on the warm Atlantic coast and the other being in the foothills of the Blue Ridge -- with an elevation above 1,000 feet.
During much of the year, the temps in NYC often exceed those in Atlanta -- and the next day, in reverse. Much of the eastern seaboard sees the same thing, due to the influence of the Gulf Stream and the commonality of deep Canadian cold fronts that sink far to the south-central part of the country yet are often blocked from moving further east due to the mountain ranges.
And you are correct: people in other parts of the country, particularity the West Coast, are incredibly naive about eastern weather, especially in the south. They assume it's always hot and sunny, which of course we all know is absolutely 100 percent not true. Weather in the South can be just as extreme as that in the north, even if not as severe or lasting as long.
As I've stated before, the only part of the south that really sees a winter that can be compared to that of the north is the inland areas well into the continent, such as the Appalachian region. The Coastal South is pure subtropical paradise, with a warm climate that can grow all kinds of plants. Winter weather events, and extreme cold, such as that seen this past winter are highly unusual. You can see palms like CIDPs, queens, washingtonias, sabal palmettos, and even Royals (in Texas and Florida). Citrus plants, sugar cane, rice, cotton, and other crops can be grown with ease in this coastal south region, along with vegeation like hibiscus, oleanders, etc. Even tropical plants can be grown in many areas of the coastal south, especially in Texas and Florida. There are lots of deep subtropical jungles in the region, lush, evergreen water-worlds with huge trees draped with spanish moss.
Weather in the coastal south is subtropical paradise with nice lukewarm winters, and nice hot summers that is good for the beach. Winter only merely visits the Coastal South at best, before it is driven out by the warmth, that then stays put. Lots of warm, sunny days in the middle of winter. In contrast, the North in general is a miserable place during winter, where clouds and gray, and snow dominate the landscape much of the time. The fall colors are pretty, but then all winter, you are stuck with a dead landscape.
Until the North has deep subtropical jungles draped with spanish moss, until the northern cities can grow CIDPs, Dates, queens, hibiscus, citrus, rice, and other subtropical plants effortlessly, and until Northern cities have AVERAGE winter lows above the 40s, and AVERAGE winter highs above 60, there is no way that ANYONE with even the slightest bit of SENSE can claim that the North is not much different than the South climate-wise.
I definitely agree that the thread is flawed. To answer the question correctly, you have to know what part of the south, and what part of the north it is that you are comparing!
Having said that, I still think generally speaking, that the south and the north obviously have different climates either way for the most part. Of course you have got some mountainous areas in the south and some coastal areas in the north that can throw this off a bit.
As for the "what is more tolerable, hot or cold", debate, I would lean towards cold being more tolerable. I would also say that it is more preference or what you get use to.
I grew up in northern Michigan and now live in middle Tennessee. I moved here in the middle of July and barely wanted to be outside and often felt ill with a headache and nausea do to the heat. I also didn't even use a winter jacket the first few years I lived here.
The longer I have lived here, the more I seem to somewhat get used to the climate but I would still prefer 25 or 30 degrees to 95 or 100 degrees any day. I also really miss having snow for the holiday season and the more dramatic change of scenery in the winter.
Just like others have said before, the majority of the south was still pretty sparsely populated before the invention of air conditioning. I think that speaks for itself in this debate.
Once again I think it is mainly what you prefer or get used to though. A couple of years ago, I met a Native American who grew up in northern Alaska. She told me that up there when the temperature started getting near 60 degrees, the people really start slowing down and had problems handling the heat!
Many people move for jobs not weather, but some I have talked to did get sick of the cold in the north and moved down south just to realize that the blazing heat isn't all its cracked up to be either.
The thread is flawed and to some degree everyone is wrong, but the thread set it up to be that way.
"The South" is huge land wise and takes up a big chunk of this country. It varies alot within itself.
Additionally, so does the north.
Man, the difference between the relatively mile northeastern coast and the midwest is huge.
The coast and the mountains really help them stay fairly mild. The northern high pressure systems with really cold, dry air really travel south in the midwest. Often parts of the south off the coast can get pretty cold when those systems come far enough south, luckily for us it involves dry air and pushes away the low pressure storm systems.
NYC is barely north of the border between a humid, subtropical climate and a bit drier humid, continental climate.
Inversely the different between Atlanta, Northern Tennessee, and Miami is pretty big. Atlanta has 4 seasons, Miami doesn't.
I go to NYC (I'm from Atlanta) a decent amount. I usually expect a 8-10 degree avg different. The summers are a bit milder and the winters are just a bit colder. They do get more rain when the high pressure systems push across (more snow). There are also plenty of times in the year NYC will have a warmer day than Atlanta or Atlanta will have a colder day than NYC. But I do expect a small difference.
Also the other day I had an interesting discussion with someone from Seattle. No doubt Seattle is further north and cooler, but that person didn't seem to understand we have frost, freezing soils, continental high pressure systems from the north that push down south, and below freezing temperatures frequently in the winters.
I looked up a climate chart, their winters aren't that much colder. They actually have somewhat mild winters. It is their summer that are so cool!
Chicago, Minnieappolis... that is where its FREEEEZING. The NE coast is closer to the Piedmont in the south than that.
I found this graphic interesting. It is simply a map of the average annual minimum temperature.
I think this shows what I'm talkin about rather well.
The cold really comes down in the middle of the US and the East and West coasts stay more mild.
I'm from Atlanta and NYC and DC seem a bit colder to me, but not that much. Chicago is a different story.
Great post! And very useful map for this thread. This goes along with what I posted earlier as well that Philly is in the same climate zone as much of The South.
LOL, there are several peach orchards in Michigan! Here is a link to just one, and I'm only posting it for proof so that I don't get a bunch of "you don't know what you're talking about" responses:
There are several others. I can think of at least four or five just within a twenty-five mile radius of my home in southern Michigan. There are also magnolias and rhododendrons that grow in our climate.
Actually, it really does get hot here. I mean, really, really hot, as in, 95 degrees for several days at a stretch. Honest, it does. We have heat advisories, old people who are at risk of heat stroke because they don't have air conditioning are taken to local senior centers, and the pavement gets too hot to walk on in bare feet. When that happens, the snow even melts, lol.
Good observations. Something else I pondered recently, in reaction to a thread about whether people moved north or west for weather reasons, is the fact that WARMTH is FAR FAR more acceptable than cold. Despite all the hate *some* people have for the warm, humid summers of the South, the fact remains that EVERY region of the Eastern North has periods of summer weather that are just as brutal. Granted, they may only last a few days or weeks, but still and again ... it gets just as hot UP NORTH as it does DOWN SOUTH.
Now, that said, I will add this: Heat is far more tolerable than cold. Even in the deepest throws of summer, it's generally cool and pleasant at night in the South. Even in the DEEP SOUTH and coastal regions (i.e. Florida, the Atlantic and Gulf coasts), the nighttime temps are rather pleasant -- with some exceptions when humidity is extremely high. But the exceptions are not the norm.
BOTTOM LINE: It is much easier to deal with HEAT than it is with COLD, at least IMO. Just consider the historic inflruence that air conditioning had on the Sunbelt boom.
Except that heat kills FAR more people than cold does. So your opinion is fine, but it is just one perspective out there.
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