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I don't understand people who say NYC has the worst of both worlds when it comes to seasons. Yes, summer can be hot and muggy. But NYC is the northernmost U.S. city with a subtropical climate due to the oceanic influence. Winter is comparably mild, with average highs above freezing even in January and February. It typically only snows around 11 days per year.
Compare this to say Chicago. In Chicago the January/February highs are 24.8 and 28.7, versus 32.6 and 35.3 for NYC. But the summer highs are basically identical. NYC is 84.1 and 82.6 in July and August, while Chicago is 84.2 and 82.1.
I'd say somewhere like Omaha probably has the worst climate in America. Winter highs are similar to Chicago (and lows are a bit lower) while it's several degrees warmer in the summer.
I don't understand people who say NYC has the worst of both worlds when it comes to seasons. Yes, summer can be hot and muggy. But NYC is the northernmost U.S. city with a subtropical climate due to the oceanic influence. Winter is comparably mild, with average highs above freezing even in January and February. It typically only snows around 11 days per year.
Compare this to say Chicago. In Chicago the January/February highs are 24.8 and 28.7, versus 32.6 and 35.3 for NYC. But the summer highs are basically identical. NYC is 84.1 and 82.6 in July and August, while Chicago is 84.2 and 82.1.
I'd say somewhere like Omaha probably has the worst climate in America. Winter highs are similar to Chicago (and lows are a bit lower) while it's several degrees warmer in the summer.
NYC maybe isn't the worst, but it's pretty bad. Because even when the weather is nice here, you can't enjoy it the same way you can in other cities. Fall is the best season here, but it's not like you're surrounded by beautiful fall foliage (though you can get your fill at Prospect Park). It's the same concrete jungle all the time. That's just when it's most comfortable.
Now, for the bad seasons...in the hot, muggy summers, it's not like you can at least make up for it by taking a quick dip in the ocean. Unless you own a car, it's a hassle to leave the city for the beach. Hell, it's a hassle even if you do own a car. (Keep in mind, I'm also speaking from the perspective of a current Manhattanite, and driving here is hell. Maybe it's easier from other boroughs.) In the winter season, it's not like you're within a short distance from good skiing options.
When it's hot, the city stinks. When it snows, it turns to gross brown slush on the ground.
NYC is an amazing city, but you don't come here for the weather. I think it qualifies for "worst of both worlds" in that regard.
NYC maybe isn't the worst, but it's pretty bad. Because even when the weather is nice here, you can't enjoy it the same way you can in other cities. Fall is the best season here, but it's not like you're surrounded by beautiful fall foliage (though you can get your fill at Prospect Park). It's the same concrete jungle all the time. That's just when it's most comfortable.
Now, for the bad seasons...in the hot, muggy summers, it's not like you can at least make up for it by taking a quick dip in the ocean. Unless you own a car, it's a hassle to leave the city for the beach. Hell, it's a hassle even if you do own a car. (Keep in mind, I'm also speaking from the perspective of a current Manhattanite, and driving here is hell. Maybe it's easier from other boroughs.) In the winter season, it's not like you're within a short distance from good skiing options.
When it's hot, the city stinks. When it snows, it turns to gross brown slush on the ground.
NYC is an amazing city, but you don't come here for the weather. I think it qualifies for "worst of both worlds" in that regard.
I dunno. I think you get to enjoy nice weather so much more in NYC than in other cities, because you aren't cooped up in your car - you're out and about walking. Of course, you're also out and about walking in nasty weather, so maybe it evens out.
The vast majority of people don't really spend a large percentage of their time doing recreational things outdoors, either in the summer or winter. Even if it's marginally more than NYC, I'm pretty sure that New Yorkers spend more time outdoors than people in virtually any other city in the country (maybe excluding San Francisco).
I definitely think DC and upper reaches of mid atlantic should be at the top or near the top of this list It is absurd that dc and nyc are classified in the koppen humid subtropical classification . You definitely have the humidity near anacostia and the swamp like feel of dc summers are brutal, in the top 10 for urban heat island effect.
A urban heat island is when you get concrete, asphalt absorbing large amounts of solar radiation and DC actually has alot of grasses and trees which naturally cool cities, think of places where there is just a concrete jungle and skyscrapers.
we also have far from "mild winters", at least lately, 2014 and 2015 were brutally cold and this year we get a blizzard of over two feet . very tough to grow anything you would normally grow in a true subtropical climate
DC has tons else to offer, so people dont move here for the weather because its not that great in summer and winter, beautiful spring and fall though. the cherry blossoms and magnolias are going to to bloom early this year
Last edited by floridanative10; 03-15-2016 at 11:07 AM..
How do the winters in the midwest compare to the winters here in NYC? It was pretty bad these past few years. Wind chills up to 20 mph made walking around the city pretty bad.
But then again, there have been winters in NYC where it hovers around 45 degrees. I remember about 5 years ago, the ski resorts in the Poconos (mountain region in eastern Pennsylvania) suffered because it never snowed. I guess it's a hit & miss kind of thing when it comes to winters here
How do the winters in the midwest compare to the winters here in NYC? It was pretty bad these past few years. Wind chills up to 20 mph made walking around the city pretty bad.
But then again, there have been winters in NYC where it hovers around 45 degrees. I remember about 5 years ago, the ski resorts in the Poconos (mountain region in eastern Pennsylvania) suffered because it never snowed. I guess it's a hit & miss kind of thing when it comes to winters here
The winds on the Great Plains are brutal and there's not much to stop them. Winds of 20 mph are nothing. I just looked at my weather app and we are in a wind advisory tomorrow for winds on 25-35 mph with gusts of 50. That is a regular occurrence here. We often have days of high wind warnings, with speeds up to and around 75-80 mph. It's crazy. At least I'm on the western plains and we don't have the humidity of the east. However, when we get these winds in the winter, it is brutal and nothing to mess with.
I dunno. I think you get to enjoy nice weather so much more in NYC than in other cities, because you aren't cooped up in your car - you're out and about walking. Of course, you're also out and about walking in nasty weather, so maybe it evens out.
The vast majority of people don't really spend a large percentage of their time doing recreational things outdoors, either in the summer or winter. Even if it's marginally more than NYC, I'm pretty sure that New Yorkers spend more time outdoors than people in virtually any other city in the country (maybe excluding San Francisco).
The sentence I bolded really addresses well everything else you wrote in this post.
Muggy, hot summers and cold winters are the worst of both worlds. And that's the OP's definition as well. Fall, and a brief period of time in spring are nice here, but the summer and winter are awful. NYC definitely meets the criteria for what OP was asking.
The winds on the Great Plains are brutal and there's not much to stop them. Winds of 20 mph are nothing. I just looked at my weather app and we are in a wind advisory tomorrow for winds on 25-35 mph with gusts of 50. That is a regular occurrence here. We often have days of high wind warnings, with speeds up to and around 75-80 mph. It's crazy. At least I'm on the western plains and we don't have the humidity of the east. However, when we get these winds in the winter, it is brutal and nothing to mess with.
I've never been there but I can imagine what winters are like. However, I don't know how the summers can compare. Dry heat feels much better than humid heat.
Again, I've never been there so I can't really picture what the summers are like.
The sentence I bolded really addresses well everything else you wrote in this post.
Muggy, hot summers and cold winters are the worst of both worlds. And that's the OP's definition as well. Fall, and a brief period of time in spring are nice here, but the summer and winter are awful. NYC definitely meets the criteria for what OP was asking.
I could see D.C. potentially being worse...
D.C. summers are actually terrible. I was there in August and accidentally packed nothing but jeans and t-shirts which was a bad mistake. It was literally 95 and very, very humid. It was disgusting! My makeup ended up going down to my neck instead of staying on my face
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