"Summer" cities, "Fall" cities, "Winter" cities, and "Spring" cities?
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Seattle and Portland are known to be phenomenal summer cities. That said, both cities (and everything in between and nearby) are extremely underrated for spring. There is always something in bloom from March through June. The large number of flowering plants/trees that cover the streets such as the cherry blossoms, rhododendrons, hyacinths, wisterias, hydrangeas, camellias, tulips, etc... are just beautiful. Clear days in spring are my favorite because the mountains are just packed with snow.
In spite of the Cherry Blossoms Festival (which honestly is kinda overrated), D.C. - like every other East Coast city is actually much better in fall.
The reason is simple - spring is far more unpredictable and quite nasty weather is a real risk into early to mid May. Snowstorms are a realistic threat into the third week of March and cold, unappealing weather is common enough into the first weeks of April. (I had an April wedding here, and it was overcast and low 50s). Of course there can also be great 65-80 degree days with sunshine galore and those are among the best days you'll see in D.C. weather-wise, but they're impossible to predict, so for planned festivities and travel it's really not great. And that's why the Cherry Blossom Festival is often a dud. You can both miss peak bloom because the festival is too late (like this year) and it can easily be freezing or rainy or both.
Meanwhile, September is pretty reliably still warm to hot, October will usually have a mix of mild to very warm days and even November will typically still have a fair number of nice days. Plus the vicinity of the city is actually a very underrated location for fall foliage viewing. Every year I go on a few drives around the area just for the colors and you can pretty much count on there being at least one day of glorious sunshine and pleasant temperatures in the right time frame.
In north Alabama, the best seasons are spring and fall, and there can be substantially variability even then. But temperatures are mostly comfortable and humidity is low.
On the other hand, winters can be cold and wet much of the time but snow isn't very common, and summers are quite hot and humid. Not New Orleans and Houston level unbearable, but still can be uncomfortable. Virtually everybody has central cooling and heating.
My favorite season in Houston is Fall.
After brutal summers the anticipation and arrival of that first cool front is pure bliss.
The first break from summer usually hits the end of September and it's usually nice till the first freeze which usually isn't till after Christmas.
Houston doesn't really have a winter, it has occasional freezes which makes spring sometimes feel like a continuation of fall. The combo of mild winters, preceded by fantastic fall weather lessens the anticipation for spring unlike for fall.
A typical spring day is more pleasant than a typical fall day (more on the cooler side, the spring flowers, etc) but while fall is a reprieve from summer, Spring isn't as big a reprieve from winter as it is further north.
Raleigh and honestly probably most of the southeastern piedmont is "spring/fall" favorable. "HVAC off and windows open" weather generally has stretches from mid-march to mid-may and early october-mid/late november. My favorite.
Spring is generally pleasant in Raleigh though very variable. The foliage and flowers blooming this time of the year is beautiful but it brings with it the clouds of pollen. This march has had quite a few washout days as well. Not great for the cold dampness that sinks in and feels out of season...but nice that it clears the pollen out of the air for a bit. Today being sunny and 75 with the humidity still being held off is about to be beautiful. I will be headed to Umstead State Park for a long hike with the pup this afternoon.
But those first few days where the morning mugginess is gone and where you maybe even feel justified in putting on a hoodie are IMO the peak weather here. Usually get the first taste of it in the last week or so of September and it will "settle in" mid October. Leaves don't reach their peak until the first week of November.
Winter the past couple years has been a bit of a drag as we haven't had ANY snow but have had some hard cold-snaps.
Summer is always hot, hazy, humid. Pool days and weekend trips to the beach or the mountains are great; but most days you don't want to be spending a lot of time outside in the middle of the day.
Spring - Atlanta (think Augusta National/The Masters as the coming of Spring).
Summer - Chicago (love Chicago summers).
Autumn - Atlanta (perfect weather when it's around 60 degrees and great colors).
Winter - San Diego (nice weather if you don't like the cold).
"Summer" cities, "Fall" cities, "Winter" cities, and "Spring" cities?
Summersville, WV
Fall River, MA
Winter Haven, FL
Spring Hill, TN
Sorry, couldn't resist.
It's true, some places have significant peaks in visitation or activity. Any city in Alaska will have a strong peak in the summer with significant drop-off the rest of the year. This is also true of Northeastern coastal towns, where tourists flock in the summer to visit the beaches but mostly stay away the rest of the year.
There was a time when Florida used to be heavily peaked in the winter time, but in the past few decades, the state has become much more of a year-round destination. Key West still retains somewhat of a winter peak.
Washington, DC has a peak in the spring due to the cherry blossoms, but the tourism numbers are strong in the summer too. New England towns have a peak in the fall due to people wanting to see the leaves change colors.
Caribbean islands see their peaks in the winter, though they still do get a decent amount of visitation the rest of the year. The reverse is true in Bermuda, where summer is the peak and the rest of the year is pretty quiet.
Fall in the mid Atlantic/northeast is the best. I lived in Denver and falls were great there as well
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
