Wanting to understand Nashville winters...yes I've done searches. (Franklin: how much, school) - Tennessee (TN) - City-Data Forum

SPTLSS1 · 05-04-2008, 08:04 PM

My family and I are contemplating relocating from Chicagoland to Franklin, TN. We are taking a family trip next month. I have done many searches on the subject of weather but am looking to get a number of responses to this post so I can show my wife.

I understand the winters in Nashville will certainly be more mild/temperate than those here in Chicago. That is one of the key reasons for us moving. My question is what is a typical winter day like in Nashville in regards to the weather.

In January and February for instance is it warm enough for kids to be playing outside on swing sets and at the parks? We have two girls ages 2 and 5 and they could live outside if they could. It's hard seeing them couped up all winter long and it gets to the point in the dead of winter that they ride their bikes in our basement to simulate being outdoors. Yes, we do go sledding but that only lasts so long when it's bitterly cold and your extremities begin to turn numb.

Thanks in advance.

2martins · 05-04-2008, 08:14 PM

a typical winter day in Nashville is high 50, low 30 and overcast. you can play outside unless it is windy if you have appropriate clothes which would include a hat and gloves- not SNOW clothes mind you, just regular. of course what we think is windy and what you think is windy may vary. It will snow twice, perhaps, with little to no accumulation, or perhaps an inch. the school will close. don't complain, just enjoy it. we don't get a lot of snow days here, so please don't proceed to tell us how you do it up north when it snows.

i personally would think the winters would be infinitely preferable to chicago winters, and the housing prices are too.

i hope you enjoy it! there may not be a ton of other kids on the playground because their parents think it is cold, but kids in Alaska play outside in the winter and here it's rarely as low as 30 as a high during the day. if it is we think it's FREEZING and women whip out their fur coats. if we didn't wear them when it dipped below 30 we wouldn't wear them at all, so cut us some slack.

alleycat · 05-04-2008, 08:19 PM

There will be days in January and February when it will be sunny and not too cold (and sometime even warm), and there will days when it will be unpleasant to be outside, if not because it's cold, then because it's raining and/or blustery. And sometimes the weather can be worst in March than in January. I've seen people driving around with their convertible tops down in January. It just depends.

I live near a nice little "kiddie park" (one of those with all kinds of play equipment and a "castle" and that sort of thing). There will be days in winter when I drive by and the park will be full of people, days when there's just a smattering of people, and days when there's almost no one there. I haven't kept count, but I would guess that the three conditions are about equal.

Since your kids are so young, I would think you would only let them outside for any length of time during the winter months as maybe one day in three (you could let them out for a little while, but you probably wouldn't want them to spend two hours outside). If they were a little older (over 6) then they could probably go out most days except when it's raining/windy or when it's very cold during the day. Oftentimes here we will have cold nights (20's or even teens), but the days might be in the 40's or 50's.

Steve_TN · 05-04-2008, 08:30 PM

Coming fron New Jersey (in 94), Nashville winters are shorter but can be just as brutally cold as they are up north. Also, you can have it in the 60's one day and in the teens the next. So, it's really hard to predict exactly what any given winter will be like.

alleycat · 05-04-2008, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve_TN

So, it's really hard to predict exactly what any given winter will be like.

Exactly.

So if you move, SPTLSS1, please understand that we weren't lying to you if next January is the worst winter in fifty years and the kids can't go outside.

scarletneon · 05-04-2008, 09:11 PM

if they merely mention that they MIGHT get snow on the news, you can bet everyone will be making their Kroger run.

#Littledog · 05-04-2008, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve_TN

Coming fron New Jersey (in 94), Nashville winters are shorter but can be just as brutally cold as they are up north. Also, you can have it in the 60's one day and in the teens the next. So, it's really hard to predict exactly what any given winter will be like.

I'm sure New Jersy is cold but it's nothing like the upper midwest. Sometimes it's hard to believe life exists up here in the winter. I just needed to clarify for the OP because when you describe Nashville as brutally cold like New Jersey, I really think there's no comparison to Chicago winters.

#Littledog · 05-04-2008, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPTLSS1

My family and I are contemplating relocating from Chicagoland to Franklin, TN. We are taking a family trip next month. I have done many searches on the subject of weather but am looking to get a number of responses to this post so I can show my wife.

I understand the winters in Nashville will certainly be more mild/temperate than those here in Chicago. That is one of the key reasons for us moving. My question is what is a typical winter day like in Nashville in regards to the weather.

In January and February for instance is it warm enough for kids to be playing outside on swing sets and at the parks? We have two girls ages 2 and 5 and they could live outside if they could. It's hard seeing them couped up all winter long and it gets to the point in the dead of winter that they ride their bikes in our basement to simulate being outdoors. Yes, we do go sledding but that only lasts so long when it's bitterly cold and your extremities begin to turn numb.

Thanks in advance.

Oh, I could have written this same post! We live in Milwaukee with a 5 year old and a 2 year old. It's so sad to see them peering out the window day after day asking when they'll see the sun again. I tried to "embrace winter" but I just ended up with very cold babies. Some temperatures are just not safe for children. No matter how much I bundled up our 2 year old (she doesn't have much body fat), she would just stand outside and cry. As soon as it hits 45 degrees or above, we are outside all the time and they love it.

Best of luck in your search! As much as we love Milwaukee summers, they are not long enough to keep us here!

Tunky · 05-05-2008, 07:22 AM

I've only lived down here in TN one winter but I repeatedly commented that "cold feels colder here". That's not to say they get the sub zero freezes we get up north...but even 30 degrees here cuts right through you. There's more humidity in the air so it's not that refreshing brisk cool air.

But it doesn't last for months at a time. I walk everyday and the only time I missed due to weather was for rainy days. It was never cold enough to keep me inside.

Steve_TN · 05-05-2008, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by #Littledog

I'm sure New Jersy is cold but it's nothing like the upper midwest. Sometimes it's hard to believe life exists up here in the winter. I just needed to clarify for the OP because when you describe Nashville as brutally cold like New Jersey, I really think there's no comparison to Chicago winters.

Littledog, Just a question.... Have you ever been to New Jersey during a brutally cold snap in the negative degree numbers; especially when you are experiencing it while living on the coastline with an onshore wind coming in off the Atlantic ocean?