Why are winters so cold in sub-tropical and tropical Australia? (places, freezing)

[RWood]

Caracas is at an altitude of between 870 and 1040 metres, hence not that hot.

[theunbrainwashed]

Originally Posted by RWood

Caracas is at an altitude of between 870 and 1040 metres, hence not that hot.

True. Ponce, PR is near sea level and it gets just as hot as Darwin does, on average.

[ChesterNZ]

Originally Posted by RWood

Caracas is at an altitude of between 870 and 1040 metres, hence not that hot.

The highs still seem fairly hot (28 - 32 C). But the nights are much cooler than what you'd find at sea level. I wonder if the humidity is any different?

[Trimac20]

We're getting away from the topic a bit. Just a friendly reminder before the mod says the same thing!

[theunbrainwashed]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

We're getting away from the topic a bit. Just a friendly reminder before the mod says the same thing!

Good idea. The tropics in Cairns, is it cooler because of ocean moderation? Because Darwin is far warmer than Cairns is. How warm is the ocean around Cairns? Doesn't seem like it's warmer than the Caribbean in the winter

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by theunbrainwashed

Good idea. The tropics in Cairns, is it cooler because of ocean moderation? Because Darwin is far warmer than Cairns is. How warm is the ocean around Cairns? Doesn't seem like it's warmer than the Caribbean in the winter

Darwin is further north than Cairns. As latitude increases winter averages drop fairly rapidly. I don't know if Darwin is 'far warmer' than Cairns. In January temperatures are pretty similar in both cities. Even in the dead of winter Cairns is still pretty balmy, only a few degrees cooler than Darwin. The Caribbean is pretty immune to cold waves from a continental landmass, with the exception of the northern fringe.

[RWood]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

Darwin is further north than Cairns. As latitude increases winter averages drop fairly rapidly. I don't know if Darwin is 'far warmer' than Cairns. In January temperatures are pretty similar in both cities. Even in the dead of winter Cairns is still pretty balmy, only a few degrees cooler than Darwin. The Caribbean is pretty immune to cold waves from a continental landmass, with the exception of the northern fringe.

The aero. means differ by 2.7C for the two towns, not a huge amount for 4.5 degrees of latitude. Salvador, Brazil is at about Darwin's latitude and is barely warmer than Cairns. (In "winter" at least, Salvador seemed surprisingly pleasant, with good aeration around the southern beaches)

[soflokid]

yes, the poster is correct, Miami is subtropical, get south of key largo and there has never been a record freeze. key west is probably comparable to cairns, although our winters have been warming every years since the last freeze in December 1989 (31F at Miami Airport). Saw the picture of the lipstick palm, and your right, very cold sensitive. saw many of those in Colombia where my wife is from. visited Ibagué, Tolima, central Colombia, home of the Colombian national park and orchid park. in fact, the Cattleya orchid, ostensibly one of the most beautiful of all orchids, is native to Colombia. If orchids are growing in the wild, your in the tropics! [url=http://books.google.com/books?id=-xoZwlNgYGAC&pg=PA7&lpg=PA7&dq=see+orchids+in+tolim a,+colombia&source=bl&ots=nki-fQ63V3&sig=a4rjpi1bPJXYMT5aVPnbjXKbyrY&hl=en&sa=X& ei=A0u0T7XCGZSq8ASFq8nNDw&ved=0CJABEOgBMAI#v=onepa ge&q=see%20orchids%20in%20tolima%2C%20colombia&f=f alse]Colombia, 2nd - Sarah Woods - Google Books[/url]

[canefandynasty]

^^^^ Miami is tropical. Koppen Classification chart has Miami as a tropical monsoon climate. A few record freezes doesn't change much.

[Patricius Maximus]

Miami is definitely fully tropical, not subtropical.