Why are winters so cold in sub-tropical and tropical Australia? (hottest, icy)
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Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Southern Florida is a bit of an anomaly. It's to do with it's position on a peninsula warmed by tropical seas. It is still not immune from cold fronts from the north, hence the occasionally cold temperatures felt as far south as Cuba. I would still consider the very tip of Florida tropical, and Miami's figures are pretty similar to Cairns. Miami is probably the warmest city at such a high latitude I can think of. It's technically not even in the tropics, yet it has winter warmth of a city firmly in the tropics. Cairns has temperatures one would expect of a city at it's latitude.
Southern Florida is a bit of an anomaly. It's to do with it's position on a peninsula warmed by tropical seas. It is still not immune from cold fronts from the north, hence the occasionally cold temperatures felt as far south as Cuba. I would still consider the very tip of Florida tropical, and Miami's figures are pretty similar to Cairns. Miami is probably the warmest city at such a high latitude I can think of. It's technically not even in the tropics, yet it has winter warmth of a city firmly in the tropics. Cairns has temperatures one would expect of a city at it's latitude.
I wonder if the Australian Outback around 33°S gets warmer, cooler, or about the same as Phoenix, AZ? Phoenix is usually 70°F-75°F/21°C-24°C in winter
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,606 posts, read 55,766,800 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by theunbrainwashed
I wonder if the Australian Outback around 33°S gets warmer, cooler, or about the same as Phoenix, AZ? Phoenix is usually 70°F-75°F/21°C-24°C in winter
Phoenix's winter warmth perplexed me. Like I said in an earlier post I conjecture it's to do with all the high mountains shielding it from the cold air of the Great Basin east of the Sierras, while since most of Australia is flat a place at a similar latitude here does not get that benefit. But then again, most cooling here is radial cooling - polar outbreaks from the South have to cross an ocean so rarely bring frigid temperatures typical in a US cold wave.
I think Kalgoorlie is a comparable station to Phoenix. A similar distance inland (about 600km east of the ocean), a similar altitude (300-400m) and also an arid climate. Kalgoorlie averages 4-16C in winter and 17-33C in summer, compared to 5-21C and 26-41C for Phoenix.
I looked at Wunderground to see how Cairns's forecasts were. Not a single day in Cairns reached past 80°F this past July
Actually, seven days exceeded 80 F in Cairns this July, albeit marginally: Cairns, Qld - July 2011 - Daily Weather Observations (http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/201107/html/IDCJDW4024.201107.shtml - broken link)
I can comfortably say that the arrival of that nasty westerly wind is always guaranteed to make people feel uncomfortable as all it does is howl and scream on endlessly and makes it feel much colder than it actually is and I certainly do not need to hear that horrid westerly wind flapping and whistling on endlessly.
It drives me mad, my ears cannot tolerate it and it’s so cold once it hits your body/face which feels like a thousand knives plunging through your body.
Funnily enough the lowest minimum temperatures, here, has occurred under ugly and cold W-SW airflows! SW airflows sucks for eastern Australia but not much so for the southern half of the country!
Actually, seven days exceeded 80 F in Cairns this July, albeit marginally: Cairns, Qld - July 2011 - Daily Weather Observations (http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/201107/html/IDCJDW4024.201107.shtml - broken link)
Interesting there's a slight divergence. But, I'll take BOM's measurements instead
Quote:
Originally Posted by koyaanisqatsi1
I can comfortably say that the arrival of that nasty westerly wind is always guaranteed to make people feel uncomfortable as all it does is howl and scream on endlessly and makes it feel much colder than it actually is and I certainly do not need to hear that horrid westerly wind flapping and whistling on endlessly.
It drives me mad, my ears cannot tolerate it and it’s so cold once it hits your body/face which feels like a thousand knives plunging through your body.
Funnily enough the lowest minimum temperatures, here, has occurred under ugly and cold W-SW airflows! SW airflows sucks for eastern Australia but not much so for the southern half of the country!
You don't know what cold really is how cold and strong are these winds? Does it make everything seem like England?
Like I stated in my correction, the only significant difference between Miami and Cairns is that Miami gets a few cold fronts every winter that lower the temps significantly (but it warms up back to normal a few days later) and Cairns's oceanic climate pattern makes it cooler than Miami in winter. If you factor in cold fronts, however infrequent they are anyway, then Miami is more like Rockhampton. Miami is also wetter than Cairns.
I looked at Wunderground to see how Cairns's forecasts were. Not a single day in Cairns reached past 80°F this past July, whereas Miami had days up to 85°F in the middle of January. All in all, Miami averaged 1°F warmer this January than Cairns did this July. That being said, Miami's temps have continental influences, as well as oceanic. While Cairns only as oceanic influences
But Cairns is so cloudy, much more than Miami!
I prefer climates with high sun and rain totals vs. lower totals of both.
Record low in Key West is 5°C and its climate is Aw, while Miami's is Am.
I think that, as far as your stated preferences go, your limit is southeast Cuba (near Guantánamo Bay) as far as the Caribbean goes. Somehow I think Havana would be a bit too chilly for you
Yep, probably.
Or if I wanted to consider Havana a sub-tropical climate,
then it would have fantastically-mild sub-tropical winters
but it definitely lacks a seasonless perception for temperature change.
Bahamas I find have anemic tropical winters.
I've never felt warm there before 9am or after 6pm.
(spent a few days individually there, on cruises to the eastern Caribbean )
San Juan on the other hand,
I've felt warm at 10pm in January, still feeling refreshed by cold drinks.
I prefer climates with high sun and rain totals vs. lower totals of both.
Yep, we've had almost a week here of sustained high pressure and not a single cloud in the sky. That's almost impossible in the deep tropics, since most of the time it's partly cloudy during the dry season, and partly cloudy to cloudy during the wet season. Have you been to the Caribbean during the summer? The rain comes down in downpours several times a week. I'm betting that Cairns is the same exact way
I looked at Wunderground to see how Cairns's forecasts were. Not a single day in Cairns reached past 80°F this past July, whereas Miami had days up to 85°F in the middle of January.
That's 27 C for metric folks.
I think that reinforces my arguement of anemic-tropical winters.
Even Orlando Florida usually sees some winter days each month exceeding 27 C, and they're solidly-subtropical.
*Or stellar, sub-tropical winters, though latitude dictates it should be very tropical.
You probably won't stand dripping wet, exposed to the wind in a bathing suit any day in their winter without at least minor discomfort.
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