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This probably explains why San Diego has milder winters than Perth's.
The prevailing wind in WA is a south-westerly anyway, so any mountains in WA would have little influence on the west coast climate.
Actually, I saw some info at a visitor centre and they talked about predominant NORTHwesterlies in winter.
Oklahoma has been into the -30's F.
Surely that kind of cold must have a stronger potential penetrating power (into otherwise mild winter areas) than what exists in Australia.
Glad to see you are enjoying a winter down under (lol). I just back from vacation myself - in Las Vegas! Over the last ten days that I was there, the temp in Las Vegas topped 100 F (37 C) EVERY DAY but two (on those days it was 94 and 97 F - lol). I’m sure compared to a January in Toronto (with a normal mean temp of 21 F)…even the coldest parts of Australia must seem warm (I did see they had some frosty conditions in NSW/Sydney I posted about before I left last week).
I can relate about the driving 500-miles in the middle of winter and not seeing temps under 55 F (lol). One of the reasons I love the Florida peninsula! You can drive from St. Augustine to Key West (510 miles) and see deep green grass, insects, and daily highs from 67 to 77 F in the middle of winter. As a warm weather lover myself, I give you a lot of credit for moving that far to find a warmer climate. Have you been to the deeper subtropical/tropical cities like Brisbane/Gold Coast or Townsville? I’ve never been to Australia, but I’ve always wondered if the big seaside cities in Queensland had the same Oceanside resort look like Hawaii, Miami Beach, Acapulco, Ft. Lauderdale…etc?
A good example would be Hollywood Beach, FL;
Do the coastal cities look like this (vid is just an example of what I mean by urban/built up resort)…, or is the coastal resort infrastructure less urban/built up in Australia?
100 F in winter for Las Vegas confused me... then I realised it's not winter there.
General Summary:
-Normal winter day here feels like a good autumn day in Toronto
-Bad winter day here feels like a normal autumn day in Toronto
-Good winter day here feels like summer's nearly here
-even the daylength at 33S makes it feel like autumn, not winter
Florida is spoiled like that. I'd like to be a Floridian.
Though that record cold December sounded foul.
I was just there in October for a week and every day was sunny and 80-85 F, nights 63-72 F.
But anywhere else in the USA, especially east of the Rockies, you can find cold by driving 500 miles. (ie. using a full tank on a highway)
I would expect that to be true even in Corpus Christi, TX.
Cottesloe looks somewhat like that.
Developed with a bit lower density and substitute coconut palms for towering Norfolk Island pines.
Manly Beach near Sydney looks BETTER than that video;
very dense/lush subtropical vegetation and compared to ones in Western Australia,
their Norfolk Island pines look like they're on steroids.
Manly's "boardwalk" (concrete) looks more interesting.
There are hundreds of shops around Manly.
The only tropical city I've been to here is a bit of a dive,
and was severely flooded last December so that probably didn't help.
Interesting reading, CC! Hope all is well "down under"! Thing about US warmer climates even though they get an ugly stretch almost every winter, it doesn't last for 3 months! All the southern states get a "touch" of winter but not 3 months straight below 32 degrees.
We have discussed many times on C-D with those that whine about their horrible "winter" weather, which those of us in northern climes find very amusing! I think many of us on C-D go by NOAA or National Weather Service definition of winter rather than the calendar or astronomical dates. I'm hard line about it I admit it, winter to me is cold weather every day not a cold stretch then 60/70 or 80!
100 F in winter for Las Vegas confused me... then I realised it's not winter there.
General Summary:
-Normal winter day here feels like a good autumn day in Toronto
-Bad winter day here feels like a normal autumn day in Toronto
-Good winter day here feels like summer's nearly here
-even the daylength at 33S makes it feel like autumn, not winter
Florida is spoiled like that. I'd like to be a Floridian.
Though that record cold December sounded foul.
I was just there in October for a week and every day was sunny and 80-85 F, nights 63-72 F.
But anywhere else in the USA, especially east of the Rockies, you can find cold by driving 500 miles. (ie. using a full tank on a highway)
I would expect that to be true even in Corpus Christi, TX.
Cottesloe looks somewhat like that.
Developed with a bit lower density and substitute coconut palms for towering Norfolk Island pines.
Manly Beach near Sydney looks BETTER than that video; very dense/lush subtropical vegetation and compared to ones in Western Australia,
their Norfolk Island pines look like they're on steroids.
Manly's "boardwalk" (concrete) looks more interesting.
There are hundreds of shops around Manly.
The only tropical city I've been to here is a bit of a dive,
and was severely flooded last December so that probably didn't help.
My dad's sister moved to Hollywood, FL as a young woman in the late 1960's. My first cousins were raised there, and I've been there. According to my aunt the place was completely overdeveloped like everywhere else in S. Florida, but the people could not halt the developers. It is really nothing more than mile after mile of concrete condo blocks and sprawl as as far as the eye can see from the ocean to the swamps inland. Now the same thing is happening to the west coast of FL as well.
Greed is destroying the warmest part of mainland America. Australia however, has huge areas of warm climate that are not even touched. To me that is the big diff between the two. Florida in winter is so crowded you can barely move. I doubt the same can be said of all of Queensland or Broome, Darwin, etc.
The climate of Hollywood is nice in winter, but like everywhere else in eastern N. America, it gets shots of cold weather(relative to their avgerages). My aunt always claimed the best time of year was March, as Jan and Feb were prone to cold fronts.
My dad's sister moved to Hollywood, FL as a young woman in the late 1960's. My first cousins were raised there, and I've been there. According to my aunt the place was completely overdeveloped like everywhere else in S. Florida, but the people could not halt the developers. It is really nothing more than mile after mile of concrete condo blocks and sprawl as as far as the eye can see from the ocean to the swamps inland. Now the same thing is happening to the west coast of FL as well.
Greed is destroying the warmest part of mainland America. Australia however, has huge areas of warm climate that are not even touched. To me that is the big diff between the two. Florida in winter is so crowded you can barely move. I doubt the same can be said of all of Queensland or Broome, Darwin, etc.
The climate of Hollywood is nice in winter, but like everywhere else in eastern N. America, it gets shots of cold weather(relative to their avgerages). My aunt always claimed the best time of year was March, as Jan and Feb were prone to cold fronts.
Big difference.
The warmer and warmest parts here feel more neglected.
If you insist on warm winters, it feels you'll take a bit of a hit on lifestyle and conveniences.
It has nothing to do with the availability of air-conditioning either.
Just very few people want to live there.
Where I am right now is a part of the largest independant urban area in Western Australia that isn't Perth; the capital. I liked the city of Geraldton, the largest city in WA north of Perth, but even that has a noticeable neglected or forgotten feel to it, in terms of services and businesses available to Geraldton vs. here. Maybe that's because of our closer proximity to Perth.
I wonder if part of the difference is what I noticed and in the USA, it's more about finding the few spots that don't reach 20 F/-7 C.
I wish I would have visited rural SW Florida to compare.
I did drive by places like Port St. Lucie. Is that a bit like Old Florida?
Interesting about March being best.
The 12 hr days, somewhat moderate UV and most of the winter coolness + winter humidity?
I think the far southern subtropical coast of Texas (south of Corpus Christi to the Mexican border) has a lot of potential. It's relatively warm (avg. winter high is about 70*F, lows in the mid 50s*F, reaching 79/67*F in April), the water isn't half bad (though not as clear as most Floridian beaches) and it has a lot of Mexican influence giving it a tropical vibe. Much cheaper land then most parts of Florida too.
I wish I would have visited rural SW Florida to compare.
I did drive by places like Port St. Lucie. Is that a bit like Old Florida?
Port St. Lucie is indeed very nice, as is Stuart and Jupiter. They are smaller cities, but close to West Palm Beach. Of course, no matter where you are, I think it’s important to remember that things like medical care, access to higher education, and entertainment,…ect all factor into the equation. I have lived in both rural areas and urban areas, and suburban to modestly urban areas ….seem to offer the best in terms of access to things most people want.
As to the clip of Hollywood I posted above… I HAVE been to Hollywood Florida and REALLY DO have family there ; It is a well mannered, very beautiful, family orientated, tropical beach city. The new multi-million dollar boardwalk is really amazing. As far cold fronts (lol) in Jan and Feb, yes, they come on one or two days a month (instead of it being 78 F - it’s 65 F for a day or two –. There is no best/worst time to visit Hollywood/South Florida…12 months a year the weather is warm, sunny, and great beach weather. That, according to my father real father in law who really lives there
Comparing the bigger resort areas in Florida with the smaller beach towns/cities like Port St. Lucie, Stuart, Jupiter …etc does offer a contrast. Again, access to things or lack of, can be a life changer in time. So I would carefully consider that issue. If one is looking for more of a low-rise, beach city, the best example I have been to in Florida is around Ft. Myers Beach/Estro BLvd. This short clip of Ft. Myers and Sanibel Island shows what I would think low-rise tropical Australia might look like (more suburban):
Florida has around 700 miles of coastline, at the most, that look as tropical as Fort Lauderdale, while Australia probably has at least 6,000 miles. Of course most of it (Australia) undeveloped, but with potential to be developed. Florida's tropical coastline is heavily lined with development in many locations.
As CC stated, you can't drive very far up the Florida penisula in winter before you'll be shivering. It is very telling that CC would rather spend a winter in temperate Australia, than an October night in Alabama.
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; It is a well mannered, very beautiful, family orientated, tropical beach city. The new multi-million dollar boardwalk is really amazing. As far cold fronts (lol) in Jan and Feb, yes, they come on one or two days a month (instead of it being 78 F - it’s 65 F for a day or two –
