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Interesting thought problem. Perhaps the Bahamas? The think the comparisons would have to be with the US southeast, but Australian does not have nearly as continental of a climate (less variation in temps.). You don't have a large continents that extends to the arctic to breed arctic air masses or massive heat waves. Antarctica is cold enough, of course, but far away across the sea.
Perhaps the Bahamas would combine moderate subtropical latitude with an oceanic climate. Or maybe the Azores, which would be a bit cooler.
Last edited by Fiddlehead; 07-25-2011 at 11:07 PM..
I was thinking more of the continental Unites States. Where in Hawaii do you suggest?
Perhaps somewhere between the leeward and windward sides at around 4000' elevation, about where coconut palms stop growing. No settlements though, so couldn't find any data.
The northern Bahamas are climatically tropical even though they are in extra-tropical latitudes, lots of coconut palms. No coconut palms in Sydney that I've heard of.
I wouldn't say the Azores are 'a bit' cooler then the Bahamas, that is like saying Seattle is only a bit cooler then Miami. However I think you win, the Azores seem to be a perfect fit for Sydney!
Cool. I guess I always think of Australia as Mediterranean or subtropical (I guess that would be Perth and Cairns), but with Sydney on the east coast and with no huge land mass to the south, it seems like Azores would be similar.
Definitely Sydney has no comparison to anywhere in the continental US... Parts of Sydney have never even recorded a frost! Sydney Observatory's record low is something like 2.1C!
I think Bangalow palms (Archontophoenix cunninghamia) can probably grow as far south as Hobart in Tasmania (42S).. record low there is only -2.8C.. not sure what the heat requirement is though but I think Joe90 was saying that he can grow them in Motueka.. so probably would be fine there.
Definitely Sydney has no comparison to anywhere in the continental US... Parts of Sydney have never even recorded a frost! Sydney Observatory's record low is something like 2.1C!
I think Bangalow palms (Archontophoenix cunninghamia) can probably grow as far south as Hobart in Tasmania (42S).. record low there is only -2.8C.. not sure what the heat requirement is though but I think Joe90 was saying that he can grow them in Motueka.. so probably would be fine there.
You won't see Bangalow Palms much below Wollongong.
Even here, they don't grow that well - about 170K's north, and need to go to about the Mid-North coast before they thrive.
As far as Sydney goes, and it's climate is overall, it's most similar climate would be somewhere between Los Angleles and San Francisco - in fact San Francisco is often called it's "sister city".
San Franciso has cooler summers though.
There are very few large towns between LA and SF in mid California that would probably be more similar.
The East Coast of the US is too continental for any valid comparison.
Santa Barbara, CA would be on the mild but a bit cool side. Nowhere near the precip. though.
January temp (F): 63/40
July Temp (F): 75/57
Precip: 16.4 inches
The summer nights are much cooler, suggesting the cool water coast of a Mediterranean climate. However it is closer than anything in the southeast max tempwise.
I lived there in graduate school, and I must say, it is a nearly perfect climate.
They having been growing around here for about 10 years and are slow but steady growers, older ones would be 10-12 ft. They wouldn't be as impressive as ones in a more suitable climate like NSW,but they still do well with extra attention.. I planted some at the end of summer and they appear to have grown even during winter.
Cool. I guess I always think of Australia as Mediterranean or subtropical (I guess that would be Perth and Cairns), but with Sydney on the east coast and with no huge land mass to the south, it seems like Azores would be similar.
That's what I was saying before. The big difference between the US and Australia is that Australia's coastal cities have much more maritime influence than ours, and our Pacific coast waters are cooler than what's around Sydney that's why the summers in most of CA are cooler along the coast compared to Sydney. That being said, when it comes to Sydney, the closest you can get in the mainland U.S. would be like San Diego. If there was no such thing as Canada and instead, it was a Northern Ocean, then temps in the U.S. would be more Australia-like, except much wetter and more humid. So basically the biggest difference, I suppose, would be continental influences vs. maritime influences. Let's not forget as well that the mainland U.S. does not go below the Tropic of Cancer but the warm Gulf extends the warm range northwards than in other places
This is what the area surrounding Sydney looks like...
This is what the area surrounding San Diego looks like...
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