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I'd hardly consider the UK to be variable. Perhaps the monotonous averages, which enable Octobers to be warmer than Julys for instance, make it appear that way, but the weather there nearly always stays tightly close to the average. Anything more than 5 degrees above or below is noteworthy, whereas here in North America it would be considered unusually close to the norm if that's all we ever got. The U.K.'s variability is spectacularly lacking compared to what I'd consider a variable climate, the High Plains of the U.S. Even parts of the Southeastern U.S. have bigger winter swings than England has.
We discussed in some other threads that my town in New England has a similar month-to-month variability as the UK. Maybe not applicable to the rest of the US, but I think the UK deserves the label variable.
I'd hardly consider the UK to be variable. Perhaps the monotonous averages, which enable Octobers to be warmer than Julys for instance, make it appear that way, but the weather there nearly always stays tightly close to the average. Anything more than 5 degrees above or below is noteworthy, whereas here in North America it would be considered unusually close to the norm if that's all we ever got. The U.K.'s variability is spectacularly lacking compared to what I'd consider a variable climate, the High Plains of the U.S. Even parts of the Southeastern U.S. have bigger winter swings than England has.
I also agree about the differences in approach between seeking out and appreciating weather we like, and seeking out and enjoying extreme weather of any kind.
The UK is an island. North America is a continent. There ends the comparison.
A fair comparison would be Ireland, or New Zealand. Ireland despite being right next to the UK is remarkably non-variable and is never as hot or as cold as the UK
The UK is an island. North America is a continent. There ends the comparison.
A fair comparison would be Ireland, or New Zealand. Ireland despite being right next to the UK is remarkably non-variable and is never as hot or as cold as the UK
I often ask UK immigrants about weather and climate in the UK. Variability doesn't seem to be regarded as much of a feature of the climate there. Sometimes when I've pointed out (or tried to) seasonal variation over there, I get the old "you've never been there , you can't understand " line- the worst weather nerd slap down possible imho.
Really? Most people in the UK joke that we get four seasons in one day or that the weather is unreliable.. in Scotland there's a saying 'don't like the weather? Wait a minute, it will change', I believe that's a common saying in many countries though, but still.
Really? Most people in the UK joke that we get four seasons in one day or that the weather is unreliable.. in Scotland there's a saying 'don't like the weather? Wait a minute, it will change', I believe that's a common saying in many countries though, but still.
I was able to put that to a Scotsman just now. He said that unreliable weather was very reliable (he finds that very funny). He doesn't think of it as variation though.
The UK is an island. North America is a continent. There ends the comparison.
Precisely the point, because continental interiors are usually variable, and islands in the ocean are usually not .
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A fair comparison would be Ireland, or New Zealand. Ireland despite being right next to the UK is remarkably non-variable and is never as hot or as cold as the UK
I agree, if we're talking about variability within maritime climates, not whether a place is actually variable or not. I apply standards as it relates to the whole planet, universally not relatively. The United Kingdom is variable as far as maritime climates go, I will admit. So let's leave it at that.
JFK Airport (Queens/NYC/Long Island) dips below freezing from December 16th through March 10th. So there's about 2.75 months of lows averaging below freezing.
We bottom out at 27/28-ish (-2.5°C) so it's not that far below freezing.
Now that is truly six months of winter. So many people claim the upper midwest has months and months of freezing weather, not exactly the case! However, if you don't like the cold could seem like too long or forever!
Well, for some people an average of 35, 40, or 45 is enough to make them miserable. That doesn't make it into real cold or a winter, though.
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However, if you don't like the cold could seem like too long or forever!
