Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I know Alamosa, CO because it's in a valley and surrounded by sand which heats up and cools down faster. While the average is not quite 40F, it's very close and just recently it in the last week of this month it was averaging some days with 53F diurnal differences.
Although it's not average, that place can get some seriously high daily ranges. Having many days in the 60's F for highs with nights dropping to single digits is impressive.
I was just thinking back to the climate of Bodie, California and that unbelievable range with practically freezing nights and hot days in July (it's got a smaller range in winter).
It's something like over 20-something C range or over 40 F, in an average day, and I wonder if there are other climates like it anywhere.
I also wonder what's the phenomenon behind allowing such a huge day-night gap to happen. I'm guessing it might have to do with thinner, dry air in highlands? So perhaps it's in these places to look for the biggest diurnal ranges.
Bodie certainly has the highest average diurnal temperature range of any place in the US: it averages what looks like a comfortable 14˚C (57˚F) in the day, but minima are a severely cold -8˚C (18˚F) for a diurnal range of 22˚C on average over the year, and above freezing for probably no more than 30 or 40 days a year. Thus, on over 300 days a year in Bodie there is a daily thaw/freeze cycle, as against about 190 in Flagstaff, Arizona or Gallup, New Mexico.
That is higher than any city in the world, though in the dry, high Arabian mountains one might expect similar values. Sources there seem to differ so vastly that reliability is impossible to obtain.
No. Pinnacles National Park, or any station nearby, would win the title. The average daily range is 23.5 C. The range in July is 28.1 C, from 7 C to 35.1 C!
Location: Segovia, central Spain, 1230 m asl, Csb Mediterranean with strong continental influence, 40º43 N
3,094 posts, read 3,575,683 times
Reputation: 1036
Quote:
Originally Posted by j96g
I know Alamosa, CO because it's in a valley and surrounded by sand which heats up and cools down faster. While the average is not quite 40F, it's very close and just recently it in the last week of this month it was averaging some days with 53F diurnal differences.
I don't know which one has the largest diurnal range but Seneca, OR is pretty crazy, even bigger range than Bodie, CA.
In August it's average high is 80.6F/27C and average low is 34.9F/1.6C making a range of 45.7F/25.4C https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sene...egon#Geography
And unlike Bodie, people actually still live here.
the thin air allows temperatures to rise very quickly during the day and in the winter with little precipitation or clouds temperatures fall like a rock at night. radiative cooling. with moisture and clouds present in the summer, temperatures do not fall or rise as quickly. this is how i imagine a terraformed Mars would look like... (or maybe what Mars looked like in its prime billions of years ago, at sea level)
Last edited by Sir Goosenseresworthie; 12-07-2015 at 12:31 PM..
the thin air allows temperatures to rise very quickly during the day and in the winter with little precipitation or clouds temperatures fall like a rock at night. radiative cooling. with moisture and clouds present in the summer, temperatures do not fall or rise as quickly. this is how i imagine a terraformed Mars would look like... (or maybe what Mars looked like in its prime billions of years ago, at sea level)
^^This
Mazo Cruz, little town near lake Titicaca averaged highs of 16.8°C and lows of -12.6°C in July in the last 5 years (diurnal range of 29.4°C on average). The most extreme day from this period was on the 23rd July 2010: high of 19.6C and low of -21.2C
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
