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We're thinking about our retirement within the next few years, and would like to know just how far south we would have to go to get into more moderate winters. We would like a four-season location, unlike Arizona or Florida, but having lived in a snow zone most of our lives it would be lovely to retire to place with only a few inches of snow in the winter. We want to stay in the Midwest - how far south would we have to go to find mild winters (less than 1 foot of snow annually)?
Prescott, Az is a great place for retirment, it gets a few inches of snow, not enough to close any roads often, and you get the 4 seasons feel, warm summers, awesome falls, nice winters, its amazing.
We're thinking about our retirement within the next few years, and would like to know just how far south we would have to go to get into more moderate winters. We would like a four-season location, unlike Arizona or Florida, but having lived in a snow zone most of our lives it would be lovely to retire to place with only a few inches of snow in the winter. We want to stay in the Midwest - how far south would we have to go to find mild winters (less than 1 foot of snow annually)?
I want to say southern Missouri (Branson area)....maybe the southern tip of Illinois, etc.
I think both of the above recommendations are good for what you are looking for. The mountain communities of Southern California, Northern Arizona, and most of the higher parts of New Mexico all offer that type of climate, but can have more snow than you are looking for if you get to the upper elevations. The Ozarks in Southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas also offer this type of weather, but will likely have more humidity in the summer.
Where I live in the mountains in Southern California, we get four distinct seasons, all of which are pretty mild, though we normally get more than a foot of snow annually. Sometimes we get more than that in just one storm. I am at about the 5300 foot level, but some of the communities around the 3800 foot level normally get far less snow than I do (about the amount you're looking for). You'll want to keep elevation in mind when looking for that perfect place.
We're thinking about our retirement within the next few years, and would like to know just how far south we would have to go to get into more moderate winters. We would like a four-season location, unlike Arizona or Florida, but having lived in a snow zone most of our lives it would be lovely to retire to place with only a few inches of snow in the winter. We want to stay in the Midwest - how far south would we have to go to find mild winters (less than 1 foot of snow annually)?
There are few to no places in the Midwest that average less than 12" of snow annually. There seems to be a generally north-south trend as far as annual snowfall, despite the USDA maps with wide fluctuations in annual extreme cold at similar latitudes.
I've looked at maps and east of the Rockies you need to be about 37-36 degrees from the equator to get into these kinds of areas.
Coincidentally, humid places that average less than 12" of snow have January average highs roughly around 48 F or warmer.
Richmond VA, Knoxville TN and Nashville TN average about 11" of snow.
Even places like Lexington and Louisville KY average between 14-17" of snow.
Places like southern Illinois, Missouri and Indiana tend to average less than 20" of snow, but usually no less than 14-16".
(historical averages of course)
Basically if you want to stay in Midwestern states you'll probably need to move to a more arid areas, like the western half of southern Kansas if you insist on less than 12" of annual snowfall.
Many people have mentioned that Northwest Arkansas now has a "Midwestern feel" thanks to transplants and a good economy. Also I hear parts of Oklahoma have a "Midwestern feel," like Tulsa and maybe OKC. Might be worth looking into as you're more likely to find that level of annual snowfall.
There are few to no places in the Midwest that average less than 12" of snow annually. There seems to be a generally north-south trend as far as annual snowfall, despite the USDA maps with wide fluctuations in annual extreme cold at similar latitudes.
I've looked at maps and east of the Rockies you need to be about 37-36 degrees from the equator to get into these kinds of areas.
Coincidentally, humid places that average less than 12" of snow have January average highs roughly around 48 F or warmer.
Richmond VA, Knoxville TN and Nashville TN average about 11" of snow.
Even places like Lexington and Louisville KY average between 14-17" of snow.
Places like southern Illinois, Missouri and Indiana tend to average less than 20" of snow, but usually no less than 14-16".
(historical averages of course)
Basically if you want to stay in Midwestern states you'll probably need to move to a more arid areas, like the western half of southern Kansas if you insist on less than 12" of annual snowfall.
Many people have mentioned that Northwest Arkansas now has a "Midwestern feel" thanks to transplants and a good economy. Also I hear parts of Oklahoma have a "Midwestern feel," like Tulsa and maybe OKC. Might be worth looking into as you're more likely to find that level of annual snowfall.
LOL Oklahoma is definitely not the Midwest even though they pretend to be sometimes. Oklahoma has much more of a SW flavor based on my experiences as well as strong southern influences. Actually western Kansas averages over 20 inches of snow in some areas, but most areas of Oklahoma do not get that much in the way of snow. (12 inches or less)
If you're looking for an arid climate with less than 12 inches of snow than you can rule out Oklahoma because all of the arid portion of our state sees between a foot and two of snow a year.
As for where Oklahoma is? I'm sick and tired of these debates. It's in it's own region. One could argue the eastern portion is in the South, the western portion is in the Southwest and the northern portion is in the Midwest and that the Panhandle might as well be called Colorado. But, regardless of all those definitions Oklahoma is much easier defined as simply, Oklahoma.
LOL Oklahoma is definitely not the Midwest even though they pretend to be sometimes. Oklahoma has much more of a SW flavor based on my experiences as well as strong southern influences. Actually western Kansas averages over 20 inches of snow in some areas, but most areas of Oklahoma do not get that much in the way of snow. (12 inches or less)
That was my point, probably no place in the "Midwestern States" fit the low snowfall requirement, however there might be areas with a "Midwestern Feel," thanks to transplants and/or being close to Midwestern States.
I figured the low snowfall requirement was the main priority.
20" of annual snow in "semi-arid" western Kansas? That is impressive, considering their latitude.
CC: One thing that could be said about the 20 inches of snow in western and southwestern Kansas is that it tends to come in big bunches. Like a foot or so at a time some years. Part of it is a generally high elevation too. 2,000 - 4,000 ft.
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