My recent experience with winter & cold temperatures (climate, snowy, hot)

[dhdh]

Those who know me here know that I am one of the forum's most resilient heat lovers - my dream climate has a coldest month averaging 15/25°C;

I have always considered myself lucky to live in one of Europe's mildest cities;

However recently I've had some free time and on four occasions this winter, including two this weekend, I drove to various places in the hills/mountains next to Nice, to find myself in entirely different landscapes and climates, namely snow covered forests and subfreezing afternoon temperatures (as low as a -4°C maximum),

and as such I have come to the firm conclusion that (IMO) "proper" wintry conditions (abundant snow, <0°C temps) are vastly superior to the so-called mild winters of most of Europe with their 0-10°C temps, drizzle, bare trees and ugly, brownish landscapes. Not only this type of scenery is (still IMO) incomparably more beautiful*; I also paradoxically found a crisp, calm, dry -4°C air way more comfortable than the wet, windy, and rainy 7°C conditions that downtown Nice experienced today it just feels more right, crisp and healthy, refreshing, whereas this rainy winter crap by the coast is making me feel I'm about to catch a pneumonia any moment.

My favorite type of climate is still by far tropical climates; but:

1. I'm really starting to appreciate snow and would probably enjoy going on vacation to snowy places if I lived in my favorite type of climate (Honolulu/Darwin/etc);

2. I think I might well be able to handle continental climates (provided that winters are not too severe); it would be more pleasant for me to live in a snowy -4°C/0°C environment in winter rather than Glasgow-type winters with 2/7°C temps and endless rain/drizzle (cold rain is what I've come to think as the true weather nightmare and the epitome of discomfort), provided that spring warms up quickly, summers are hot and 0-10°C rainy conditions are avoided as much as possible.

Heat lovers/cold haters, any thoughts?

(Not that I don't want the opinion of cold lovers, but obviously cold lovers love freezing temps and snow anyway )




*I admit it might be a totally different story in an urban environment (with dirty snow, etc.)

[RC01]

I'm not a heat lover or a cold hater, but I don't like mild winters either. I'd rather have warm weather all year than an average around 0C in the winter. I can't stand how everything just looks dead. It gets cold in Minnesota (the average temp in January here is -10C), but at least the snow makes it seem more tolerable.

[gordo]

I hate snow or more like I hate shoveling it plus I get cold at the drop of a hat. Where I'm at winters are horrible as we seem to get more snow than anywhere's else while places south occasionally get rain and this makes me want to croak at times.

I have to admit when I was a kid I love snow a lot more than rain, also snow does make things brighter when it's sunny. Now this seems to have reverse I prefer winter to have rain at temperatures from 8-20°C meaning a cool not cold rain. But summer I want dry and hot. My ideal climate is to be in a Mediterranean climate with plenty of snow up in nearby mountains where it stays there. Certain areas on the west coast of the Adriatic Sea really seem to have what I'm looking for climate wise. As for Nice I would love to be in this climate and city the Mediterranean coast around there looks so gorgeous.

[Weatherfan2]

You have totally failed to convince me on this one given my recent visit to London (I swear I was seconds from collapsing from hypothermia, wearing 5 layers and a hat). 7°C and rain feels a hell of a lot milder than 0-2°C and windy even if it's dry. I hate all cold, even more than I thought in fact, and proportionally to the amount of time I spend outside in it. I now think my ideal climate would have no averages (not even avg lows in winter) below 10°C. Cold is frankly evil.

[Bottletree]

I agree to some extent. For example where you said you were in the trees, that would be better IMO than the gloomy 5c temps. Though if it were just on some flat baron land snow covered I wouldn't want that.

Snow is also a mess IMO in urban centres. The slush is terrible and gets clothes/shoes terribly dirty. Also much more accidents are caused from it which I would rather not have.

Hard to tell long term though, would probably still end up taking the warmer place as they can still get some sun which makes for a nice day. Think Vancouver vs Whistler.

[deneb78]

I think it depends on a lot of different factors. But most of the time, I think snow and ice are hazardous and should be avoided at all costs. There have been several times while driving that I hit black ice and almost spun out and crashed. It was very scary. Also, all the infrastructure costs to deal with snow and ice and delays it causes just isnt worth it for the short time that it looks nice. In urban areas, snow gets dirty very quickly and starts looking terrible anyway. I'd much rather live in a place that gets cold rain in the winter and has mountains nearby if I have a strong desire to have a snow fix (which is rare to non existant) than live in a cold, snowy continental climate. I can speak from experience cause I did go to university in Ottawa and it was absolutely disgusting in the winter. Definitely not something I'd ever really want to experience again long term.

[SophieLL]

Originally Posted by dhdh

Those who know me here know that I am one of the forum's most resilient heat lovers - my dream climate has a coldest month averaging 15/25°C;

I have always considered myself lucky to live in one of Europe's mildest cities;

However recently I've had some free time and on four occasions this winter, including two this weekend, I drove to various places in the hills/mountains next to Nice, to find myself in entirely different landscapes and climates, namely snow covered forests and subfreezing afternoon temperatures (as low as a -4°C maximum),

and as such I have come to the firm conclusion that (IMO) "proper" wintry conditions (abundant snow, <0°C temps) are vastly superior to the so-called mild winters of most of Europe with their 0-10°C temps, drizzle, bare trees and ugly, brownish landscapes. Not only this type of scenery is (still IMO) incomparably more beautiful*; I also paradoxically found a crisp, calm, dry -4°C air way more comfortable than the wet, windy, and rainy 7°C conditions that downtown Nice experienced today it just feels more right, crisp and healthy, refreshing, whereas this rainy winter crap by the coast is making me feel I'm about to catch a pneumonia any moment.

My favorite type of climate is still by far tropical climates; but:

1. I'm really starting to appreciate snow and would probably enjoy going on vacation to snowy places if I lived in my favorite type of climate (Honolulu/Darwin/etc);

2. I think I might well be able to handle continental climates (provided that winters are not too severe); it would be more pleasant for me to live in a snowy -4°C/0°C environment in winter rather than Glasgow-type winters with 2/7°C temps and endless rain/drizzle (cold rain is what I've come to think as the true weather nightmare and the epitome of discomfort), provided that spring warms up quickly, summers are hot and 0-10°C rainy conditions are avoided as much as possible.

Heat lovers/cold haters, any thoughts?

(Not that I don't want the opinion of cold lovers, but obviously cold lovers love freezing temps and snow anyway )




*I admit it might be a totally different story in an urban environment (with dirty snow, etc.)

Its great you say this things!!

I have a feeling something similar happens to me. I cant really be sure since i never lived in a place that features winter with that crisp and healthy, snowy, climate. But i have a feeling (for having it experienced in some trips i did a long time ago -including Bariloche and Minneapolis) that i would enjoy very much a sunny properly cold winter. Like those they get in many places in USA.

And im almost sure (again, cant be completely sure since i havent actually experience any of this conditions in more than 10 years, so maybe im idealizing what i experienced) those snowy very cold conditions are better than the cloudy/humid 7c windy MDP winter afternoon, and even than the mild, 15c sunny BA winter afternoon. Both MDP and BA have warm winters, but MDP is more similar to Europe ones (a dumpy, below 10c, gloomy and cloudy rainy day is normal in winter) while BA is more sunny and warm, kinda like a northern european late spring i would guess. But point is both represent the warm side of winters, and one of them (BA) is very enjoyable to me (winters here are perfect to do outdoors activities, they are sunny, weather is comfortable) but it does get waay too warm for my liking, aside maybe some days here and there in June or July, there is no real winter or prolonged cool or cold feeling at all. MDP has it more but its dumpy and gloomy, kinda like UK winters i guess are (probably warmer though, but sure dump and cool and uncomfortable).
A very cold, sunny and snowy winter sounds very good in papers, and i have a feeling i wouldnt mind living in a climate like Bariloche, with those long cold winters of their. And i know i would like them much more than temperate oceanic unstability and uncomfortableness and humid subtropical overwhelming all around warmness.

[Mac15]

Well glasgow sometimes gets alot lot colder than 7c. But yea i see your point. If it is sunny i dont mind. But to me 2010 is my perfect winter.

If its subzero it gotta be sunny though. Not that 1c cloudy crap.

[sulkiercupid]

I agree with the OP, I'd much rather experience colder, snowier winters with a decent amount of sunshine on the proviso that summers are warm to hot. Climates such as those in northwest Europe have the worst of both worlds imo, being gloomy and chilly with little snow in winter, and only mild in summer. It wouldn't be so bad if summers were consistently warm to hot.

[tom77falcons]

Originally Posted by dhdh

Those who know me here know that I am one of the forum's most resilient heat lovers - my dream climate has a coldest month averaging 15/25°C;

I have always considered myself lucky to live in one of Europe's mildest cities;

However recently I've had some free time and on four occasions this winter, including two this weekend, I drove to various places in the hills/mountains next to Nice, to find myself in entirely different landscapes and climates, namely snow covered forests and subfreezing afternoon temperatures (as low as a -4°C maximum),

and as such I have come to the firm conclusion that (IMO) "proper" wintry conditions (abundant snow, <0°C temps) are vastly superior to the so-called mild winters of most of Europe with their 0-10°C temps, drizzle, bare trees and ugly, brownish landscapes. Not only this type of scenery is (still IMO) incomparably more beautiful*; I also paradoxically found a crisp, calm, dry -4°C air way more comfortable than the wet, windy, and rainy 7°C conditions that downtown Nice experienced today it just feels more right, crisp and healthy, refreshing, whereas this rainy winter crap by the coast is making me feel I'm about to catch a pneumonia any moment.

My favorite type of climate is still by far tropical climates; but:

1. I'm really starting to appreciate snow and would probably enjoy going on vacation to snowy places if I lived in my favorite type of climate (Honolulu/Darwin/etc);

2. I think I might well be able to handle continental climates (provided that winters are not too severe); it would be more pleasant for me to live in a snowy -4°C/0°C environment in winter rather than Glasgow-type winters with 2/7°C temps and endless rain/drizzle (cold rain is what I've come to think as the true weather nightmare and the epitome of discomfort), provided that spring warms up quickly, summers are hot and 0-10°C rainy conditions are avoided as much as possible.

Heat lovers/cold haters, any thoughts?

(Not that I don't want the opinion of cold lovers, but obviously cold lovers love freezing temps and snow anyway )




*I admit it might be a totally different story in an urban environment (with dirty snow, etc.)

Great post. I have a couple thoughts. I've always felt that a sunny and calm winter day here (temp around 35F) was much more pleasant than the January days I experienced in London(40F and cloudy/drizzly). The problem here where I live is that our temps fluctuate all winter between 20F and 50F, so we never get a beautiful snow cover to last. Also, we get lots of cold rain, and worst of all we get windy conditions frequently. I really despise a cold and windy day no matter if the sun is out or not.

I would say my experience with what you describe is pretty limited to ski vacations I've taken, and the times during winter here when we have those conditions. I really enjoyed it then compared to the cold, rainy 40F days.

It doesn't hurt that moutain scenery is really beautiful in the sun and snow.