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Location: Northern Ireland and temporarily England
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Well I live in a climate that actually gets subzero highs, I would disagree with you. In March and April the low does not make a difference, the snow will still melt if it gets up to 8c.
I'd weight both equally, maybe highs slightly more. If you're out in the early morning, lows matter. And the uncomfortable, hard to deal with cold is typically in the morning so in a sense it matters more. Though a day that doesn't warm up much feels like there's no escape.
Well I live in a climate that actually gets subzero highs, I would disagree with you. In March and April the low does not make a difference, the snow will still melt if it gets up to 8c.
It might take longer but it will still melt.
Well I would think in March and April it's more of a matter of higher sun angle than anything. If you had an 8 C/-8 C day in December or January it probably would melt a similar amount of snow compared to a 4 C/-4 C day.
I'd weight both equally, maybe highs slightly more. If you're out in the early morning, lows matter. And the uncomfortable, hard to deal with cold is typically in the morning so in a sense it matters more. Though a day that doesn't warm up much feels like there's no escape.
I guess it's kind of "pick your poison", that's why I look at mean temperatures. A 45/20 day would feel colder for a longer period of time than a day that's 40/30.
Well I would think in March and April it's more of a matter of higher sun angle than anything. If you had an 8 C/-8 C day in December or January it probably would melt a similar amount of snow compared to a 4 C/-4 C day.
Ithaca's climate page is a good source. Check out March 2015:
March 10 had a mean temperature of 30°F with a high of 45°F, snowmelt was small. The big snowmelt were all correlated with days at least 4-5°F warmer than freezing. There were no low diurnal range days to compare in March, but December 2014 had some with means near freezing. December 2014 showed a lot of melt with daily means a few degrees above freezing a high of only 36°F. But low diurnal range often means rain or at least drizzle, so there's no way to really compare. Compaction also confuses things.
I look at mean temperatures. The coldest part of the day is usually around sunrise, so many people are awake during that time. Colder mornings with warmer afternoons doesn't mean it's warmer.
The point I'm making is even for the same monthly mean temperature I would prefer the diurnal range to be bigger, with higher highs and lower lows. I prefer warmer days, even if the nights/early mornings are lower.
Does this make sense I hope.
I'll give you an example.
The was Buxton's hi/lo averages for year 2014 on the left.
On the right is the exact same months with exact same average temperatures but a higher diurnal range.
Which is better? In my opinion the one on the right by far. Far more interesting and would be much sunnier.
Neither is ultimately warmer than the other, but the latter would feel warmer because I am only out and about during the day not at night.
The mean temperatures here will tell me nothing about how warm/cold it feels during the day or night.
Average 38°F/30°F. Mean 34°F. I assume it was very gloomy. I think most would find our Feb 2012 warmer. Note Feb 2012 got near zero snow, London in Dec 2010 was snowy.
Neither is ultimately warmer than the other, but the latter would feel warmer because I am only out and about during the day not at night.
Except the low is usually around sunrise, so it's a good indicator of temperatures after sunrise during the day. Depending on your work schedule, if you work indoors you're more likely to be outside in the morning than midday.
The point I'm making is even for the same monthly mean temperature I would prefer the diurnal range to be bigger, with higher highs and lower lows. I prefer warmer days, even if the nights/early mornings are lower.
Does this make sense I hope.
I'll give you an example.
The was Buxton's hi/lo averages for year 2014 on the left.
On the right is the exact same months with exact same average temperatures but a higher diurnal range.
Which is better? In my opinion the one on the right by far. Far more interesting and would be much sunnier.
Do you see what I am talking about now? Neither is ultimately warmer than the other, but the latter would feel warmer because I am only out and about during the day not at night.
The mean temperatures here will tell me nothing about how warm/cold it feels during the day or night.
Yes that does make sense I'm not a big fan of low diurnal ranges either. I actually like high diurnal ranges for the opposite reason as you, I do most of my physical exercise and workouts during evenings/nights. It cools off faster on such days and it's more pleasant for me.
I don't like cloudy/drizzly weather too much either. My ideal range is about 15-20 F during winter and 25-30 F in summer.
I would prefer a 45/25 day over a 40/30 day as well.
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I'm not a big fan of low diurnal ranges either. I actually like high diurnal ranges for the opposite reason as you, I do most of my physical exercise and workouts during evenings/nights. It cools off faster on such days and it's more pleasant for me.
