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It's not true that there is no snow. Rimini receives around 20 cm/year on average, which is not a great amount but still measurable, and some areas on the Adriatic coast are likely snowier. The problem is that these data don't come from the official meteorological agency, which very rarely makes snow measurements.
5 inches of snow is pretty much nothing. lol. That's similar to Knoxville Tennessee at Latitude 36N.
Portland Maine at 43.60°N (a bit south then Rimini) gets 61 inches of snow. That's why I'm surprised at the very little snow total but I agree, it might not be official. But even still, can the actual be that far off from 5?
Is there a mountain to the west that protects them from snow and rain? (kinda like breaks apart storms before they get there)
I know the Alps shelter Italy a lot from snowstorms. But more importantly, the influence of the Atlantic and Gulf Stream influence European winters as far east as Moscow. Portland, ME on the other hand gets no such benefit, and it also has the cold Labrador Current to contend with.
Yes, all of Europe is milder in winter than the corresponding latitude in the US and receives less snow. Winters lows here warmer on average than in Knoxville, Tennessee and I'm at 54N. It really isn't surprising or a big deal. The big difference really is that Knoxville will have unstable winters, so snow probably wouldn't last as long as here.
5 inches of snow is pretty much nothing. lol. That's similar to Knoxville Tennessee at Latitude 36N.
Portland Maine at 43.60°N (a bit south then Rimini) gets 61 inches of snow. That's why I'm surprised at the very little snow total but I agree, it might not be official. But even still, can the actual be that far off from 5?
Comparing the latitude doesn't make really sense to me. At Portland's latitude in the world there are some places on the coast which average over 250 inches of snow, so should I be surprised by Portland's low snowfalls? Moreover, at the same latitude coastal Oregon averages less than 2 inches of snow every year, so again I should be surprised by Rimini's high snowfalls.
Yes, Italy has mild winters overall; yes, its coasts are not really snowy overall; no, Rimini is not particularly sheltered (at least from the snow). But "without snow" is another story. :P
I'm surprised how warm Rimini is. I wouldn't like it, that's for sure. Winters aren't cold enough, summers are too warm. There's no snow (wow!) and there's little rain. Gees. Are you sure that data is accurate? I'm not familiar with sunshine data but I assume 2000+ hours is a lot considering you don't get much precip?
No. 2000 sunshine hours isn't especially high. Coastal CT is probably around 2300 hours with much more rain.
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For those that want to know... Rimini is Latitude 44°N (that's like Maine in the U.S). Northwest coast of Italy near on Adriatic Sea. Kinda shocked at the snow data there.
The low snowfall isn't really a surprise. Getting snow would be difficult since it has:
1) A warm sea to the south, keeping temperatures mild
2) Very high mountains blocking cold airflows
3) And the air to the north of the Alps isn't all the cold in the winter begin with, still warmer than Maine
Maine, on the other hand has a prevailing cold airflow from interior Canada, plus a cold sea immediately to the south that is capable of enhancing (or creating) winter storms. And its winters are much wetter than Rimini.
No. 2000 sunshine hours isn't especially high. Coastal CT is probably around 2300 hours with much more rain.
The low snowfall isn't really a surprise. Getting snow would be difficult since it has:
1) A warm sea to the south, keeping temperatures mild
2) Very high mountains blocking cold airflows
3) And the air to the north of the Alps isn't all the cold in the winter begin with, still warmer than Maine
Maine, on the other hand has a prevailing cold airflow from interior Canada, plus a cold sea immediately to the south that is capable of enhancing (or creating) winter storms. And its winters are much wetter than Rimini.
Interesting. Thanks. Didn't the Adriatic sea freeze last year? Or maybe I'm thinking the Black sea? Something was freezing which was pretty rare in Europe.
So is the Adriactic sea warmer than the Atlantic coast because even at 41N right on the coast snow average is over 20 inches. 5" a year sounds sooo low its still hard to believe.
Interesting. Thanks. Didn't the Adriatic sea freeze last year? Or maybe I'm thinking the Black sea? Something was freezing which was pretty rare in Europe.
So is the Adriactic sea warmer than the Atlantic coast because even at 41N right on the coast snow average is over 20 inches. 5" a year sounds sooo low its still hard to believe.
I know Europe had a cold snap last year, it's possible the Adriatic froze. Here's what wikipedia say:
The Adriatic's surface temperature usually ranges from 22 to 24 °C (72 to 75 °F) in the summer, or 12 to 14 °C (54 to 57 °F) in the winter, except along the western Adriatic coast's northern part, where it drops to 9 °C (48 °F) in the winter.
So, still fairly mild in the winter. Venice on the NW edge of the Adriatic has a January average high of 42°F, not too much warmer than coastal CT. At 41°N on the Adriatic, snow would probably be negligible:
Italy is one of the warmer places in the world (in the winter, maybe the warmest, excluding western Iberia and a few islands) but the eastern US is relatively cool for its latitude, especially in the winter. You can't base normal worldwide from here. Also snow isn't just temperature dependent but precipitation dependent. We get fairly wet winters, so that adds to the snowfall. If cold snaps are always dry that might reduce snow, too. Timing is important.
See page 4 of this pdf, which shows how much mean winter temperatures depart from the latitude average. From 40-45°N, looks like the warmest winters are in Corsica and Sardinia.
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