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Our micro-climate is dictated by Lake Michigan. A general rule of thumb, cooler northshore communities in the summer and spring, hotter summer maximum temps south and west suburbs, colder winter lows west and northwest suburbs.
Ah, Da lake . I also noticed that Chicago downtown tends to be windier. However, western suburbs like Naperville are not as windy. The same 29 F felt much more pleasant in Naperville than Chicago downtown. I actually was able to go on a quick early morning run when it was 17 F in Naperville (with proper winter running gear). I would have fainted if I attempted to do the same in downtown Chicago due to wind.
No matter how breezy the day, it's always windier around tall structures. Your question will strike a chord with the thousands of pedestrians who traverse the canyons of the Loop or whose daily rounds merely take them near the bases of tall buildings. Frictional drag causes ground-level winds to blow with much less vigor than in unobstructed flow as little as 100 feet aloft. Tall buildings project into those stronger above-ground winds and deflect some of that energy down to the surface.
The Loop experiences an additional double whammy: location and channeling. It receives the initial assault of strong winds that sweep in from Lake Michigan, and the channeling effect of the skyscrapers lends strength and gustiness to winds in the downtown canyons.
Hilly terrain and proximity to the sea, mean lots of micro climates around here. Frost is very rare in some places within a few kilometres of here, but a few kilometres in the other direction can see up to a hundred frosts a year. Rain can vary widely, depending on what valley system, one lives in. Even strong winds, hail and overhead thunder are more frequent in some areas than others.
I live in a light wind, higher rainfall, heavier frost, no hail (ever), more frequent overhead thunder microclimate, compared to other places around here.
London is located in a bowl, so the climate is different to other parts of the SE not in the Thames Valley.
The west has warmer highs but cooler lows than the east. Sunshine is fairly uniform across the area with a couple of exceptions (Hampstead is dull and cool because of its elevation, and Greenwich is dull because the horizon is obstructed). The central area has a strong UHI, with fewer than 10 days of frost per year, compared to 30 days at Heathrow.
The SF Bay Area TAKES the cake when it comes to microclimates....especially in summer? Where else in the world can you have a spread of 50 F within 50 miles with the locations being at sea level. At 6PM in the evening, the immediate coast can be as cool as 55F and valleys inland can be as hot as 105F...although that's an extreme case during a heat wave with an onshore flow to keep the coast from getting a piece of it But a better example is that many beaches have average highs of around 60F while the Valleys 50 miles inland have highs in the upper 80s.
Also the microclimate create great variation rainfall due to mountains and rain shadow effect. Downtown San Jose only gets about 14 inches of rain a year due to being surrounded by mountains that suck out the moisture. I live in the town of Los Gatos which is to the southwest of San Jose and we get 24 inches of rain a year due to being closer to the Santa Cruz Mountains that provide more moisture. Other parts of the Bay Area get up to 45 inches of rain a year.
Snow is a once in a lifetime event at sea level but occurs usually a few times each winter on our mountaintops above 3,000 feet and about once every 2-3 years at the hills of about 1,500 feet.
One thing that the entire Bay Area lacks is thunderstorms, no matter what microclimate you go to, you're luck to see 2 t-storms a year.
Uneventful climate but you can experience a wide range in temperatures by driving less than an hour in summer.
The SF Bay Area TAKES the cake when it comes to microclimates....especially in summer? Where else in the world can you have a spread of 50 F within 50 miles with the locations being at sea level. At 6PM in the evening, the immediate coast can be as cool as 55F and valleys inland can be as hot as 105F...although that's an extreme case during a heat wave with an onshore flow to keep the coast from getting a piece of it But a better example is that many beaches have average highs of around 60F while the Valleys 50 miles inland have highs in the upper 80s.
In California, its best to live near the coast. Inland areas are an oven in the summer and vary WAY too much. I traveled to Sacramento for a week in June, and got a terrible headache due to extreme daily variations.
For me, Roanoke, VA undoubtedly has the best climate in the United States. I need some heat + humidity to feel happy during the summer, but don't like extreme amounts. I also like a little snowfall from time to time, and gorgeous fall colors.
The SF Bay Area TAKES the cake when it comes to microclimates....especially in summer? Where else in the world can you have a spread of 50 F within 50 miles with the locations being at sea level.
Very good point, and hence the reason Fairbanks has warmer summers than SF... though if they measured the SF temperature inland a little more this would not be the case.
In my view, the California coast (namely around SF) has the greatest microclimate in the summer, but when it comes to winter, I'd give the nod to somewhere further north. Perhaps the interior of Alaska, the Yukon, or northern British Columbia. I was in Fairbanks, Alaska, for Christmas a couple years ago. I could not believe how much the temperature would rise as we drove up a small hill. Rising up less than 500 ft increased the temperature from -30 to about -10 (if I recall correctly). They tell me this is quite normal up there.
Studies show that in extreme cases, the temperature rises as much as 54F in a mere 100 m rise in elevation in the interior of Alaska.
Last edited by Glacierx; 10-16-2013 at 11:24 AM..
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. I also noticed that Chicago downtown tends to be windier. However, western suburbs like Naperville are not as windy. The same 29 F felt much more pleasant in Naperville than Chicago downtown. I actually was able to go on a quick early morning run when it was 17 F in Naperville (with proper winter running gear). I would have fainted if I attempted to do the same in downtown Chicago due to wind.
