Can climates with seasonal "lead", not seasonal lag, exist? (hot, average)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It makes sense, since at the highest latitudes winter is one very long night. So the coldest temperatures occur near the end of winter (or end of night). In contrast as summer progresses, the sun angle decreases even the day length is 24 hours. The daily cycle is asymmetric with a peak in the mid-afternoon, and a min around sunrise.
I was about to say the same thing nei, and this similar type of pattern is found in Vostok as well. And also in Eureka, Canada (which is at 80 N) as well (coldest months are February and March) but I always supposed in Eureka's case that it was due to coastal influence.
If there was an inland location in the Northern Hemisphere at 78 N, it would follow a similar pattern to Vostok I presume?
Close, but July is still warmer than June, and December is still warmer than January.
Actually you only have to look at your neck of the woods Glacierx (BC interior) which IMO has seasonal lead, especially when compared to eastern Canada.
Starting in February, which is much warmer than January in the BC interior, not so in Ontario, only 1 or 2 degrees warmer at most.
Same thing with March, April, and May.
Warmest areas like Okanagan and Thompson-Fraser, are approx. one month "ahead" of
southern Ontario in spring, conversely BC interior autumns tend to be cooler and end earlier.
Great Falls WSCMO airport, Montana is colder in December (24.8F) than in January (25.2F) by 1981-2010 normals, though it wasn't the case in 1971-2000 and 1961-1990.
Nearby Carter 14W station has the same result, January averages 0.6F warmer by 1981-2010 normals and 0.4F over the entire record (1982-2013). Though August is much warmer than June in both places, there is lag in summer.
July is not the halfway point. Summer begins around June 21, so for a place to have no seasonal lag or lead whatsoever, the summer solstice would be the warmest part of the year, on average, and the winter solstice the coldest.
Summer starts at June 1. June 21 is midsummer. The astronomical seasons make no sense. How could you say that Autumn starts on September 21 in Fairbanks, when the trees are full of fall leaves? And autumn starts a lot later in Alabama than Moscow.
Seattle, Phoenix, Denver is reaching lowest averages in December then slightly increase in January
77% of the United States and Canada are coldest in January.
20% are coldest in December
2.5% are coldest February
0.04% are coldest in March (only 4 places, 2 in Alaska and 2 in Hawaii).
Top places where December has the greatest difference from the 2nd coldest month:
1) Lytton, BC = Dec is 3.3F colder than the 2nd coldest month (Jan)
2) Mullan, ID = Dec is 3.2F colder than January.
Coastal California has little winter lag or even a season lead. Eureka has a slightly cooler December than January, San Francisco is only slightly warmer in December. Together with the extreme summer lag (in San Francisco, October is warmer than August) coastal California must have one the most asymmetric seasons.
I can't understand why coastal California has no winter seasonal lag. Must be from air currents? December is the wettest month in Eureka, so the lower sunshine is probably the cause.
It's odd, but even though the summer lag is much more moderate, the winter lead is quite present here on the west coast of BC. December is the coldest month of the year for many coastal locations up until at least Bella Coola:
By the north end of BC the increasing lows start to make January the chilliest month, but even as far as Prince Rupert the Jan highs are fractionally warmer than the December ones:
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
