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.
South Florida average temperature range without a cold snap is between 60 and 77-ish
Cold snap brings the low down to the low 40s
Eric, it is rare that our temps get into the 40s and it is only for a short time during the middle of the night. It is anything but a regular occurrence.
I still agree that the temp swings are more severe than anywhere else. What I learned on this trip was how quickly things grow back, and also how really subtropical it looks in reality vs google streetview. Streetview is limited.
I couldn't see hardly any CIDP's on streetview in coastal Alabama. When I drove around there I saw them on just about every block lol. I saw loads of citrus trees in backyards which you don't see on streetview.
So the trip did change my mind in that way.
I'm sure you can grow dooryard citrus in France in places like Nice and other mild areas. For this awful subtropical climate the US has, we are the third largest citrus producer in the world behind Brazil and China. France doesn't even grow citrus commercially as I assume the area to grow it reliably and decent tasting enough would be very small. Only a small part of France is as warm as Nice in winter.
The 'deep deep south' has seen flurries of snow, correct me if I'm wrong (somewhere around Florida). The similar-latitude parts in Australia, North Africa and India haven't (not unless, though, if they're mountainous). Frost is also present in Florida, in some years.
Btw, the 'not so deep' south has sees snow every 3-5 years or so (New Orleans, Houston, San Antonio). Comparatively, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, which are around the same latitude of these southern cities, have NEVER gotten snow. The south is still continental influenced somehow and thus nearly every part of it can get cold snaps (I mean, North America virtually touches the arctic region).
Look at the climate of Hervey Bay (QLD AUS). It is at the same latitude of Miami - compare them:
So you can say that only THE VERY far south of America is truly 'subtropical' or 'tropical paradise', not anywhere above Orlando.
Actually we here in Charleston are considered to be in a Subtropical Climate Zone on the coast line. Since I started living here in 1975, I have seen snow maybe four times for a total of 2-3". If you move inland, their classicfication is Temperate Climate Zone, which is more favorable for winter-like weather.
I wouldn't consider us a "tropical paradise", only hot and humid.
Definitely the south, with AC, is quite manageable a climate
I might criticize it for being a boring climate but definitely not for being a harsh climate
I prefer more climate excitement
The most "exciting" climate is hands down...Midwest and Great Plains. You get to witness every extreme and all that's in between.
In a different way, I find California's micro-climates exciting because you can go to the climate you want in a short road trip. You can escape heat by driving to the beach, you can escape the rain by driving south and east, you can experience true rainforest mist by driving north into the redwoods, you can go into mountain passes and see all the snow you want, you can have it all.
Midwest = most climate varieties in a year in one spot
California = most climate varieties in one day over many adjacent spots
The Southeast = nice agricultural monotonous climate with a few infrequent extremes built in ...the extremes being cold snaps, hurricanes winds, tornado.
Northeast = The % of cloud cover or lack there of... is inescapable in all 4 directions. But where the rain will actually fall is extremely hard to predict. This means fewer partly cloudy days and lots of overcast and/or perfectly clear days.
Southeast gets more sunshine hours than the northeast, but the northeast gets more days clear of clouds than the south. But in winter the southeast gets equally as many days clear of clouds, but northeast wins on this during the months of May, June, August, September, first part of October.
July is a scorcher for everybody. No escape. Days clear of clouds in July are common though in the mid Atlantic and northeast during heat waves. Though it's not a fun sunshine. The south gets scattered clouds and heavy afternoon rain and very few if any clear days.
Days clear of clouds in all months of the year is the north's attractive weather feature. More likely a northern US place will give you the ability to test astronomical observations year-round. Keep in mind though most days clear of clouds up north are not in the most desirable temperature ranges. These are piercingly cold days in winter and heat wave days in July.
[quote=EricS39;34505693]Definitely the south, with AC, is quite manageable a climate
I might criticize it for being a boring climate but definitely not for being a harsh climate
I prefer more climate excitement
The most "exciting" climate is hands down...Midwest and Great Plains. You get to witness every extreme and all that's in between.
Lol, after the winter of 2014 and all the record breaking temps and snow, I doubt if many Midwesterners thought it was exciting. I saw many news clips of reporters talking to people on the street in various cities across the Midwest and everybody was so ready for it to be over already. In addition to all the flight cancellations, school closing, accidents, and the squeeze on local businesses. I love the four season but I can sure do without the excitement. Hurricane Hugo was enough excitement to last a life time down here.
Yeah, nothings beats living somewhere where you take a shower and never really dry off because you're always sweating, as one of my college professors who was from Louisiana once put it. I grew up in Maryland and I won't go back even to the mid-Atlantic area in the summer anymore.
The mid-Atlantic and north for that matter, in summer isn't any cooler than the southeast, unless there is a frontal boundary between the two locations.
The average temperature being presented as cooler up north is almost entirely based on calculating
(probability of a prevailing northwest wind multiplied by a cool temperature. + probability of no prevailing northwest wind multiplied by the same humid temperatures of southeast)
= monthly average temp for a north or midatlantic US city
(Excluding Long Island and Cape cod where cooler waters are a factor
Clementine production is a bit higher (around 20,000 tons/year). Pomelo, kumquat and citron are also grown commercially (fairly small numbers too).
Pumelo, kumquat and citron are rather cold hardy, unlike sweet oranges.
My point was that some posters always seem to insinuate the whole of the US is arctic like in winter including the South lol, or that only a tiny sliver is subtropical. FlamingGalah said something like "extreme southern coastal fringe". That is not accurate at all. Further up in this thread I posted an image from GoogleEarth showing the area of the South most people would consider subtropical. The area within that line is around 165,000 square miles (including FL and TX), hardly a "fringe".
Even places north of the line I showed such as Nathez, MS, Monroe, LA, Columbus, GA, Montgomery, AL are quite warm in winter when looking at their averages. It is not like these places have a winter like this last one every year. I know folks on the other forum from places in the inland South that grow oranges and date palms unprotected including this bad winter and they survived.
Waycross GA of which I posted pics previously showing Queen Palms and date palms is 60 miles inland. The area of Florida alone is larger than England and Wales combined.
Temperatures in Spain and France drop also when you head inland.
Look at a place like Avignon inland from the coast in France, or Zaragosa, Spain. They are not as warm as Nice or Barcelona.
Avignon has a winter mean high/low of around 51/36F. Zaragosa 53/38F. Well Natchez, MS far from the coast averages 61/40F, Montgomery, AL 60/37F, and Columbus, GA 60/39F. If these US cities are not subtropical, they certainly aren't in the same league as London, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Paris, Moscow, etc.
Definitely the south, with AC, is quite manageable a climate
I might criticize it for being a boring climate but definitely not for being a harsh climate
I prefer more climate excitement
The most "exciting" climate is hands down...Midwest and Great Plains. You get to witness every extreme and all that's in between.
In a different way, I find California's micro-climates exciting because you can go to the climate you want in a short road trip. You can escape heat by driving to the beach, you can escape the rain by driving south and east, you can experience true rainforest mist by driving north into the redwoods, you can go into mountain passes and see all the snow you want, you can have it all.
Midwest = most climate varieties in a year in one spot
California = most climate varieties in one day over many adjacent spots
The Southeast = nice agricultural monotonous climate with a few infrequent extremes built in ...the extremes being cold snaps, hurricanes winds, tornado.
Northeast = The % of cloud cover or lack there of... is inescapable in all 4 directions. But where the rain will actually fall is extremely hard to predict. This means fewer partly cloudy days and lots of overcast and/or perfectly clear days.
Southeast gets more sunshine hours than the northeast, but the northeast gets more days clear of clouds than the south. But in winter the southeast gets equally as many days clear of clouds, but northeast wins on this during the months of May, June, August, September, first part of October.
July is a scorcher for everybody. No escape. Days clear of clouds in July are common though in the mid Atlantic and northeast during heat waves. Though it's not a fun sunshine. The south gets scattered clouds and heavy afternoon rain and very few if any clear days.
Days clear of clouds in all months of the year is the north's attractive weather feature. More likely a northern US place will give you the ability to test astronomical observations year-round. Keep in mind though most days clear of clouds up north are not in the most desirable temperature ranges. These are piercingly cold days in winter and heat wave days in July.
Where do you live?
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.
