Critique the Climate: Raleigh, NC

[Strawhats]

Too hot year round.

[cevven]

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

In my climate system, Raleigh and NYC are both in the same climate group (Chb / Humid Temperate Hot Summer), just at opposite ends, Raleigh just misses Bhb / Humid Subtropical Hot Summer, while NYC is warm enough to avoid Dhb / Humid Continental Hot Summer.

"Humid Temperature Hot Summer (Chb)" - well, that's a new one. I can't find that one an official, institutionally recognized climate classification system.

Now that being said, this is not to say I don't agree with the classification. I think we actually need a classification that describes the transition between subtropical climates and humid temperate climates with colder winters - and I agree with you that cities like Raleigh is in that transitional zone. I live in Raleigh, and I consider it borderline subtropical at best as we got significant continental influences in our climate ESPECIALLY in late autumn and most of the winter. We don't ever have long term snow pack but we get down to the mid to low teens (some years single digits) one or twice in the vast majority of years (Raleigh is zone 8A from 7B in hardiness in the most recent maps - 7B is certainly not subtropical IMO, 8A just barely makes the cut if anything). I would say the TRUE subtropics has a hardiness level at 9A and above (average lowest temperature every year is 20F or above) and I say this because a lot of subtropical plants have hardiness in the teens as well as single digits and it's good to have temps that don't reach too close to lowest temperature a given plant or tree can survive. Places like southeast North Carolina, the coastal plain of South Carolina and Georgia, as well as Southern Alabama and Mississippi, Southern and Central Louisiana and Southeast Texas and Florida have more a legit Humid Subtropical Climate.

Now for New York? Eh. Now NYC is not as brutal in winter as cities like Chicago, Minneapolis, or Fargo but the continental influences are pronounced enough to for it classified as Humid Continental (it's classified as that under Trewartha but Humid Subtropical under Koppen, which the latter is clearly a huge fallacy). I would put that northern edge of that 'transitional' climate region I mentioned maybe up to Northern Virginia or the southern and eastern sections of the DC metro instead of NYC.

[Strawhats]

I'm gonna elaborate on this a little more since I was born 2.5 hours away from Raleigh. Summers are way too hot and humid, but have a good amount of Thunderstorms, maybe one every three days on average or so. Winters are too sunny and too mild, but experience short cold snaps with highs in the 30s for a couple of days; these happen maybe 1-3 times a winter. Springs are very windy and experience some big temperature swings and autumns are very dry and pretty uneventful weather-wise.

[cevven]

Originally Posted by Strawhats

I'm gonna elaborate on this a little more since I was born 2.5 hours away from Raleigh. Summers are way too hot and humid, but have a good amount of Thunderstorms, maybe one every three days on average or so. Winters are too sunny and too mild, but experience short cold snaps with highs in the 30s for a couple of days; these happen maybe 1-3 times a winter. Springs are very windy and experience some big temperature swings and autumns are very dry and pretty uneventful weather-wise.

Yup, you describe it perfectly. I'm from Fayetteville, NC (moved there when I was 9 years old), went to college in Charlotte, and now live in Raleigh, NC. Fayetteville and Raleigh climate is very similar obviously but Fayetteville is marginally more humid and warmer throughout the year (Northeast Cumberland County is cooler than south and east Cumberland County - I lived most of my time in Cumberland Co. in Hope Mills, which is warmer than Ft. Bragg). However, a lot of Cumberland County is in the Sandhills so we get hotter summers than Raleigh by a few degrees.

Winter in Wake County is a mixed bag, sorta. Southern and Eastern Wake (Knightdale, Garner, Fuquay-Varina, Wake County side of Angier) is slightly warmer than say Northern and Western Wake County (Cary, North and West Raleigh, Apex). It's not a huge difference at all but enough for me to notice. For example, you will get 7 inches in show in Durham and 3 to 5 inches in Raleigh but NO snow and straight freezing rain or sleet in Angier or Clayton from the same system. Fayetteville will just get a cold rain (Fayetteville does get measurable snow most years but far less than Raleigh and Durham especially). As far as temperatures, its really hard to say because of the temperature swings from an unstable polar vortex. IF we didn't get these random arctic blasts that hit the south, we probably never get snow or ice here in Raleigh. The Cities in the same latitude and elevation in the southern hemisphere have FAR more stable winters, damn near look tropical in vegetation.