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Old 01-24-2019, 07:07 PM
 
Location: https://t.me/pump_upp
227 posts, read 145,115 times
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Why is the inter mountain west warmer than the east? I’ve been noticing on the weather in northern eastern california, in January, the weather rarely dips below 19 degrees, while the Midwest and east , even on the coast, are much cooler. For example, a city like susanville CA, in eastern inter mountain California, never gets as cold as the Midwest or east. Another thing I’ve noticed is that mountainous California, no matter how northern it is, it is still warmer than mountainous Arizona. When South Lake Tahoe is 20 degrees, flagstaff is like 10 or 7 degrees, in the winter. Same with the Midwest, but even colder, like -7 or -10 degrees, EVEN though a city in California in northernmost California is to the east of a mountain range such as the northern sierras. One last thing. Why is northern Texas or southern Texas so cold compared to mid California. Amarillo is literally10 to 15 degrees colder than the highest elevations in California, even at a low elevation and low latitude.
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Old 01-24-2019, 09:25 PM
 
Location: Portland, OR area
381 posts, read 246,686 times
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Moderating Pacific influence reaches to the montane and high desert regions of CA, OR, and WA.

Alturas, CA can get very cold winter nights. During January 2017 they saw a -23ºF nighttime low, but that wasn't a normal year. Still, Alturas often gets single digit and even subzero lows during cold snaps.

Alturas has winter lows similar to the lower Midwest, but winter highs are actually fairly mild. Similar to Denver.
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Old 01-25-2019, 05:33 PM
 
Location: Foreignorland 58 N, 17 E.
5,601 posts, read 3,491,574 times
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What Omegaraptor said. I would add that the latitudes behind the cold currents are also shielding from the most intense maritime moderation and in addition, western locations of continents are prone to desert formation due to the absence of humid patterns. This leads to a perfect storm of mountain shielding, partial maritime warming and desert/sunshine.
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Old 01-26-2019, 04:34 AM
 
30,281 posts, read 21,045,704 times
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FL has also warmed up like Cali since 1990. It is rare that even get 30's anymore in the winter and it has warmed up so much since 1990 then a huge ramp up in heating since 2011. With a rapid warming planet areas to the south will see the first effects of a warming planet.
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Old 01-26-2019, 04:42 AM
 
Location: Bidford-on-Avon, England
2,413 posts, read 1,033,951 times
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It was 27.2°C in Anaheim, CA yesterday
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Old 01-26-2019, 08:31 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
12,059 posts, read 13,836,226 times
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The Sierra Nevada effectively blocks arctic high pressure from penetrating California. The wind is almost always from the west which brings mild Pacific air. The Mediterranean climate helps - the lack of humidity in the summer means that things can heat up quickly and the cloud cover in the winter means that things can't get really cold. It's like a perfect storm for preventing extreme cold.
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Old 01-26-2019, 06:20 PM
 
Location: https://t.me/pump_upp
227 posts, read 145,115 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cBach View Post
The Sierra Nevada effectively blocks arctic high pressure from penetrating California. The wind is almost always from the west which brings mild Pacific air. The Mediterranean climate helps - the lack of humidity in the summer means that things can heat up quickly and the cloud cover in the winter means that things can't get really cold. It's like a perfect storm for preventing extreme cold.
yeah, but why does the sierra nevada itself not get as cold as the midwest? ive noticed that even southern illinois or missouri can be colder in the winter. eastern california, to the east of sierra nevada, is supposed to get colder, due to a cold air pocket landing in the winter.



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Old 01-26-2019, 07:44 PM
 
Location: Live:Downtown Phoenix, AZ/Work:Greater Los Angeles, CA
27,606 posts, read 14,519,362 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Weatherdude123 View Post
yeah, but why does the sierra nevada itself not get as cold as the midwest? ive noticed that even southern illinois or missouri can be colder in the winter. eastern california, to the east of sierra nevada, is supposed to get colder, due to a cold air pocket landing in the winter.



The Rockies seperate the Arctic from area's west of the continental divide, and cold air sinks, so it can't make it over high mountains
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Old 01-27-2019, 12:15 AM
 
1,284 posts, read 1,006,851 times
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How about why it's so dry?
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Old 01-27-2019, 12:32 AM
 
Location: Live:Downtown Phoenix, AZ/Work:Greater Los Angeles, CA
27,606 posts, read 14,519,362 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jackierudetsky View Post
How about why it's so dry?
The North Pacific High and the California current which brings cold water down the coast from Alaska, keeping the water temps too cool for convection and even creating an inversion where the mountains get warmer than the coastal plain
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