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So you're now convinced Miami is tropical? Or at the least, too warm to be grouped together with Savannah or New Orleans. It's a much better fit at the low end of tropical rather than the high end of subtropical or even a borderline case (south-central Florida like Sarasota or Ft Pierce or even further south like Ft. Myers would better fit that niche) imo.
Miami is 'Tropical' without question....the climate data for Townsville in Queensland and Miami in Florida are almost identical ( except for extremes, heat in Townsville's case and cold in Miami's case ).
And this is despite Miami being 725klm further from the Equator than Townsville.
Townsville is regarded as your quintessential 'Tropical' city in far North Queensland by Aussies, not least reason being the latitude of 19.26*S.
Miami suffers from the perception of 'non tropicallity', not by climate means ( which are clearly Tropical ), but by location north of the Tropic of Cancer at 25.76*N.
Miami is 'Tropical' without question....the climate data for Townsville in Queensland and Miami in Florida are almost identical ( except for extremes, heat in Townsville's case and cold in Miami's case ).
And this is despite Miami being 725klm further from the Equator than Townsville.
Townsville is regarded as your quintessential 'Tropical' city in far North Queensland by Aussies, not least reason being the latitude of 19.26*S.
Miami suffers from the perception of 'non tropicallity', not by climate means ( which are clearly Tropical ), but by location north of the Tropic of Cancer at 25.76*N.
You're much tougher with subtropical classification using Port Macquarie as the upper limit. If using that criteria in this hemisphere the subtropical zone in the east coast would start at Jacksonville and end somewhere near South Florida. It would be essentially a Florida climate zone!
Savannah's airport station and Hunter station both get colder than the city, but yes you get quite a lot of nights in the lower 30's and upper 20's. They usually only get a few nights in a typical winter that go down to low 20's. But the vegetation is unfazed. I have seen things like petunias still alive in the ground in Savannah gardens in late winter.
You're much tougher with subtropical classification using Port Macquarie as the upper limit. If using that criteria in this hemisphere the subtropical zone in the east coast would start at Jacksonville and end somewhere near South Florida. It would be essentially a Florida climate zone!
That is why I said with the SH being much more temperate with a lot less land area to get really cold, they have much more limited definitions for subtropical.
Put it this way, Seattle and Portland are shockingly cold to people from oceanic climates like Melbourne Australia. Like wise Charleston and Savannah and even Jacksonville would feel quite cold in winter to a person from the subtropical areas of Australia like Sydney or Perth.
Miami is 'Tropical' without question....the climate data for Townsville in Queensland and Miami in Florida are almost identical ( except for extremes, heat in Townsville's case and cold in Miami's case ).
And this is despite Miami being 725klm further from the Equator than Townsville.
Townsville is regarded as your quintessential 'Tropical' city in far North Queensland by Aussies, not least reason being the latitude of 19.26*S.
Miami suffers from the perception of 'non tropicallity', not by climate means ( which are clearly Tropical ), but by location north of the Tropic of Cancer at 25.76*N.
Interesting factoid I found about the sun's location in winter here. Due to the earth being 3 million miles closer to the sun in January than in July, a place like Miami gets the same solar radiation at the top of the atmosphere (think of it as total potential solar radiation before clouds get in the way) that 21S gets in their winter. There are graphs and charts which show this. So, in terms of SH, Miami's heating from the sun is the same as 4 degrees closer to the equator in the SH.
It is counterintuitive but if the sun was further away in winter, the temps would be overall cooler, but the polar vortex would be stronger in winter.
In July the opposite is true, and the SH gets much higher UV indexes and more solar radiation.
The warmest place I woud call subtropical in SEUSA is around Melbourne, Florida. That's right around where the Atlantic coast starts getting tropical IMO. Some would put the cutoff further down by WPB or even Miami itself. the microclimates change rapidly along the florida coast.
Daytona -> Fort Pierce -> Miami
each of these cities is around ~130 miles of each other and each one has extremely warmer winters than the last. The transitions once you get into FL atlantic coast are way more rapid than the Carolinas/Georgia coast
So you're now convinced Miami is tropical? Or at the least, too warm to be grouped together with Savannah or New Orleans. It's a much better fit at the low end of tropical rather than the high end of subtropical or even a borderline case (south-central Florida like Sarasota or Ft Pierce or even further south like Ft. Myers would better fit that niche) imo.
As I've said before, yes, Miami is tropical. However it has subtropical genetics. That's what makes it interesting.
For example, Miami recorded temperatures below freezing 36 times during the 20th century. For most people, this doesn't matter: they don't live long enough and they just go inside if it gets cold. However, it's reasonable to speculate that it may have an impact on the environment.
Quote:
South Florida has a tropical climate, with a summer wet season and a dry season from mid fall through late spring. Average temperatures are warm all year, with only occasional freezes associated with winter cold fronts. Thunderstorms are the major source of rainfall, although erratically occurring tropical cyclones and winter frontal systems can contribute significantly in some years. Besides the annual cycle, rainfall patterns are associated with a minor bimodal peak during the wet season and a 5-to 6-year cycle associated with global climate cycles. The long-term trend in total annual precipitation has been essentially constant over the past 100 years. Evapotranspiration is lowest during the cool winter months and highest in late spring, after which it declines only slightly during the summer months. Freezes play a large role in controlling the distribution of tropical elements of the fauna and flora of south Florida. In general, they are more severe farther north or inland from the ocean. ...
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Originally Posted by Ed's Mountain
As I've said before, yes, Miami is tropical. However it has subtropical genetics. That's what makes it interesting.
For example, Miami recorded temperatures below freezing 36 times during the 20th century. For most people, this doesn't matter: they don't live long enough and they just go inside if it gets cold. However, it's reasonable to speculate that it may have an impact on the environment.
Miami averages 21 70°F+ Lows during a typical meteorological winter (D-J-F), while Tampa averages just 2, and Orlando averages 0. Definitely different climates
Miami averages 21 70°F+ Lows during a typical meteorological winter (D-J-F), while Tampa averages just 2, and Orlando averages 0. Definitely different climates
I am interested in a comparison between places like Vero Beach, Tampa, and Miami. The difference in climate really stands out in the winter, despite being relatively close in latitude.
The occasional cold nights in Vero will frequently be 10-15 degrees warmer just a couple hours south in Miami. I wouldn't be surprised if Vero hits <40f lows just as often as Miami hits <50
Miami averages 21 70°F+ Lows during a typical meteorological winter (D-J-F), while Tampa averages just 2, and Orlando averages 0. Definitely different climates
San Juan averages 83 70°F lows during a typical meteorological winter (D-J-F), while Miami averages just 21. Are they definitely different climates?
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