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Occasionally, temperatures will get below zero in the winter in places like KC and STL but it does not happen that often. In cities like Des Moines, Chicago, and Minneapolis the lowest temperature in the winter season can typically be at least -15F or lower. KC and STL winters can be cold, but climate change is definitely affecting the overall temperatures that occur during the winter season. Also, the urban heat island effect means that the coldest temperatures that occur during the winter season are in more rural locations compared with the downtown areas. For example, Midway Airport in Chicago is typically quite a bit warmer than O'Hare airport which is located in the Chicago suburbs. Aurora can get colder than O'Hare because it is located in an exurban area with the temperature sensor in a low-lying area. For the most part areas east of the Rockies that are located south of 40N latitude do not have very harsh winters at all. The difference in the sun angle between the summer and winter seasons is also less significant for areas south of 40N as well. For areas further north the differential between the daylight hours during the summer and winter season becomes more severe. That is why northern areas have such a buildup of arctic air because the daylight hours are short and the long nights allow for excellent radiational cooling, especially over areas that have a snowpack! If you want more information about weather and climate just ask
I've never heard of Chicago and Cleveland getting below 0 very often. They are significantly colder than KC and St. Louis, but hardly are they ever sub-zero. Just ask my mother. She grew up in Cleveland. It may get lots of snow, but it is does not usually get as cold as places like Fargo, Grand Forks, or International Falls, Minnesota. I'm not comparing KC and St. Louis to the Upper Midwest Plains10, to do that would be ridiculous. What I'm saying is that to classify them as being mild as ridiculous because mild to me means Little rock, Memphis, and Nashville. To compare STL and KC to those cities in the winter is ridiculous IMO.
Occasionally, temperatures will get below zero in the winter in places like KC and STL but it does not happen that often. In cities like Des Moines, Chicago, and Minneapolis the lowest temperature in the winter season can typically be at least -15F or lower. KC and STL winters can be cold, but climate change is definitely affecting the overall temperatures that occur during the winter season. Also, the urban heat island effect means that the coldest temperatures that occur during the winter season are in more rural locations compared with the downtown areas. For example, Midway Airport in Chicago is typically quite a bit warmer than O'Hare airport which is located in the Chicago suburbs. Aurora can get colder than O'Hare because it is located in an exurban area with the temperature sensor in a low-lying area. For the most part areas east of the Rockies that are located south of 40N latitude do not have very harsh winters at all. The difference in the sun angle between the summer and winter seasons is also less significant for areas south of 40N as well. For areas further north the differential between the daylight hours during the summer and winter season becomes more severe. That is why northern areas have such a buildup of arctic air because the daylight hours are short and the long nights allow for excellent radiational cooling, especially over areas that have a snowpack! If you want more information about weather and climate just ask
Note I did say between harsh and mild for these places. I just don't think mild is the right way to classify KC's winters. Mild to me means hardly ever below freezing and little to no snow (5 inches or less)....KC and STL more than qualify as getting more than 5 inches and get below 32 degrees very often. It's not the Upper Midwest, but it's not definitely not a Southern winter either. Too cold and too snowy for mild IMO. Not cold enough and not snowy enough for harsh. I hope that at least satisfies the majority here. I've experienced plenty of days of unbearable cold here and had school called three to four times due to snow growing up here. There are plenty of planned snow routes around STL as well. Snow and cold are nothing out of the ordinary here during the winter. Now, ask an Upper Midwesterner and they will say that our winters are mild. Ask somebody from the South and they'll say our winters are definitely not mild. It's the truth. It all depends on where you are from in the country or where you have been.
Note I did say between harsh and mild for these places. I just don't think mild is the right way to classify KC's winters. Mild to me means hardly ever below freezing and little to no snow (5 inches or less)....KC and STL more than qualify as getting more than 5 inches and get below 32 degrees very often. It's not the Upper Midwest, but it's not definitely not a Southern winter either. Too cold and too snowy for mild IMO. Not cold enough and not snowy enough for harsh. I hope that at least satisfies the majority here. I've experienced plenty of days of unbearable cold here and had school called three to four times due to snow growing up here. There are plenty of planned snow routes around STL as well. Snow and cold are nothing out of the ordinary here during the winter. Now, ask an Upper Midwesterner and they will say that our winters are mild. Ask somebody from the South and they'll say our winters are definitely not mild. It's the truth. It all depends on where you are from in the country or where you have been.
Yes, the winters in KC and STL can "occasionally" be cold but it is not to bad. Snowfall can occasionally be significant but heavy snowfalls are fairly rare in STL and KC. Also, the Upper Midwest has snowpack on the ground for a long period of time. The snowpack in the UP of Michigan can last 5-6 months during some years. Yes, I have lived in the Upper Midwest and the cold is much more persistant there compared with areas south of 40N in the winter. In fact, the plains can have dramatic chinook winds in the winter which leads to mild weather occasionally even in the middle of winter. This is especially true for cities like Denver, Omaha, Topeka, Wichita, Kansas City, Rapid City, and Bismarck. Chicago has the official temperature readings at O'Hare airport which is a suburban location in the Chicago metro. This reporting station is further removed from Lake Michigan and experiences sub-zero temperatures in the winter almost every year. Cleveland has their International Airport closer to Lake Erie and does not register quite as many days with temperatures that are below zero because of the lake influences. For example, continental polar air reaches Chicago more easily because of the relative location of the city. In Cleveland the CP air passes over the relatively warm waters of Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes upstream. Now, I will agree that the south has very mild winters
Yes, the winters in KC and STL can "occasionally" be cold but it is not to bad. Snowfall can occasionally be significant but heavy snowfalls are fairly rare in STL and KC. Also, the Upper Midwest has snowpack on the ground for a long period of time. The snowpack in the UP of Michigan can last 5-6 months during some years. Yes, I have lived in the Upper Midwest and the cold is much more persistant there compared with areas south of 40N in the winter. In fact, the plains can have dramatic chinook winds in the winter which leads to mild weather occasionally even in the middle of winter. This is especially true for cities like Denver, Omaha, Topeka, Wichita, Kansas City, Rapid City, and Bismarck. Chicago has the official temperature readings at O'Hare airport which is a suburban location in the Chicago metro. This reporting station is further removed from Lake Michigan and experiences sub-zero temperatures in the winter almost every year. Cleveland has their International Airport closer to Lake Erie and does not register quite as many days with temperatures that are below zero because of the lake influences. For example, continental polar air reaches Chicago more easily because of the relative location of the city. In Cleveland the CP air passes over the relatively warm waters of Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes upstream. Now, I will agree that the south has very mild winters
I'll agree that heavy snowfalls are not incredibly common for STL or KC, but significant snowfalls are not. Snowstorms ranging anywhere from 1 to half a foot of snow are experienced every winter on multiple occasions, and generally snowfall ranging from 10-20 inches occurs for these cities during the winter. Even during the times of global warming this pattern is consistent. If snow doesn't happen, it's often a mixture of snow and sleet. Temperatures fluctuate rather widely here (that's what you get in the middle of the country latitude wise) but we've hit single digits at least once or twice every winter and gotten below freezing well more than just once. Temperatures can go from relatively warm to freezing in the blink of an eye. That's why I classify it as between harsh and mild. Yes the Upper Midwest is much colder and snowier than here. But winters here IMO still meet the definition of being distinct enough to not be autumn, spring, or summer. Anything can be expected here in the winter. For that reason, I consider these winters to be between harsh and mild. Winters in the lower Midwest can vary tremendously. For example, Columbus got 26 inches of snow this year...last year they got under 13 inches. St. Louis in 2004 got a snowfall of 21 inches....the next year about 10 inches less. Yes I know warming is occuring but winters three years ago is still very recent and should be looked at. Either way, I think that St. Louis and KC is not atypical of what I'd define as a mild winter. They are more than capable of getting harsh winters, not Upper-Midwestern harsh, but bad enough, even if they only happen occasionally. Significantly more mild than the Upper Midwest and Northeast yes...mild no. Not harsh, but not quite mild either.
I believe much of the southern half of the US have mild winter. And couldn't you say that the whole pacific coast have mild winters too...? Only a handful of areas in the US have what I call mild-warm. Like SoCal and all of Florida.
A MILD WINTER IS NOT MANY EXTENDED DAYS BELOW freezing. And not too many clouds, oooh I hate cloudy winters. And also not much snow or ice. Ice is worse than snow because it downs power lines, how boring sitting inside in the dark because of no power.
One of the main reasons we are moving out of the Denver metro area is because of the winters we've had in Parker and Englewood since we moved there in 2002........bad snowstorms and some blizzards since living here. We are headed to the Charlotte, NC where they can use the word "mild" when talking about the winter months. In fact, I remember seeing on the Charlotte website two young guys riding a WaveRunner on Lake Norman and there was a little snow on the banks of the lake. Now, that is the kind of winters we want from now on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ericmrtt
I believe much of the southern half of the US have mild winter. And couldn't you say that the whole pacific coast have mild winters too...? Only a handful of areas in the US have what I call mild-warm. Like SoCal and all of Florida.
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. Now, ask an Upper Midwesterner and they will say that our winters are mild. Ask somebody from the South and they'll say our winters are definitely not mild. It's the truth. It all depends on where you are from in the country or where you have been.
Winter
