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Being a South Florida native and never having experienced the change in seasons or a true Fall, Winter, or Spring, I love to read about what it's like to experience these changes in weather. So, I'm asking for a vicarious thrill since I'm stuck living in the land of permanant Summer. Around when do you notice the season changing? Does the sky look different or is it just a change in temps that tell you Fall, Winter, or Spring are on their way? What is each season like? What's the sky look like, does the foliage change, are the changes in temps gradual or quick? Tell me what it's like to live up North and experience the different seasons. Finally, tell me all about Winter, I want to hear about snow, ice, sleet, driving conditions, snow tires and plows, winter clothes, types of heating, ect. What is it like to live in a cold climate? Thanks everyone, I hope this thread wasn't too wierd, I've never experienced many of the things that are just part of everyday life up North.
Late September/early October Fall starts appearing. Leaves start changing color, a crispness fills the morning air. Temps here seem to go from mid to low 80's then BOOM down below 60. Seventies here aren't that common. If it's 70 something, usually it's raining. I don't like fall. Everything green starts turning brown--the grass, leaves, trees, shrubs. Plus we start heading toward standard time, which I hate. I prefer more daylight hours in the evening after work rather than the morning before work.
The first snowfall usually occurs around Halloween. Not necessarily a huge storm but just that reminder to winterize your sprinkling system and put away your lawnmower & garden hoses. Some Thanksgivings can be quite snowy.
Snow puts me in a Christmas shopping mood. Otherwise, I think I'd just dread Christmas shopping even more. My favorite part of Christmas is the music. I usually start listening to that after the first snowfall.
Snow is beautiful as long as you don't have to shovel it or drive in it. The snow removal efforts in my area are great. I'm sure our state's budget has quite a bit of money budgeted for snow removal. A rear wheel drive car is not your friend in the snow. My car has traction control and anti-lock brakes which help with winter driving. I don't have snow tires on my car. I am a Utah native and have driven in many a winter. There have been huge (20+ inches) snow storms where just leaving your driveway is a challenge. That's when you rely on neighbors helping each other out and checking on each other to see that they have heat & food.
Although we do have the wet, heavy snow, Utah is known for having wonderful powdery snow that skiiers and snowboarders love. I'm neither, but my nephews sure love it. Plus it's easier to shovel light powdery snow. It takes about 20" of powdery snow to equal one inch of precipitation. Utah is the second driest state in the nation behind Nevada.
I fired up my forced air gas furnace in October this year. It really dries out the air in my house so I run a humidifer to help with static electricity and to keep the air a little more moist. Sore throats/coughs are aggrevated by the very dry air so the humidifier helps with that too.
Late October is when I put away the shorts and tank tops and bring out the sweaters and long sleeved shirts. Time to switch from a jacket to a coat and scarf. Gloves come out at the beginning of December or when I need to wear them to run the snow thrower.
Well, I don't live in the north, but there's my two cents.
Come visit. You might like to experience this first hand.
Oh, a humid summer/spring day here is when the humidity gets above 40%. I don't know how people can live in 90+ degree weather with humidity over 40%. UGH! Too sticky for my liking.
Our regular July weather is quite similar to Miami in January, only with 15+ hour long days; sunrise before 6 am, sunset after 9pm.
Our Spring and Fall weather normally feels like your coldest days of the year.
Fall sometime arrives suddenly; probably just like a cold-snap in a South Florida winter... Only it stays longer.
If we get a warm up, the warm up usually only lasts a day or two and then goes back to the "South Florida cold-snap" weather.
The ground, mud, dirt and lawns go "rock-hard" after they freeze in winter;
as a kid it's easy to notice the loss of "cushioning" when jumping.
As the ground warms up again, this results in minor flooding, puddles and squishy lawns,
as the top layer is saturated with water, but it can't be absorbed since a few inches down, it is still solid ice.
Since I live in a predominantly deciduous area, Spring can be breath-taking.
Once the highs warm past 55 F, there are very slow, subtle changes every day.
Once the highs reach 65 F, the changes become more rapid.
*But Spring in the visual-sense doesn't normally happen until after Easter.
(probably retarded by the frozen ground and the cold Great Lakes)
Sometime in late-April to Mother's Day, we first start to get our "taste of summer" weather, with 2+ days straight of 70-85 F.
It tends to be unpredictable just how warm it will get, and how long the warmth will last.
Our temps start to stabilize around late-May, and are fully-stable as summer by mid-late June.
First taste of Fall usually happens in Late-September but it warms up after that.
Fall usually sets in sometime in October.
The leaves usually fall off sometime in November and can linger into December.
High temps vary from the 80's (early Fall) to 30's (late Fall).
Low temps vary from the 70's (early Fall) to the 20's (late Fall).
The sun sets before 5:00 PM.
Winter:
First taste of Winter usually occurs in Late-November or Early/Mid-December.
Just Like Fall, the sun sets before 5:00 PM.
High temps usually vary from the 30's to the 60's/70's.
Low temps usually vary from the 10's to the 50's.
Our first snowfall can happen anytime between November or even later on in January.
Precipitation is usually rain since our average high is in the low/mid-40's.
Spring:
First taste of Spring can happen as early as January but is typically in February or early-March.
High temps can vary from the 30's (March) to the 90's (all Spring months) and even the 100's (June).
Low temps can vary from the 20's (March) to the 60's/70's (May/June).
The trees bloom in April.
Longer days.
Last snowfall and Last freeze usually happen in March.
Strong/Severe Thunderstorms occur.
Summer:
First taste of Summer can happen in April but is usually in May.
High temps vary from the 80's to the 100's.
Low temps vary from the upper-60's to mid-80's.
The sun sets around 8:00 PM.
High Humidity/Dew Points on a lot of days (not that foggy humidity though).
Strong/Severe Thunderstorms occur.
Most of the time I found the Summers here to be similar to Central Florida's.
Most people here have done a very good job of giving you a great insight to living further north!
It really varies quite a bit even within a state! I live by Lake Michigan in NE Wisconsin, on what I call a little bump out! In summer, we would rarely see a 90 degree day or even high 80's but a town just west or south of me might see several 90's. However, the humidity can be high 80s or even 90%.
Our spring arrives late, we really can't plant a garden or annuals until the very end of May. We can get nice weather in the end of April or early May but there is also the risk of frost. Leaves aren't popping out on the trees until late May. In shady areas in a heavy forest, snow on the ground even in May. We also get a great deal of fog in spring, as well as in the fall.
Summer is too short here for some people, an acquired taste, I guess. Lake Michigan doesn't warm up until late July, August, using the term warm rather loosely. It isn't like the ocean in the Caribbean, or the Gulf side more like the Atlantic further north (above Daytona).
September was awesome this year, above normal temps but our June had been cool, October was cool also and then November was 10 degrees above normal. The midwest is like that, especially by the lake, never predictable year to year or even month to month. I like it for this reason, I would never be happy with day after day same weather.
Usually sometime in September we start to notice a slight chill in the air. The first few times temperatures fall into the 40s, it feels quite cold! September/October can be a little confusing since mornings feel so cold, but by afternoon it can be 75 degrees out and feel hot in the sun.
But by middle to late October, normally temperatures are in the 50s and 60s. The air feels so refreshing during the fall.
By December we usually have at least a little snow and temperatures get noticeably colder (we're lucky if it gets out of the 30s). December-March are usually cold/snowy/icy/rainy. There usually it some sort of "thaw" in January or February (where temperatures warm up into the 50s or maybe even 60s). A couple years ago it reached 70 in the middle of January!
Usually by late March, early April, the days begin to get warmer. Gradually it goes from the 50s to 60s to 70s. By late May it's usually safe to put away the sweaters and jackets for the summer.
I forgot to mention here in Two Rivers, around the neighborhoods, not the main road through town, we drive on snow packed streets until March, even late March.
After it snows they plow the snow to the center on the 4 lane through town so it becomes a 2 lane then late at night, early morning they come with end loaders and dump trucks to pick it up. They put it down on the beach by Lake Michigan. These snow mounds take a long time to melt in the spring!
One thing I noticed (I moved to NE Wisc. from NE Illinois), they do not leave big piles of snow on corners blocking your line of sight coming to a stop sign or signal. In Illinois, they keep plowing and putting snow on corners, eventually it is very hard to pull into traffic. During the night they come and take those piles of snow away, again down by the lake or the rivers.
Kids play outside here no matter what the weather. I've even seen kids 3 or 4 using scooters with their snow suits on, outside while their parents are shoveling. Families walk here, even in winter, moms, dads and the kids, all bundled up and out enjoying the weather.
Infamous, I think you live in a different NYC...
Mine doesn't have highs in the 70's and lows in the 50s in the winter
I recall a few 70 degree days in my NYC, the 50 degree lows occur but are typically accompanied by clouds & rain.
Both are somewhat rare but not unheard of, maybe I'm just thinking of March (which is mostly a Winter month), I meant to change it from "usually vary" to "can vary".
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