Let’s argue about the weather

[hilldweller]

Conventional wisdom here in New England is that the weather is often unpredictable, which is true, but I tend to think this is a nicer way of saying “the weather often sucks”. While it is nice to experience all four seasons, colder weather and excessive precipitation often tend to ruin winter and spring, at least in my estimation. Then, once summer supposedly arrives after Memorial Day, it is common to experience days like today (in the 50s and raining like hell). Summer is a mixed bag; usually pleasant but not without, at some point, a brutal heat wave with Texas-like humidity levels. Sometime around late August/early-September things start to turn with the payoff being magnificent fall weather until around Thanksgiving or so.

I would probably rate New England weather as a 5 on a scale from 1 to 10 (with 10 being the best), northern N.E. is probably a 4 (it’s colder up there). Southern California weather is probably a natural 10, but factoring in the smog reduces its score to 8.5. I give Texas a 3 since the heat is too unbearable. Florida scores pretty highly for me at a 7 since December-May are so great down there; I don’t deduct any points for tropical weather/ hurricanes since with climate changes all bets are off and the entire east coast is imperiled. Ursus-land gets an 8 due to the dry heat and ample sunshine. Otis-land gets a 2 because Otis is my Cyburbia nemesis. Buffalo gets a 4, with an extra point awarded because it is the hometown of Our Dear Leader.

[luckless pedestrian]

I lift my head from the pillow and then
fall again
with a shiver in my bones
just thinking
about the weather!

[ursus]

I never believed people about the "dry heat" thing until I lived in Argentina on the coast and felt like I couldn't BREATHE. I remember a summer day, suffocating stillness, sweat pouring off of me and learning that it was....84 degrees. WTF? I've been through summers where it's 105 for days!



What do you rate really northern areas like Montana (otterpop-land)? My challenge with going north of my location but in my climate is the shorter seasons for good weather.....when does spring come to someplace the upper peninsula of Michigan, for example? Or Maine? LP?

[dvdneal]

I have to give Arizona (sub Ursus land) an 8, it's nice and warm except one or two months that are hot.
Kansas, so far I'll give it a 5. It has all four seasons, the weather is not to hot or cold, but there are those pesky tornados.
I can give Charleston a 7, it was nice except the humidity.
For those up in Chicagoland I'll give you a 4, it's just to damn cold, but I hear Buffalo is worse.

[hilldweller]

I never believed people about the "dry heat" thing until I lived in Argentina on the coast and felt like I couldn't BREATHE. I remember a summer day, suffocating stillness, sweat pouring off of me and learning that it was....84 degrees. WTF? I've been through summers where it's 105 for days!



What do you rate really northern areas like Montana (otterpop-land)? My challenge with going north of my location but in my climate is the shorter seasons for good weather.....when does spring come to someplace the upper peninsula of Michigan, for example? Or Maine? LP?

otterpop-land gets a 6

lp-land gets a 4

Maister-land gets a 5

RJ/ZG-land gets a 7

[Mud Princess]

...What do you rate really northern areas like Montana (otterpop-land)? My challenge with going north of my location but in my climate is the shorter seasons for good weather.....when does spring come to someplace the upper peninsula of Michigan, for example? Or Maine? LP?

When we vacationed in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia years ago, it was Memorial Day weekend in the U.S., but spring had barely begun up there. We went hiking and the trails were literally covered in moose poop exposed under the recently-melted snowpack. Very few tourists around.

[Vancity]

otterpop-land gets a 6

lp-land gets a 4

Maister-land gets a 5

RJ/ZG-land gets a 7

Florida only gets a 7? Isn't it just always hot and amazing there, no winter?
I guess there are hurricanes...

Mmmm I wish I lived in California... weather-wise. Or Australia...

[hilldweller]

Florida only gets a 7? Isn't it just always hot and amazing there, no winter?
I guess there are hurricanes...

Mmmm I wish I lived in California... weather-wise. Or Australia...

FL would've scored higher if not for the intense humidity. I think Australia might be hotter than anywhere in the U.S.

[Brocktoon]

FL would've scored higher if not for the intense humidity. I think Australia might be hotter than anywhere in the U.S.

FL only gets a 7 if you live on the coast...if you are the interior of the state like Orlando then its a 4 unless you like to sweat like a whore on nickel night.

[Vancity]

FL would've scored higher if not for the intense humidity. I think Australia might be hotter than anywhere in the U.S.

yeahhhhh bring on the dry sickening death heat. Thats how I like it. I grew up in BC's interior, they have the hottest summers in Canada there I believe, well into the 40's at the height of it now-a-days, mmmm I love baking in the sun, but then the winters are freezing. Not much of that to be had here on the coast though. I'd still rate the coast a 6 for never going below 0, I havn't seen real snow here since 2008. And I don't mind the rain, it greens things up.

[Richmond Jake]

You can't give a single rating to states such as Florida and California. I'll give some examples...

Key West FL - 10
Marco Island FL - 10
South Beach - 10
Central inland peninsula FL - (Can't give it a rating. I sleep with a woman who was born and raised there.)
Space Coast FL - 8
Big Bend FL - 6
Coastal Panhandle FL - 7
Inland Panhandle FL - 4

San Diego CA - 10
Los Angeles CA - 9
San Francisco CA - 3 to 7 (think the Sunset District to Nob Hill)
Central Coast (Santa Cruz to Santa Barbara counties) - 7
Sacramento/Central Valley - 3 (generous rating)
Emerald Triangle CA (Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte counties) - 5 to 6
Sonoma and Marin CA counties - 8
Northeast Modoc County CA - 1


As an added bonus...

North Idaho - negative 14

[Vancity]

Sacramento/Central Valley - 3 (generous rating)
Northeast Mono County CA - 1

Why so low for these places?

[Richmond Jake]

Sacramento/Central Valley - 3 (generous rating)
Northeast Mono County CA - 1

Why so low for these places?

Valley: Spring Tule Fog. Hot, dry summers. Dusty. Flat--except for the Sutter Buttes.
Modoc - Mid-latitude, high altitude desert. Hot summers. Cold winters. Ugly landscape.

[Zoning Goddess]

Florida only gets a 7? Isn't it just always hot and amazing there, no winter?
I guess there are hurricanes...

It's not all palm trees down here. It snows (occasionally) as far south as central FL, we have cold (for us) winters; here in the panhandle, two years ago, we had 2 straight weeks of below freezing temps. We have 4-5 times more freezing temps here than in central FL, and it's only a couple hours south of us.

[Raf]

Sacramento/Central Valley - 3 (generous rating)

Dude you can't clump the entire valley as a 3. There has to be a breakdown of the valley for a weather assessment:

Northern Sacramento Valley (Redding to Live Oak) - 3 (fog during the winter, at freezing temps, hot during the summer lack of a delta breeze
Central Valley (sacramento to merced) 6 (fog during the winter, some nights that are cold, hot during the summer, but delta breeze can cool things off at night)
Southern San Joaquin Valley (fresno, to the grapevine)- 2 (hot, foggy, dusty, LA smog and no breeze)

[Richmond Jake]

Dude you can't clump the entire valley as a 3. There has to be a breakdown of the valley for a weather assessment:

Northern Sacramento Valley (Redding to Live Oak) - 3 (fog during the winter, at freezing temps, hot during the summer lack of a delta breeze
Central Valley (sacramento to merced) 6 (fog during the winter, some nights that are cold, hot during the summer, but delta breeze can cool things off at night)
Southern San Joaquin Valley (fresno, to the grapevine)- 2 (hot, foggy, dusty, LA smog and no breeze)

So we average the Big Valley a 3.66? I wasn't that far off with my original assessment. In any case, I'd never anywhere live between Yreka or the Grapevine (sorry, TO).

[rcgplanner]

I strongly dislike heat and humidity so keep it in mind when reading my ratings. All the places I have lived and remember:

Upstate SC - 5: hot and humid summers, but close enough to the mountains to get a cool day every once in a while. Mild and fairly long spring and fall. Cool winters, with cold snaps and snow/ice thrown in every once in a while.
Southern Minnesota - 6: Mainly dependent on the length and severity of the winter. Southern Minnesota can also get brually hot and humid in the peak of the summer, but these heat waves are usually short lived and cool fronts that drop things into the low 70's are common. Fall is usually short, but the 2 months of 40's and 50's and bright sunshine is amazing.
Central Illinois - 6.5: Less harsh winters, but hotter and more humid summers than Southern Minnesota. Fall is nice and lasts a bit longer than Minnesota.
Southeast Texas - 3: Hot and humid nearly year around, only get about 6 week break from the humidity (and the bugs) from New Years until Valentine's Day. Late fall and winter can be nice with days mostly in the 60's and 70's, although Christmas can often be in the 80's The humidity and heat make SE Texas an unplesant place to live if you don't like hot and humid weather.
Central Coast of California - 7.5 or 8: This is only with 6 months experience living here and talking with my co-workers. Overall the Central Coast have nearly perfect temperatures with highs rarely going below 50 or above the low 80's, nights rarely drop below the upper 20's and nearly ever exceed 65. Areas further inland can get very warm to hot and it is not unheard of to have a 30-40 degree temperature spread across the area, with 100 inland and 60 or 65 at the coast. My apartment doesn't have or really need AC except on a rare warm day (if my apartment had better circulation I would never need it). Any heat waves are short, usually less than a few days before the marine layer kicks back in, and strangely come in the fall here. The marine layer and fog can be a buzzkill this time of year. We tried to go to the beach on Saturday but the marine layer was strong and held the temp in the low 60's. Rain only falls during the late fall to early spring time frame. By June, things are getting pretty dusty which isn't great. Overall the weather here is great, but it isn't rainbows and unicorns all the time.

[hilldweller]

I give central VA a 7, but reserve the right to revise this score after the winter. Sort of an Indian summer vibe here as opposed to full-on fall typically experienced in New England around this time. Not much foliage yet, maybe fall is just delayed the further south you get?

[Whose Yur Planner]

I give central VA a 7, but reserve the right to revise this score after the winter. Sort of an Indian summer vibe here as opposed to full-on fall typically experienced in New England around this time. Not much foliage yet, maybe fall is just delayed the further south you get?

The only way you can tell it's fall down where I live, which is pretty far south, is the stores start putting out northern style fall decorations, pumpkins and some of the leave start to turn. There are a few fall festivals, but it more a vibe of we are finally able to get outside after 5 months of intense heat and humidity.

[beach_bum]

I give central VA a 7, but reserve the right to revise this score after the winter. Sort of an Indian summer vibe here as opposed to full-on fall typically experienced in New England around this time. Not much foliage yet, maybe fall is just delayed the further south you get?

Yes it is delayed as you get further south. Fall foliage doesn't really get started until late October here in Centeral NC, peaking mid November. This year I feel like it will be a little earlier due to the not so hot summer and temps already cooling off a night for several weeks now.

[Planit]

I give central VA a 7, but reserve the right to revise this score after the winter. Sort of an Indian summer vibe here as opposed to full-on fall typically experienced in New England around this time. Not much foliage yet, maybe fall is just delayed the further south you get?

Boy are you in for it. The mountains around central VA will begin to get very colorful soon. Fall is great in the southern Appalachians. Run up on the BRParkway or Skyline if you can.

[otterpop]

Of course I love Montana - I would give it a 9 most of the year, except in February, which I would give a 4 and March and April, maybe a 5. I live in an especially sunny part of the state, so the weather even in winter is fairly mild, given the latitude.

The Deep South, I would give a 5. Lived about half my life there. Too hot and humid. Hurricanes (don't you think God is trying to tell you something?)

The Southwest (AZ, NM, Utah and west Texas) about a 6 - not a fan of the desert

Nevada - a 3 (there is a reason we tested nuclear weapons there, i.e. no one thought it was much of a loss )

The Northwest - 8 west of the rain shadow, 6 east of the rain shadow.

Eastern Tennessee and west North Carolina - 9 - mountains, cold rivers, humid but not too humid.

Northeast - haven't spent any time there really

[kjel]

I will rate the few places I have lived....

Portland-6...mostly because it's drizzly and gray a lot from October to April, but the weather is mostly mild.
Urban NJ-5...hot and humid in the summer, snow December-February, we get the tail end of hurricanes as well.
Coastal NJ-7...not overly hot or humid, always a good breeze
Upstate SC-5...hot and humid in summer, dry and cold in winter
Livingston/Bozeman MT-4....summers are great, winters suck (I really don't like the cold)

[michaelskis]

What do you rate really northern areas like Montana (otterpop-land)? My challenge with going north of my location but in my climate is the shorter seasons for good weather.....when does spring come to someplace the upper peninsula of Michigan, for example? Or Maine? LP?

The UP of Michigan gets spring in Late April. But as some point it just transistors from spring into fall without much (if any of a summer). I know many people who will turn their heat on in September and turn it off sometime in mid May.

The lower peninsula gets a summer, but I think that the weather extremes can be grater... 10 below in the winter and 100 at some point in the summer.

I give MI a 3...