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Post by tommyFL on May 17, 2021 16:35:48 GMT -5
What criteria does a climate need to meet to get an A grade from you?
For me:
Coldest month highs between 50 F (10 C) and 60 F (16 C)
Coldest month lows between 30 F (-1 C) and 40 F (4 C)
Warmest month highs between 80 F (27 C) and 90 F (32 C)
Warmest month lows between 60 F (16 C) and 70 F (21 C)
At least 3" (76 mm) of precipitation in each summer month
At least 1" (25 mm) of precipitation in each non-summer month
Between 30" (762 mm) and 50" (1270 mm) of annual precipitation
A record low at least 25 F (14 C) colder than the average low in the coldest month
At least 2500 annual sunshine hours
That restricts A climates (that I have found) to the southeast US, in the states of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
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Post by St. Middleway on May 17, 2021 16:41:27 GMT -5
Coldest month average high between 17-22°C
Coldest month average low between 5-12°C
Coldest month 0-20mm of rain
Coldest month 200+ sunshine hours
Warmest month average high between 25-28°C
Warmest month average low between 18-22°C
Warmest month 200-250mm precip with thunderstorms
Warmest month 250-300 sunshine hours
Total annual rainfall between 600-900mm with summer peak
Total annual sunshine at least 2000 hours to a max of 3000 hours
Annual mean temp between 16-19°C
Annual thunderstorm days >50
A bit revised from when I did my Dream Climate back in February.
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Post by Metsfan257 on May 17, 2021 17:10:37 GMT -5
- Coldest month average high of 47-57 - Coldest month average low of 33-43 - Hottest month average high of 80-90
- Hottest month average low of 65-75 - At least 5 months with average highs of 70+
- More than 4" of rain in each of the 3 coldest months
- Less than 2" of rain in each of the 3 hottest months - 20-70" of annual precipitation
- 1-2 snowfalls per winter
- No record lows below 10 - No freezing temps ever for 7 months of the year
- Record highs above 100
- Annual mean temp between 55-65
These A grade climates are pretty rare, restricted to parts of the Mediterranean Basin, Caspian Sea, California, and Chile.
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Post by trolik on May 17, 2021 17:20:29 GMT -5
very similar to @meteomanic
1) Coolest month avg high = 17-22°C
2) Coolest month avg low = ≥7°C
3) Warmest month avg high = 27-31°C
4) Warmest month avg low = 17-23 °C
5) Lowest temp = ≥-3°C (this should be a one off and the mean minimum should not approach this)
6) Highest temp = ≥38°C
7) Avg diurnal range = ≤12°C
8) Coolest month avg rain = 25-100mm
9) Warmest month avg rain = 50-250mm
10) Total rainfall = 750-1500mm
11) There should be a summer peak, although a winter peak isn't the end of the world if there's adequate summer rainfall
12) Cloudiest month = ≥180 hrs
13) Warmest month = ≥260 hrs
14) Total annual sun = ≥2700 hrs
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Post by tommyFL on May 17, 2021 17:28:00 GMT -5
- Coldest month average high of 47-57 - Coldest month average low of 33-43 - Hottest month average high of 80-90
- Hottest month average low of 65-75 - At least 5 months with average highs of 70+
- More than 4" of rain in each of the 3 coldest months
- Less than 2" of rain in each of the 3 hottest months - 20-70" of annual precipitation
- 1-2 snowfalls per winter
- No record lows below 10 - No freezing temps ever for 7 months of the year
- Record highs above 100
- Annual mean temp between 55-65
These A grade climates are pretty rare, restricted to parts of the Mediterranean Basin, Caspian Sea, California, and Chile.
Nothing in CA matches this description. |
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Post by Metsfan257 on May 17, 2021 17:35:46 GMT -5
- Coldest month average high of 47-57 - Coldest month average low of 33-43 - Hottest month average high of 80-90
- Hottest month average low of 65-75 - At least 5 months with average highs of 70+
- More than 4" of rain in each of the 3 coldest months
- Less than 2" of rain in each of the 3 hottest months - 20-70" of annual precipitation
- 1-2 snowfalls per winter
- No record lows below 10 - No freezing temps ever for 7 months of the year
- Record highs above 100
- Annual mean temp between 55-65
These A grade climates are pretty rare, restricted to parts of the Mediterranean Basin, Caspian Sea, California, and Chile.
Nothing in CA matches this description. I suppose you are right, the summers are too hot. Mt Wilson (https://climateatlas.org/php/viewstation.php?station=USC00046006) likely fits the criteria though. The summer lows are a degree short, still that's such a minor quibble that it's an A climate. |
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Post by Benfxmth on May 18, 2021 0:55:29 GMT -5
I'm a little less strict than I was a couple of years ago, but here's my criteria. They aren't hard-and-fast and sometimes ignore certain criteria, such as the precipitation days requirement, and climates bordering on a A/B climate may still get an A from me. - An average high of above 90°F (32°C) and below 104°F (40°C) for the warmest month
- An average low of above 55°F (13°C) and below 75°F (24°C) for the warmest month
- There must be at least 2,600 sunshine hours per year
- All months must see at least 45% possible sunshine
- For an A+ grade, the average dew point in the warmest month must be below 65°F (18°C) and have an all-time record high above 113°F (45°C)
- There must be fewer than 100 precipitation days per year, but also preferably not a desert climate
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Post by caspase8 on May 18, 2021 0:57:00 GMT -5
Basic requirements: -Coldest month average high of 4C to 12C -Coldest month average low of -6C to 3C -Hottest month average high of 24C to 31C -Hottest month average low of 10C to 18C -Mean annual maximum of 33C to 41C (and at least 8C above hottest month average high) -Mean annual minimum of -15C to -5C (and 5.5C to 12C below coldest month average low) -At least 7 months with more than 60mm of precipitation, all other months above 35mm. No month with more than 300mm. -Annual precipitation 700mm to 2000mm -15cm to 150cm of snow ->15 thunderstorms per year, mainly in summer -2000 to 3000 sun hours
Great, but not required for an A grade:
-A primary precipitation peak in summer with a smaller peak in winter
-Autumn drier than spring -95 to 140 precipitation days -About 20 to 40 snowy days -Lowest winter temperatures caused by cold fronts, not radiational cooling -Relatively variable temperatures, especially in spring and summer
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Post by knot on May 18, 2021 3:16:15 GMT -5
I've got very strict requirements: Thermal (Means)• Winter monthly maxima between 5° C (41° F) and 9° C (49° F). • Winter monthly minima no colder than –3° C (27° F). • Summer monthly maxima between 27° C (80° F) and 32° C (90° F). • Summer monthly minima between 14° C (57° F) and 19° C (66° F). Thermal (Patterns) • Summer Lag; SH Feb (NH Aug) to be warmer than SH Dec (NH Jun). • "Four-Month Summers"; spanning SH Dec (NH Jun) to SH Mar (NH Sep), again following that same Summer Lag pattern. Then dropping sharply in SH Apr (NH Oct). • All three winter months to be near-equal in avg temps. • Spring to be cooler than Autumn, following a "spike and plateau" pattern; warming sharply and abruptly from SH Aug (NH Feb) to SH Sep (NH Mar), then plateauing from SH Oct (NH Apr) so to end up notably cooler than autumn. Thermal (Extremes) (Assuming PoR > 50 years)• Record high maxima between 42° C (108° F) and 48° C (118° F). • Record high minima at least 27° C (80° F). • Record low minima to be no colder than –20° C (–4° F). • Spring to be significantly more variable than Autumn. Precipitation • Annual Precipitation at least 800 mm (31.5 in). • Winter–Spring Peak: at least twice the precipitation in any Winter or Spring month, than in any Summer or Autumn month. Spring MUST be wetter than Autumn; and the driest summer month MUST be either SH Feb (NH Aug) or SH Jan (NH Jul). • Cold Fronts overwhelmingly dominant over Warm Fronts: the coldest weather must also be the wettest weather (i.e., snow/cold rain); and the warmest weather must also be the driest weather. • Precipitation days no higher than 8 in Summer and Early Autumn. Sunshine (Assuming 35°–36° S Daylight Standards)• Distinct Summer Peak: at least 280 hrs at the height of Summer; but no higher than 120 hrs in the depths of Winter. [Dream Climate Reference] |
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Post by Babu on May 18, 2021 3:42:56 GMT -5
- Coldest monthly mean is above -4'C
- Every month has at least 50% sunshine
- No winter month has more than 40mm precipitation, unless winters are warmer than a 13'C mean
- Warmest month has highs between 23'C and 26'C
- Warmest month has a mean between 17'C and 20'C
- 7 months have means above 10'C and month 4 has highs above 15'C
- Annually there's enough precipitation to support a lush vegetation with broadleaf trees
- No month has more than 12 precipitation days
A climate can still be A if it only has 5 of these 8, depending of course on the deviation amplitude on those missing points, as well as how good the other characteristics fit within their respective points.
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Post by greysrigging on May 18, 2021 4:33:16 GMT -5
Again, the A Climate is subjective, and often our personal experiences have a bit to do with our preferences or lack thereof. I've made it pretty clear in my 6 months of membership of this Forum that I don't particulary have an affinity for cold... and thats in Australia, let alone North America, Europe or Central/Northern Asia.... oh and Southern South America doesn't float my boat either....lol. And thats not to say I don't find all these other climates ( other than my own ) interesting or even good/great. Also that my brain is not really wired for fantasy or made up climates ( so I don't do the dream climate thing, but of course I have preferences ). See, I've worked in every State in Australia, and travelled the Continent extensively, but not experienced the rest of the worlds climates, so I'm sorta loath to comment by experience, but of course, the climate data stats, one can make a bit of an educated guess. My A climates are probably Far North Queensland at altitude on the Atherton Tablelands inland from Cairns. No real extremes of heat or cold or rain. Sub tropical highland between 400m and 900mm asl. Don't get me wrong....as a weather nerd/enthusiast, I love extremes, but to actually live there, well these 3 towns are pretty good ! |
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Post by Steelernation on May 18, 2021 11:52:39 GMT -5
No strict criteria but generally A climates have 40-50 f average highs in the coldest month, 86-94 f average highs in the hottest month, 12-24” of precipitation with a spring (preferably) or summer wet season. Also >20” of snow and variable records.
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Post by caspase8 on May 19, 2021 0:27:34 GMT -5
My A climates are probably Far North Queensland at altitude on the Atherton Tablelands inland from Cairns. No real extremes of heat or cold or rain. Sub tropical highland between 400m and 900mm asl. Don't get me wrong....as a weather nerd/enthusiast, I love extremes, but to actually live there, well these 3 towns are pretty good ! Herberton is a surprisingly decent climate for FNQ...it goes below freezing 1.6 times a year on average (more often than Melbourne Airport, with 1.1 freezes p/a). Summer also seems quite nice and stormy without being too hot. |
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Post by greysrigging on May 19, 2021 1:36:02 GMT -5
My A climates are probably Far North Queensland at altitude on the Atherton Tablelands inland from Cairns. No real extremes of heat or cold or rain. Sub tropical highland between 400m and 900mm asl. Don't get me wrong....as a weather nerd/enthusiast, I love extremes, but to actually live there, well these 3 towns are pretty good ! Herberton is a surprisingly decent climate for FNQ...it goes below freezing 1.6 times a year on average (more often than Melbourne Airport, with 1.1 freezes p/a). Summer also seems quite nice and stormy without being too hot. Travelling the Atherton Tablelands in July and you see smoke coming from farmhouse chimneys, cool climate crops in the fields, you could blink and be in farmland 2000klm south ! It really is an equable climate region. |
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Post by Cadeau on May 19, 2021 15:44:07 GMT -5
- Record high below 40°C
- AHS heat zones 1~3 (below 14 days of ≥30°C in a year)
- Warmest month high below 21~27°C
- Warmest month low below 10~16°C
- Annual mean of 10~14°C
- Annual precipitation of 600~1,000mm
- Dry month(≤20mm) does not extend more than 2 months
- 1,461~2,292 hours of annual sunshine (4~6 hours a day)
- Rare or non-existent thunderstorms
- Not located in the tropical highlands
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Post by chesternz on May 20, 2021 9:53:33 GMT -5
- Coldest month average high of 20+ C
- Coldest month average low of 10+ C
- Hottest month average high of 27-33 C
- Hottest month average low of 20+ C
- At least 3 months with average highs of 27+ C
- Less than 50 mm of rain in each of the 3 coldest months
- At least 150 mm of rain in each of the 3 hottest months
- 1000-2000 mm of annual precipitation
- At least 50 thunderstorm days per year
- No record lows below 0 C
- Record highs above 35 C
- Annual mean temp between 20-25 C
- Annual sunshine hours of 2700+
So, these are basically limited to the tropics and subtropics. But I would also consider some Mediterranean and (semi-)arid climates to be "A" climates even though they don't meet the precipitation and thunderstorm requirements.
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Post by srfoskey on May 21, 2021 14:15:21 GMT -5
For me:
Coldest month highs between 30 F (-1 C) and 45 F (7 C)
Coldest month lows between 10 F (-12 C) and 27 F (-3 C)
Warmest month highs between 82 F (28 C) and 90 F (32 C)
Warmest month lows between 60 F (16 C) and 70 F (21 C)
At least 3" (76 mm) of precipitation in 5 warmest months
At least 1" (25 mm) (preferably 2" (51 mm)) of precipitation in other months
Between 30" (762 mm) and 60" (1524 mm) of annual precipitation
A record low between -5 F (-21 C) and -35 F (-37 C)
A record high between 105 F (41 C) and 120 F (49 C)
Between 15" (35 cm) and 48" (122 cm) of annual snow
At least 20 thunderstorm days per year (preferably 40+)
Between 2000-3000 annual sunshine hours
These aren't strict requirements, but a general outline of what an A climate would look like.
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Post by Donar on Jun 22, 2021 3:16:22 GMT -5
January high below 4°C
April high above 16 °C
May high above 21 °C
Warmest month high below 31 °C
All lows below 20 °C
All months are humid, especially Apr-Jul
no excessive rainfall in a winter month (<100 mm)
no extreme monsoon (nothing above 300 mm in a summer month)
cloudiest month below 100 hours
sunniest month above 230 hours (roughly)
Bigger cities that fully meet my criteria are Pittsburgh and Columbus; Cleveland, Indianapolis and Ljubljana are A- climates.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2021 6:06:46 GMT -5
I rate climates using a 13-point formula that returns a numerical score with the maximum value being 4.00 (a perfect climate), and I'd consider 3.30 and above to equate to the "A" rating, 3.00-3.29 being an "A-" - and while the formula is multifaceted and as such you can't really say anything is an automatic "A", there are quite a few things that high-rated climates tend to have in common:
All months' average highs at least 60 F (16 C)
All months' average lows at least 32 F (0 C)
All summer (JJA or DJF) months' average highs at least 80 F (27 C) and average lows at least 60 F (16 C)
No average highs above 98 F (37 C) or average lows above 80 F (27 C)
Mild seasonal variation, at least 10 F (6 C) between coldest and warmest months' means
Annual precipitation between 25" (640 mm) and 70" (1780 mm) (ideal value is 1200 mm)
No extreme monsoon (>200 mm) or drought (<45 mm) months
Sunshine between 1800-3600 hours per annum
Record low at least 5 F (-15 C), preferably at least 32 F (0 C), and it being just a fluke event
Record high at least 104 F (40 C)
The mean temp in the coldest month has to be between 50 F (10 C) and 80 F (27 C) for that criterion to contribute a score of 3.00 or higher; the mean temp in the warmest month has to be between 77.6 F (25.3 C) and 85.9 F (29.9 C) to do the same.
As another note about how my formula works - if the record high for the year is less than 90 F (32 C), that docks that criterion by a full 10 points, leading to a penalty of 0.77 as far as the climate goes overall. That's a pretty big drop, equivalent to almost a letter grade and a half!
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Post by Speagles84 on Jun 22, 2021 7:52:36 GMT -5
Subject to change, but roughly:
*November-March means below 32F
*December-February average highs below 25F
*Snowfall must occur in October-March
*Minimum snowfall in November-February is 10" per month
*No dry season
*"Warm" springs, Quick rise in april and May
*Tranquil summers (JJA) no month with average highs above 80F and average lows between 50-60F
*Quick drop in temperatures in September, must have average highs below 65F, lows below 45F
*Sunny in early autumn, snowy in late autumn
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Residence:
