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Post by desiccatedi85 on Apr 18, 2022 19:12:31 GMT -5
Indeed. Likewise here, the Appalachians do not block heat but rather encourage it on their leeward slope (ie the East Coast) due to föhn effects. The hottest heat waves here come with hot, dry, downsloping westerly winds. I sit on the coast at 41N, and I have hotter record high temperatures than the region to the immediate west of the Appalachians at my same latitude. Part of that is function of elevation, Des Moines and Omaha are certainly hotter in summer than NYC Des Moines and Omaha aren't hotter than NYC even in summer, though of course UHI is to blame partly. Record highs sure, you're right. For summer averages, however, it's a different story. Using 1991-2020 normals, here are summer average highs/lows for the 3 locations.
Des Moines (June, July, August, Mean) | 81.9F/62.4F | 85.6F/66.4F | 83.6F/64.2F | 83.7F/64.3F
Omaha (June, July, August, Mean) | 84.4/63.4F | 88.1F/68.0F | 85.8F/65.6F | 86.1F/65.7F
NYC (June, July, August, Mean) | 81.1F/65.7F | 86.4F/71.9F | 84.5F/71.0F | 83.9F/69.5F
However, my main point was that NYC has hotter all-time records, in basically all months, than cities directly west of the Appalachians on its same latitude, such as Pittsburgh and Columbus. I was not referring to cities in the Plains. In other words, my original point is that the western slope of the Appalachians, due to being windward and lacking föhn effects, has lower record (and average) highs when compared with the eastern slope.
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Post by srfoskey on Apr 18, 2022 21:25:35 GMT -5
Mountains can block cold, but that cuts both ways. For example, the Appalachians can block cold air coming from the west, but they can also trap cold air coming from the northeast, in what is known as cold air damming. The Rockies don't really block the cold, because cold can come south from Canada.
Mountains can also dramatically block cold in summer. There is a reason San Fransisco has chilly summers, while summers are quite hot in Sacramento.
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Post by firebird1988 on Apr 19, 2022 6:29:14 GMT -5
Part of that is function of elevation, Des Moines and Omaha are certainly hotter in summer than NYC Des Moines and Omaha aren't hotter than NYC even in summer, though of course UHI is to blame partly. Record highs sure, you're right. For summer averages, however, it's a different story. Using 1991-2020 normals, here are summer average highs/lows for the 3 locations.
Des Moines (June, July, August, Mean) | 81.9F/62.4F | 85.6F/66.4F | 83.6F/64.2F | 83.7F/64.3F
Omaha (June, July, August, Mean) | 84.4/63.4F | 88.1F/68.0F | 85.8F/65.6F | 86.1F/65.7F
NYC (June, July, August, Mean) | 81.1F/65.7F | 86.4F/71.9F | 84.5F/71.0F | 83.9F/69.5F
However, my main point was that NYC has hotter all-time records, in basically all months, than cities directly west of the Appalachians on its same latitude, such as Pittsburgh and Columbus. I was not referring to cities in the Plains. In other words, my original point is that the western slope of the Appalachians, due to being windward and lacking föhn effects, has lower record (and average) highs when compared with the eastern slope.
You and alex keep focusing on mean temps, I was specifically referencing high temps |
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Post by alex992 on Apr 19, 2022 12:51:54 GMT -5
Des Moines and Omaha aren't hotter than NYC even in summer, though of course UHI is to blame partly. Record highs sure, you're right. For summer averages, however, it's a different story. Using 1991-2020 normals, here are summer average highs/lows for the 3 locations.
Des Moines (June, July, August, Mean) | 81.9F/62.4F | 85.6F/66.4F | 83.6F/64.2F | 83.7F/64.3F
Omaha (June, July, August, Mean) | 84.4/63.4F | 88.1F/68.0F | 85.8F/65.6F | 86.1F/65.7F
NYC (June, July, August, Mean) | 81.1F/65.7F | 86.4F/71.9F | 84.5F/71.0F | 83.9F/69.5F
However, my main point was that NYC has hotter all-time records, in basically all months, than cities directly west of the Appalachians on its same latitude, such as Pittsburgh and Columbus. I was not referring to cities in the Plains. In other words, my original point is that the western slope of the Appalachians, due to being windward and lacking föhn effects, has lower record (and average) highs when compared with the eastern slope.
You and alex keep focusing on mean temps, I was specifically referencing high temps Well, mean temps are the one way of referencing if a place is truly hotter or colder than another place. High temps alone don't tell the whole story. |
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