[rnc2mbfl]

Three weeks ago I drove 800 miles north starting in Miami Beach. I left before 6AM when it was dark. I took notice at the time that my car was indicating that the outside temperature was 79 degrees at 5:45 AM. By the time I got to the WPB area, the Sun was up and the temperature had dropped 5 degrees to 74. It was a particularly interesting day because the forecast at my destination in NC was significantly cooler than my departure forecast, so I was keen on watching the outside temp as indicated by my car all day long. Who can blame me? One has to keep oneself entertained on a long boring drive. :-)

I think that, on days when the temperature difference between Florida and the rest of the Southeast are not that great, one won't find the difference between Miami and WPB to be noticeable at all. However, when Canadian Winter blasts reach deeper into the Southeast, I think most people will notice a difference between Miami and WPB.

[Hawaii4evr]

Originally Posted by hurricaneMan1992

LOL, I guess California can't be a Mediterranean climate since it's half way across the planet! Also, the top of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea are definitely tropical, never mind the tundra vegetation and snow cover in the winter.

But you have a point...Koppen classification or not, you don't often talk about freezes in *real* tropical places. The Keys are more genuinely tropical than Miami, but you really have to get into the Caribbean or Central America for *real* tropical climate. Miami and Palm Beach can be best described as borderline tropical.

That's a bit different. It can have a Mediterranean climate, but it is not located in the Mediterranean. Even then, the Mediterranean has some differences in climate than California. It is more humid in the Med and warmer ocean water during summer, whereas California has cooler summer ocean water, and not as humid. In California, the water is warmer in winter (though not warm), while the Mediterranean has cooler winter water temps. I guess this is a similar concept to SoFla, which is not in the tropics, but many say it has a tropical climate, though a different kind of tropical climate because it gets freezes. I still consider it subtropical, though.

[FlyMIA]

Originally Posted by Hawaii4evr

That's a bit different. It can have a Mediterranean climate, but it is not located in the Mediterranean. Even then, the Mediterranean has some differences in climate than California. It is more humid in the Med and warmer ocean water during summer, whereas California has cooler summer ocean water, and not as humid. In California, the water is warmer in winter (though not warm), while the Mediterranean has cooler winter water temps. I guess this is a similar concept to SoFla, which is not in the tropics, but many say it has a tropical climate, though a different kind of tropical climate because it gets freezes. I still consider it subtropical, though.

Exactly. It is very much similar as location is not the only thing that matters when dealing with climate. You are right that Miami is not as tropical as other places just as California is not as Mediterranean.

As for Miami freezes that is what once every 10-15 years?
Anyone have stats of actual freezes which have occurred in Miami. I do not think coastal Miami has had more than a few in recorded weather history.m

[Hawaii4evr]

Originally Posted by FlyMIA

Exactly. It is very much similar as location is not the only thing that matters when dealing with climate. You are right that Miami is not as tropical as other places just as California is not as Mediterranean.

As for Miami freezes that is what once every 10-15 years?
Anyone have stats of actual freezes which have occurred in Miami. I do not think coastal Miami has had more than a few in recorded weather history.m

I've heard that Miami Beach has never had a frost, but that inland areas have had some freezes.

[NowSoFlorida]

On January 19, 1977, Old Man Winter paid an unwelcomed visit to residents of Miami, Florida (yes, Florida, not Ohio) and brought along a surprise gift -- snow! For the first time in the history of the extreme south of Florida, snow danced through the air and dusted the ground briefly.

[OptimusPrime69]

Originally Posted by NowSoFlorida

On January 19, 1977, Old Man Winter paid an unwelcomed visit to residents of Miami, Florida (yes, Florida, not Ohio) and brought along a surprise gift -- snow! For the first time in the history of the extreme south of Florida, snow danced through the air and dusted the ground briefly.

Blasphemor!

[perry335654]

Originally Posted by City Guy997S

UM grad! Just like Joe Friday, "just stating the facts!"

`


So that means you went to a 3rd world university hah!!!!!!!!

[RickSantos]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime69

I know they're like 70 miles apart, but is Miami noticeably warmer than West Palm?

I used to have a friend that would say "I cant live anywhere north ofn west palm because it's too cold"

Tropicality is not determined by warmness. It is about SUNLIGHT INTENSITY AND POSITION on the earth. Washington D.C. is warm in the summer but NOWHERE NEAR TROPICAL.

[FlyMIA]

Originally Posted by RickSantos

Tropicality is not determined by warmness. It is about SUNLIGHT INTENSITY AND POSITION on the earth. Washington D.C. is warm in the summer but NOWHERE NEAR TROPICAL.

You are CORRECT! Finally. Tropicality does have to do with postion realtive to the tropics. Finally you are right in something.

Tropicality is not Tropical Climate.

[FireRat]

There is a notable difference in the coldest winter days, where both cities may differ by around 6 degrees F. However, there is a greater difference in wintertime night temperature the further inland away from the beaches you go, where Miami might drop to 49 degrees and the inland Everglades town of Ochopee, just 50 miles west-northwest of there, falling to 35 the same night! Gulfstream makes a huge difference as it passes very close to Miami itself, it's nearest point anywhere in SE florida. I live in the westernmost suburbs of Broward county, 15 miles west of Fort Lauderdale, and I usually see temperatures 10 degrees lower than in Miami during the coolest nights, and even a few degrees lower than West Palm Beach itself. Daytime temps will vary by much less however, no matter where you are in South Florida during Winter, as the sun really helps. Summers are hotter inland in contrary.

If you really want to scrutenize the dividing line of tropical/subtropical climate, it does exist above West Palm Beach, as classified by Koppen, BUT it truly runs SSW from there, cutting off all western Suburbs of the main cities into the Subtropical zone, where temps approach the 30s much more often than by the beaches on the typical colder nights of the season following the stronger fronts. A good example is the area of the Redlands in Dade County, which averages 63-64 degrees in January thanks to the noticeably cooler nighttime lows. Other examples include the Sawgrass Mills area of Broward County, and Wellington and Belle Glade in Palm Beach County, more often included in the frost and freeze advisories than the rest of Southeast Florida when the cold does arrive. As some have already posted, the climate of Miami and even Palm Beach is defined as tropical...but is the northernmost extent of such climate and might as well be called "a transitional zone", which might sound less appealing to a northern tourist hehe. Also, chopping off such a small part of the map (inland south FL) is probably complicated, so it's easier to just draw the line east to west through Lake Okeechobee lol.

Bottom Line, Miami IS more tropical than West Palm Beach, and even Fort Lauderdale for that matter, but only by little!