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Where, if anywhere, in the US do you think is the best place to go for a winter with lots of snow and fairly consistent snow cover, but also a warm spring and summer, with summer high temps averaging well into the 80s? I am having trouble thinking of such a place.
Put another way, is there anywhere in the US that you can see snow such as in Cambium's pics every winter, but still have summer every year?
Most of Upstate NY and Northern New England have a combination of "real" summers and winters IMO. The same could go for Northern Michigan, Minnesota, and North Dakota. While the upper midwest may not get many jackpot snowfalls, there's a good chance that any snow that does fall will stick around for a while. Summers in these places are generally above 75 F, many into the 80s. Traverse City, MI for example averages 100 inches of snow annual and has a July average high of 80 F. Other select cities include Syracuse, NY, Minneapolis, MN, and Fargo, ND.
Parts of North Dakota are good, as is Minneapolis, parts of Michigan, and parts of New England. Some spots in the Black Hills may be good, but I'm not sure about reliable snow cover (at any rate they have both bigger storms and more reliable snowcover than the Mid-Atlantic gets). It depends on how far into the 80's you want, but there are a few such places. It also depends on what you define as consistent snow cover. Looser definitions may even include Chicago and Des Moines, although I don't think this is what you meant. There are plenty of places that have summer and also have a real winter; the entirety of the Upper Midwest and northern New England, for example. Houghton, Michigan is a prime example. Northwest-facing slopes in the mountains of northwestern Maine may be even better, with summer temperatures in the 70's and probably averaging over 200 inches of snow per year. Unfortunately the area is very sparsely populated, and there are no weather records for those mountains.
In general lake-effect zones such as parts of Upstate New York may be your best bet if you want hot summers as well (instead of just having summer), along with perhaps North Dakota and parts of the Black Hills.
If you define a warm Spring as March, April, and May mostly being above 60F, there are no such places, at least in the U.S. (parts of Central Asia may have this). The transition from a real winter to a summer in the 80's doesn't lend itself to that sort of warmth, at least not until May.
I remember in 2010, Philly had 76 inches of snow, followed by 55 days of 90+ degrees in the summer. Both were records. It was crazy but certainly not boring!
I am looking up the climate statistics for some of these locations in the midwest and also near the great lakes. North Dakota is crazy! I knew it got really cold there in the winter but i did not realize it warms up a lot in the spring and summer. Parts of Minnesota are also warmer than i realized in the summer.
Upstate NY and Northern New England in my view are a bit winter dominated climates and have a shoulder season and summer cooler than the OP is looking for. The Midwest west of the Great Lakes is a better choice though the shoulder season is rather cool:
I think the colorado mountains have what you're looking for. Very real winter with a spring and summer that start much earlier than northern new england. Even with snow still on the ground, temps have reached into the 60's as early as march.
In upstate NY, Dec-March are the real winter months. Nov and April are cool (temps 50s/40s) but not cold. May-September temps are in mid 70 - mid 80s. October in 60s.
I am looking up the climate statistics for some of these locations in the midwest and also near the great lakes. North Dakota is crazy! I knew it got really cold there in the winter but i did not realize it warms up a lot in the spring and summer. Parts of Minnesota are also warmer than i realized in the summer.
Ah, so I see that a strong summer will sort of fit in perfectly with your idea of a warm Spring. I understand now.
I will say that Minneapolis is a very respectable four-season climate, much more so than popular culture gives it credit for. I'd put it up there as a shining example, though of a bit different variety than the classic, even four-season climates (Chicago and Des Moines). The difference is that the Twin Cities have a stronger winter than these two, and it has a weaker, though still 80+, summer.
Look for Koeppen Dfa climates for stuff like this, since the climate that fits your criteria will certainly be one of these. The closer you get to the center of North America, the more continentality and seasonal variation you'll find. There's certainly significantly more seasonality in the Plains than in the East Coast selection (Vermont vs. Pennsylvania for example).
The OP was looking for climates in the United States that have a real summer and a real winter, but I agree that Asia and Russia, with the bigger seasonality, offers more extreme and more numerous climates that fit this description. Some of these are really dry, but it varies a lot. Parts of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan do receive significant moisture, whereas some parts of China that receive temperatures reminiscent of Nova Scotia are among the driest places on the planet (think 1 inch/yr). Parts of Russia fall into this "Central Asian" category.
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