Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There is a hell of a lot of continental climates in China and the US that are classified as subtropical.
They would not qualify here, as the winters are too harsh.
The yearly means are brought up by hotter summers though.
Much of what is subtropical here is also referred to as temperate.
Coco palms do grow in China on Hainan, so can match the US that way. Sanya is warmer than Miami in winter and is on par with Honolulu.
sanya is tropical climate though, as is most of Hainan and Hawaii. we are comparing china and the usa's sub-tropical zone not their tropical zones(although that would be a pretty cool debate as well). And since when was the coconut considered a subtropical tree? most subtropical regions can't grow coconuts.
Have you ever spent a summer in DC, its truly tropical with excessive heat and humidity. The winters are not as bad. High temperatures are roughly equal to that in London, and DC mostly evades snowfall and usually just receives cold rain. So, with winter temperatures equal to London, and summer temperatures several degrees above, it slips into the subtropical zone.
Good job, but not hot enough to parallel Minneapolis highs during this summer. Forget matching DC and Atlanta .
But why is a hot summer more important than a mild winter? DC summers may well be hot, but a hot summer alone does not make a sub-tropical climate, DC has hot summers with cold winters, that is a continental climate... London is much milder in the winter, central London rarely drops below freezing, DC gets much colder & does get snow.
You brought up the 'never gets as hot as 90F in the UK' I was just proving you wrong, I couldn't care less how hot Minneapolis gets...
I never mentioned them being able to grow coco palms in China. I said they have a higher quality subtropical climate zone because their zone 10 goes above 30N. That means I doubt they would have thousands of citrus trees die as happened in Florida in the 80's.
btw, My understanding is that not one coconut palm survived the 1989 freeze in Brownsville. They were all wiped out as they would be with those temps.
Average highs are important though. Chongqing has an average high of 50F in January and Shanghai averages 47F. Areas around the 30 degree line in the U.S. South have average highs above 60F in January. Houston/New Orleans/Jacksonville have average highs 8-10 degrees higher from October-April. A 10 degree lead for half of the year. More heat = more growth.
Of course all the coconut palms die in a 50 year freeze in Brownsville. But the averages are what allow them to grow in between big freezes. You would have never believed a coconut could survive all day below freezing until it happened. Tropical/subtropical plants respond to warmth just as they do to cold.
Sanya is farther south than anywhere in Hawaii. 25N in Fujian has 60 degree highs in winter.
so what. it doesn't matter that china's subtropical and tropical zones are farther south, we are comparing the total area. whining that china is closer to the equator is like complaining that your neighbor has a nicer house than you because he has a better job.
But why is a hot summer more important than a mild winter? DC summers may well be hot, but a hot summer alone does not make a sub-tropical climate, DC has hot summers with cold winters, that is a continental climate... London is much milder in the winter, central London rarely drops below freezing, DC gets much colder & does snow
DC is subtropical dude. It is overall very similar to shanghai in china. If DC is continental, then so is shanghai, which distorts the basic meaning of subtropical climates.
Technically, if the average mean temperature exceeds 32 F during the coldest month, and 80 F during the hottest month, then the climate is considered subtropical. This definition is universal for identifying subtropical regions.
In my area, the average mean temperature in January 29 F, and in July, it's 77 F, clearly demarcating my town as a continental climate. We often get highs below freezing. However, lows rarely drop below 0 F. I feel such a rare event will occur this year . We are long overdue for a proper, brutal, winter.
DC is subtropical dude. It is overall very similar to shanghai in china. If DC is continental, then so is shanghai, which distorts the basic meaning of subtropical climates.
Shanghai winters are more like London's. They are MUCH milder than winters in DC. The eastern US doesn't have winter means matching London until you get down to North Carolina.
I think Shanghai winters are too cold to be subtropical, personally. Shenzhen and Hong Kong are true subtropical climates.
DC is subtropical dude. It is overall very similar to shanghai in china. If DC is continental, then so is shanghai, which distorts the basic meaning of subtropical climates.
Technically, if the average mean temperature exceeds 32 F during the coldest month, and 80 F during the hottest month, then the climate is considered subtropical. This definition is universal for identifying subtropical regions.
In my area, the average mean temperature in January 29 F, and in July, it's 77 F, clearly demarcating my town as a continental climate. We often get highs below freezing. However, lows rarely drop below 0 F. I feel such a rare event will occur this year . We are long overdue for a proper, brutal, winter.
DC isn't sub-tropical! How can a place with cold winters where you can see snowfall be sub-tropical?? Hot summers & cold winters = Continental
Shanghai is milder than DC in winter anyway...
I don't think your definition of what is sub-tropical is "universal", you only have to look at the "Does DC have a sub-tropical climate" thread to see that
And you still have not told me why you think a hot summer is more important than a mild winter to make a climate sub-tropical?? To me a climate should be warm all year round to be classed as truly sub-tropical. Somewhere that has mild/warm summers & mild/warm winters sounds far more sub-tropical like than a climate where you have hot summers & cold winters, especially ones that see snowfall. Ask anyone what they envisage a sub-tropical climate to be & 99% of people would imagine somewhere not quite tropical & somewhere that supports exotic plants/palms, DC would never come to anyone's mind!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
). And since when was the coconut considered a subtropical tree? most subtropical regions can't grow coconuts.
.
