United States of America Weather & Climate

Weather & Climate

The United States covers a very large area and has some very diverse geography and so the weather is also very diverse. overall most of the country can be classified as temperate, although Hawaii and Florida have a tropical climate. In general on mainland USA the west and southern parts of the country are warmer than the eastern and northern parts of the country.

The north western states including, Oregon and Washington have relatively mild summers and winters compared to much of the country. The rainfall is also generally experienced as light precipitation and occurs throughout the year. This area has the highest rainfalls in the country.Overall the weather is similar to Britain. Some of the mountains have snow throughout the year, and the winters are the wettest months. The variation between summer and winter is small owing to the influence of the pacific ocean. Average winter minimums are around two degrees celcius and average summer maximums in the low twenties.

The northern interior states or Midwest area is made up of extensive plainlands. It has cold winters and warm summers and also experiences periods of drought and heatwaves. Winter minimums are typically below zero degrees celcius and summer highs will average almost 30 degrees celcius.

New England in the north east of the country has more changable weather and can have impressive heat waves in the high 30's and some very cold period in winter. It has precipitation of moderate levels throughout the year. The region experiences average winter minimums of just below zero to several degrees below zero and summer highs in the high 20's to low 30's.

The southern Atlantic states covers a large range of conditions particularly in winter and goes from tropical in the South of Florida to conditions more similar to New England in the Northern parts of Virginia and West Virginia. Interestingly Florida in the south doesn't experience the same highs as some of the more northern parts in summer owing to the influence of the surrounding Atlantic waters. Overall this is the sunniest region of the eastern United States and Florida has particularly sunny and pleasant winters, as it receives most of it's rainfall in summer. Miami in Florida has average winter temperatures minimums around 16 degrees celcius and average summer maximums just over 30 degrees. Further north average winter minimums are in the mid to low single digits with similar summer maximums sitting just over 30 degrees.

The southern interior and gulf states have quite similar conditions to the midwest, however being more southerly they are warmer. Winters are mild with the exception of sporadic burst of cold weather and the occasional frost or snowfall. The eastern part of the region is much wetter than the west, most of the rain comes in the summer months, frequently in the form of thunderstorms. There is some significant variations in the temperatures around the region with average summer maximums ranging from the high 20's to high 30's and average winter minimums somewhere between zero and approaching minus 10 degrees celcius.

California has it's own weather patterns and can be thought of as a mediterranean climate. Most of California experiences mild wet winters and warm dry summers. Coastal areas tend to have cooler summers and San Francisco in particular has quite cool summers. Coastal areas experience average summer maximums in the mid twenties and average winter minimums around eight degrees celcius. Inland the highs and lows are more extreme with summer maximums averaging in the high thirties and minimums in winter in the low single digits.

Alaska is a special case and has a sub polar or arctic climate. The mountains have snow all year round and large glaciers abound in the mountainous areas. Much of the region has a similar climate to Norway. Winter minimums are well below zero and can average from fifteen below to more than thirty below. Average summer maximums can be as low as 6 or 8 degrees however in some areas can be as high as the low twenties.

Hawaii is also out of the ordinary and is a group of tropical islands in the pacific. There is minimal variation over the year in temperature. The islands experience relatively high rainfall and some of the mountains are among the wettest places in the world, however some places are much drier. All year round average minimums are just above 20 degrees and average maximums in the high twenties.