I was not sure where to put this, and I did not see anything from a search, but I came across some interesting information on Cincinnati's climate.  Apparently, the area is in transition zone, and in many ways has characteristics of a humid subtropical climate.  Most of the state officially has a humid continental climate based on the Koppen climate classification(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koppen_climate_classification).  I also had no idea Ohio had many different geographic regions, and the southwest portion is in the bluegrass region.

 

Anyway, I had always wondered how my sister has a southern magnolia tree in Clifton, but that tree is apparently fairly common in the area and is a "subtropical indicator".  There is a map of where it grows in the US in its link below.  It is interesting to see some of the other indicators and the story behind the wall (or Lazarus) lizard - it was first established here in O'Bryonville.  I am sure some will find it boring and please move it if it should go somewhere else, but here is the topic from Wikipedia:

 

[edit] Climate

Cincinnati is located within a climatic transition zone; the area is at the extreme northern limit of the humid subtropical climate(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humid_subtropical_climate) or at the southern end of the humid continental climate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humid_continental_climate)(Koppen climate classification Cfa or Dfa), depending on the criteria used. Although technically located in the Midwest, Cincinnati also is considered to be within the periphery of the Upland South(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upland_South). The local climate basically is a blend of the subtropics to the south and the mid-latitude area to the north. Evidence of both climatic influences can be found in Cincinnati's landscape material and fauna (see: Southern magnolia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_magnolia),

Sweetgum(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweetgum),

Bald cypress(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_cypress),

Musa (genus) hardy banana(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musa_%28genus%29), crape myrtle(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crape_myrtle),

needle palm [1] [2](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needle_palm), and the common

wall lizard(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_lizard)). The USDA Climate Zone map assigns Cincinnati with a 6a/6b hardiness zone(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardiness_zone) rating (zone one being the coldest and zone 11 being the warmest). More mild "microclimates" of a 7a/b rating may be found, particularly along the Ohio River basin. Cincinnati, which is in the Bluegrass region(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluegrass_region) of the Interior Low Plateau of Ohio, generally receives less snow and has a longer growing season than much of the rest of Ohio.

 

The summers in Cincinnati generally are warm and humid with cool evenings. The mean annual temperature is 54 °F (12 °C), with an average annual snowfall of 16 inches (58.4 cm) and an average annual rainfall of 41 inches (1,040 mm). The wettest seasons are the spring and summer, although rainfall is fairly constant all year round. During the winter, particularly in January and February, several days of snow can be expected, allowing for winter sports, although snowfall is lighter than in most of Ohio. January temperatures range from 22 to 39 °F (-6 to 4 °C) and July temperatures range from 66 to 87 °F (19 to 30 °C).[15] The highest recorded temperature was 103.0 °F (39.4 °C) on August 17, 1988, and the lowest recorded temperature was -25°F (-32 °C) on January 18, 1977.

 

"southern magnolia tree in Clifton"

 

There's also Banana trees in Clifton. Nothing really surprises me in Clifton.

 

The weather in Cincy sucks. If our greatest cities were southern I'd definitely prefer to live there. Harsh winters are obnoxious.

The weather in Cincy sucks. If our greatest cities were southern I'd definitely prefer to live there. Harsh winters are obnoxious.

 

HAHA! Harsh Winter? I absolutely love that we may get 1-2 major snow storms a year. Being from the upper midwest (Twin Cities) where it got to -40 at night (not wind chill BTW), I will take a Cincy winter anyday.

Cincinnati is nothing compared to the upper midwest! Agreed. But I don't like cold weather period. Id rather it be too hot than too cold.

 

Btw, you go to UC? What year are you?/What are you studying?

False...I'd rather be too cold than too hot any day.  You can take measures to warm yourself up (more layers of clothing etc) but when you're hot, you are just hot...even walking around with NO clothes on, only helps a slight bit.

We are going through some major highs lately and I keep hearing everyone talk about how hot it's been here. I started looking into this a little more and ...

 

• We have been consistently hovering around our historic highs ... global warming?

 

... and two ...

 

• Up until today, the Northeast and parts of the upper-midwest have been reaching temps higher than ours.

 

Here is a map of highs that constantly updates on it's own:

 

 

 

 

That's incredibly funny. Cincinnati is hotter than Miami.

That's incredibly funny. Cincinnati is hotter than Miami.

 

... and so is NYC, Boston, and Detroit.

My 6th grade teacher was full of $h!t when she said it gets warmer as you go closer to the equator.

Interesting to point out too that Cincinnati is actually farther south than the French Riveria and other parts of the world with palm trees.  It's roughly the same latitude as Rome, Italy and Seville, Spain.  People assume that Paris and London are at roughly the same latitude as New York City when in fact they're as far north as Hudson Bay. 

Interesting to point out too that Cincinnati is actually farther south than the French Riveria and other parts of the world with palm trees.  It's roughly the same latitude as Rome, Italy and Seville, Spain.  People assume that Paris and London are at roughly the same latitude as New York City when in fact they're as far north as Hudson Bay. 

 

Yea, doesnt the gulf jet stream help make europe's climate mild? 

 

That's incredibly funny. Cincinnati is hotter than Miami.

 

... and so is NYC, Boston, and Detroit.

 

Hell, so is Glacier Nat'l Park in Montana.

There is something about this under the whole rating of the hardiness of an area, and all of the UK is surprisingly mild for how far north it is.  It also has something to do with the moderating effect (don't know if that all falls under gulf stream or something completely different) of the ocean, but if you looked at some of the climate zones they obviously do not go in straight lines along the lattitude.  There are a lot of things at play.

 

I too will take the one or two snow storms each year - I think we have as mild of a winter as you could get for a northern city outside of DC, and some might consider that city to be slightly southern.

The gulf stream warms Europe as well as Washington D.C =>NYC.

I did the math an at 48 degrees north latitude Paris, France is approximately 600 miles north of Cincinnati.  By comparison, if you go 600 miles south of Cincinnati you're on the Florida Panhandle. 

 

One of the worst things about living in Cincinnati is listening to people complain about the weather...too hot, too cold, spring was too short, the leaves fell off too quick, etc., etc.  Without a doubt people exaggerate the winters the most...Cleveland gets twice as much snow.  All these people flee to Florida because the weather is supposedly so unbearable, despite the fact everyone's homes and cars are heated an one can easily spend less than an hour a week exposed to the cold.   

 

I wouldn't want to be forced to stay inside.

I wouldn't want to be forced to stay inside.

 

The ironic thing is many people in the sunbelt spend all summer indoors!

All these people flee to Florida because the weather is supposedly so unbearable, despite the fact everyone's homes and cars are heated an one can easily spend less than an hour a week exposed to the cold.

I'm sorry but i guess you can speak for yourself. I spend 20+ hours outside a week in the winter.

I wouldn't want to be forced to stay inside.

 

The ironic thing is many people in the sunbelt spend all summer indoors!

 

So far I have not found it all that pleasant to spend time outside down here in Atlanta...the humidity is ridiculous.  Combine that with the pollen, smog, and shear heat and you've got a miserable climate...if you ask me.  Also I've noticed that most people don't drive with their windows down here (whereas in Cincinnati they do).

Interesting discussion. I dont know that it is really that cold in Cincinnati, but rather the relative lack of sunshine for half the year makes it feel worse than other southern and western towns.

 

Personally, since this entire thread is really opinion, I'd take an hot August where I can still cool off at the pool or lake, and golf 12 months out of the year, than the cold, rainy, cloudy weather in Cincinnati from November - March.

 

Also, while latitude is a major factor in the predictor of climate; jet stream, ocean currents, proximity to large bodies of water, and elevation are also a huge variable in climate, so while yes, London and much of Northern Europe is extremely far to the north, the warm currents of the gulf stream greatly moderate its average temperatures. I think many people already pointed this out, I just feel like reiterating the obvious.

 

In my opinion, the best weather in the US is probably San Diego...

 

 

Its a fact, it's the greatest city in the history of mankind

^San Diego?

San Diego has great weather but I'd get bored with 77 and sunny every day.

 

San Diego has great weather but I'd get bored with 77 and sunny every day.

 

 

Me too! Give me the cold winters of Cincinnati and my spring and falls any day! I absolutely hate warm weather almost all year round!

I too love the weather changes of Midwestern cities.  Cincinnati's fluctuates a little too much at times, but I enjoy the snow in the winter, colorful leaves in the fall, and budding growth in the spring...summer can get nasty but it's all good.

Cincinnati has a pretty decent climate... but it doesn't get enough snow for my liking.

Is it just me, or is the water coming out of the cold water taps in Cincinnati this summer warmer than it's ever been?

yea luke warm!

I haven't noticed any real change in my water.

 

BUT IT IS SO FREAKING HOT!

Is it just me, or is the water coming out of the cold water taps in Cincinnati this summer warmer than it's ever been?

I think it depend on where the lines run after they get into the building.  Mine are warmer, and I assumed it was because the pipes run a long way from the basement through walls and even in the attic.  But I suppose the actual tempurature in the tanks could be warming in heat like this.

We just hit a record of 100 today.

it was hot.

Some more fun facts...believe it or not Lexington, KY is roughly at the same latitude as Sicily and the boot of Italy, with the southern extreme of Sicily actually being about 10 miles south of the northernmost extreme of Africa.  Africa stretches from about 37 degrees north latitude to 34 degrees south latitude...that means going from the northern coast of Africa to South Africa is roughly the same distance as going from Lexington, KY to the equator then back up to Atlanta.  Definitely, if you walk into a cocktail party and tell people that Kentucky is at the same latitude as the northern tip of Africa, people are going to think you're nuts. 

 

I don't watch a lot of movies and I didn't see The Godfather until about 3 years ago but it sets a up a really interesting contrast of the Sicilian and New York climates (as well as Las Vegas), which is a really fantastic example in itself of how Hollywood has such a profound effect on how Americans perceive the midwestern and northeastern climates.  Los Angeles itself is, of course, in a Mediterranian climate zone, and has relentlessly since its inception given credibility the promise of escape and exoticism to the older parts of the country by the fact that the movies are made there and the celebrities themselves live there in great numbers.  Oddly Las Vegas to some extent exists as an exotic escape for LA since so much of the utopic and fresh-start promise of Los Angeles was ruined decades ago.

 

But The Godfather is so brilliant in that the paradoxes of mafia ethics are mirrored in a strange way by the natural and built beauty (and tranquility) of Sicily and that the mafia is motivated entirely by business and there is really no mention for a preference for nice weather.  And therein lies so much of the paradox of "paradise" areas -- that aside from the tourism industry, they're bad places for factories, call centers, universities, etc. and in fact few major cities around the world are in spectacular settings, and fewer in spectacular tropical or subtropical settings.  The former colonial city-states of Asia are a bit of an exception, but then again the circumstances which brought those places about are quite extraordinary.  Las Vegas is a creation of the mafia, and it's incredible to think that the most meretricious and continually evolving place in America is the product of people who came from a place that is revered for its timeless character.                   

 

   

 

 

 

Thank god for the upcoming cool down. It was 99 here today. This spring was a cold one but this summer was a hot one.

Thank god for the upcoming cool down. It was 99 here today. This spring was a cold one but this summer was a hot one.

 

That's true! Ha, I forgot about how cold the spring was! ... Very weird.

I just heard that we are now at 35 days over 90 for the year, 5 at or above 100.  I think the average is 18 over 90 although last year we had 25.  This has been a long, sunny summer - I am actually wishing for rain as trees are already starting to lose their leaves.

Cincinnati is definitely not Southern. But, surprise, is also not Midwestern. If you put a gun to my head, I'd have to say it's mid-atlantic Eastern. (Think northern Virginia.)

 

Hilly

Verdant

Almost subtropical, but not quite

Access to the north, south, and Appalachia

 

Cincinnati's setting looks much more like Charlotte, Washington or Knoxville than Columbus, Indianapolis, or Chicago.

 

The Ohio river valley is unquestionably where the continental climate zone peters out into the subtropical climate zone. But that would stand to reason since that's where the last glaciers stopped and receded. They must have only gotten that far for a reason. (Or one of many reasons.)

 

One might say "but wait, if I drive south on I-75 or east into appalachia, it doesn't get any warmer." But as you drive south or east, you generally go up in elevation (Cincy 482'. Lexington 971'.) And if you drive north or generally west, you get into the continental climate zone.

Oh and of course Miami won't be as hot as Montana in the summer. That's one of the hallmarks of the continental climate zone. It's not moderated by oceans or their currents. (Thus, continental.) Here in Orlando, a hot summer day is 96, and a chilly summer day is 95. A real scorcher might see 97. If we didn't have ocean on both sides of us, the sun here could easily heat us up to the 110's.

 

I have a lot of family in Columbus and when they come down to visit me at Univ. Cincinnati they'll mention how there's a lot more greenery. I'll often notice that when I come up to Columbus to visit, there will be ice cicles (spelling?) covering the trees, when that's not the case down in Cincinnati.

WOW back into the 90's we go, until saturday.

I cannot believe how damn dry it is.  I'm hearing reports of foundations cracking from dried clay soils. 

One of the bushes in my front yard was burning a few days ago, I wonder if that's why. At first I thought it was arson, given the neighborhood. Then I thought it might be a sign from God.

]Then I thought it might be a sign from God.

 

Yep. That was God speaking to someone. You didn't see anyone around perhaps looking in the direction of the bush, did you?

No, it was 3am and I found out about it because the fireman knocked on my door as his crew was dumping water on the bush. They said they had it under control so I just went right back inside and fell asleep on my futon lol.

I should get a couple of shots of my grass and a Japanese maple tree that looks like death.  It's just sad.

Oh, yeah...and why are leaves falling from the trees when it's 90 degrees?  :(

Fall begins Sunday and it going to be 90 then and on monday. I don;t think i seen a 90 degree day in the fall before. Oh and the leaves are fallign because of the lack of water. They are saying ALOT of trees won't make it because of the stress of winter.

Any one think we are going to have a mild winter? 80 today and tomorrow and the weekend is warm. The normal high's are 65 this time of year. I believe in global warming. ;)

Report: Cincinnati to get hotter

BY PEGGY O’FARRELL | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER

December 4, 2007

 

CINCINNATI - Think August’s record-setting heat was rough?

 

A new report on global climate change predicts Cincinnati heat waves will be longer, hotter and possibly deadlier as the 21st century winds down.

 

The report on the projected impact of global warming on the Midwest was released Tuesday by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.

 

The report came out just as the region braced for the first winter storm of the season.

 

Researchers traced weather patterns dating back to 1870, factored in manmade and naturally occurring climate factors, including greenhouse gases, solar exposures and volcanic eruptions, and projected weather patterns out to a period from 2080 to 2099.

 

The results: By the end of the century, Cincinnati’s sweltering heat waves could happen 50 percent more often, and last 22 percent longer.

 

That will push the region from 1.4 heat waves to a projected 2.1 per year, and their duration will increase from 8.7 days at a stretch to 10.7, according to the report’s authors.

 

National Weather Service records showed 2007 tied with 1953 as the hottest year on record since the agency started keeping records at the Greater Cincinnati Northern Kentucky 60 years ago.

 

Highs hit 90 degrees or more 51 days from June through the end of September.

Every summer, health officials warn high temperatures can be dangerous, and even deadly, to the very old, young and chronically ill.

 

The Pew Center report doesn’t project how many more heat-related deaths might occur by the end of the century, but it does point to Chicago’s deadly 1995 heat wave, when 700 more deaths than expected occurred.

 

This year, the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office reported five heat-related deaths.

For the elderly and chronically ill, the report’s projections are “a recipe for disaster,” said Michael Benedict, a pediatrician and internal medicine specialist at the University of Cincinnati.

 

The body has a certain ability to regulate its internal temperature, but that ability wanes with age.

 

Couple the effects of aging with commonly prescribed medications like antidepressants, antihistamines for allergies and diuretics for high blood pressure, and the elderly are very vulnerable to heat stroke and other heat-related illnesses, Benedict said.

 

Karl Schmitt, a physician with St. Elizabeth Family Practice Center in Edgewood, said the projections mean doctors and emergency planners will need to be ready to handle heat emergencies and provide shelter for the elderly, the poor and the chronically ill.

 

“We’ll need to think ahead about those folks who will be at greatest risk,” he said. “A lot of that will be educating folks that the heat really is serious, and reminding them to keep hydrated.”

^BS!               It's pretty f'in cold out there today! :-D

Snow!