@courtenay my first and only northern English winter was an interesting experience.  The maximum temperatures sometimes below zero C, and I was grateful to live in a warm modern house. 

Are the padded jackets with fur-edged hoods still in fashion ?  Green was the commonest colour in 2017/18.  Mine is stored in a cousin's cupboard so I can use it when I go back one day. (Its not easy finding a good fit for me)

Posted by: @courtenay

Where's "here" for you, Stargazer? I am in fact planning to move to the US in the future — the timing isn't clear yet, but hopefully by the end of this year — as I've accepted a job offer in Columbus, Ohio. Which "deals with a variety of weather every year", according to Wikipedia, which could mean anything...  

I live in a northern suburb of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) in Minnesota. We're at 45N latitude, which is farther south than London, but our location in the middle of the continent leads to some extreme weather (notably in winter, when cold winds can come straight down from Siberia or the North Pole). Summers here are humid and sometimes hot (though nothing like the Oz temps that wagga experiences). Anything over 35C is pretty unusual.

Columbus is farther south than we are, which may lead to warmer, more humid summers (though also probably not reaching temps you experienced Down Under). I don't know what kind of humidity you're used to. But you'll likely be pleased to know its winters generally aren't as cold as ours, though temps below 0C are common.

The NWS records page for Columbus might be interesting to look at.

Posted by: @coracle

Are the padded jackets with fur-edged hoods still in fashion ?  Green was the commonest colour in 2017/18.

Don't think I've seen very many of those for a couple of years, but then, as I haven't been out much lately and neither have most other people...  

Posted by: @stargazer

I live in a northern suburb of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) in Minnesota. We're at 45N latitude, which is farther south than London, but our location in the middle of the continent leads to some extreme weather (notably in winter, when cold winds can come straight down from Siberia or the North Pole).

I'm always a bit staggered when I look on a map or a globe and realise just how far north London is in the world. I always used to assume it was on about the same latitude as New York or Boston... it's actually on about the same latitude as Newfoundland. It's the Gulf Stream that gives Britain its relatively mild climate, I gather.

Posted by: @stargazer

Columbus is farther south than we are, which may lead to warmer, more humid summers (though also probably not reaching temps you experienced Down Under). I don't know what kind of humidity you're used to. But you'll likely be pleased to know its winters generally aren't as cold as ours, though temps below 0C are common.

Where I come from, near Melbourne, it's generally not very humid in summer (though the hot northerly winds still make for some really awful days when there is absolutely no escaping the suffocating heat unless you have air conditioning or very thick walls). But I lived for a few years in Brisbane, which is in the subtropics and does get very humid in summer. Actually, south-east England can get quite humid too — I wasn't expecting that either when I first moved here! But by now I think I know how to cope with most kinds of weather except for extreme cold.

Thanks for the weather records for Columbus! It sounds like it has reasonable weather most of the time...

Posted by: @stargazer

I live in a northern suburb of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) in Minnesota. We're at 45N latitude, which is farther south than London, but our location in the middle of the continent leads to some extreme weather (notably in winter, when cold winds can come straight down from Siberia or the North Pole). Summers here are humid and sometimes hot (though nothing like the Oz temps that wagga experiences). Anything over 35C is pretty unusual.

Columbus is farther south than we are, which may lead to warmer, more humid summers (though also probably not reaching temps you experienced Down Under). I don't know what kind of humidity you're used to. But you'll likely be pleased to know its winters generally aren't as cold as ours, though temps below 0C are common.

The NWS records page for Columbus might be interesting to look at.

But in Sydney, Australia, we are at 33.87 latitude South, & in Northern Hemisphere terms is somewhere in Southern California, New Mexico & Arizona, not to mention Morocco & other Saharan countries, which just might get extreme temperatures.  Melbourne is 37.81 South, which in USA terms is about Kansas & Kentucky or Utah. The Tropic of Capricorn  traverses the Australian Continent from Broome in the West, to Alice Springs near Uluru, in the heart of the country & eastwards to Rockhampton, in Queensland, well above even Brisbane, Queensland's capital.

I was surprised when we went to Mackay in Queensland, to the north of Rockhampton, to visit a relative, some years ago, was how mild & balmy the weather was there in January, in the middle of summer. I thought that it would have been really hot there but it wasn't. Just lovely, comfortable weather along the Great Barrier Reef. 

The last few years have been extremely hot compared to earlier years. You have to go back to 1939 to get comparable records to what we experienced in early 2018 & then early last year, when for a second time Penrith topped the charts world wide for January on the day. Previously the hottest temperatures during my lifetime, had been at Oodnadatta (SA), Marble Bar (WA) or Tibooburra (NSW), all desert locations. Penrith is normally okay but seems to be in a hot spot. 

Australia tends to be strongly influenced by El Nino episodes which bring drought, varying in intensity, & its opposite, La Nina, when we get cooler weather. Over the other side of the Southern Pacific, in Peru, they get the opposite weather conditions to what we get.  Whilst the Indian Ocean currents, on the other side of the continent, go according to the Indian Ocean Diode whether positive or negative. Oh yes, we also get monsoons travelling from India to Darwin & then back again, I suppose. 

I feel like in the USA our weather is defined more by our geographical features than it is by our latitude. The simplest, easiest example to give is how everything west of the Rocky Mountains (California, Oregon, and Washington) have TOTALLY different weather than the rest of the USA that's to the east of the Rockies.

And then rather than going by straight lines, it's more like a big curve in terms of temperatures. You can really see this if you look at a gardening hardiness zone map. So where I live in Kansas, we have similar planting weather to way north up in Massachusetts. (And Columbus Ohio, @Courtenay 😉 )

And then of course the coastlines plus the Great Lakes that factor in a great deal as well. (You'll get more snow in Columbus because of lake effect snow, Courtenay.)

......

Well the hottest temp I ever saw today was -1F/-19C. The feels-like temp this morning was -29F/-33C. Lots and lots of gorgeous snow which is so much fun to look at from the comfort of inside my warm house. On a non-silly note, I'm SUPER thankful that we have not lost power, or been subjected to a purposeful rolling blackout that they've been doing throughout the midwest. Happy to see the temps by next weekend are MUCH warmer than they are now because I'm just not a big fan of cold.

Took us 22 hrs to get power back. I've still got a migraine from last night. We didn't beat the low temp in my lifetime, but at 11F it came close. It was probably in the 40s in the house when the power came back on. 

The temps for the next few days are more "normal" for a Texas Gulf Coast winter snap that involves ice. We're supposed to top out at 32F today, rain tomorrow with the second round, more ice the next two nights and finally 60F by Saturday. 

@Courtenay wrote:

I am in fact planning to move to the US in the future — the timing isn't clear yet, but hopefully by the end of this year — as I've accepted a job offer in Columbus, Ohio.

That is exciting! Maybe @DiGoRyKiRkE would like to chime in as to the weather around Columbus, Ohio. All the best with the new job, Courtenay!  

Sure glad your power is back on, @starkat. We know well what a hydro outage is like here in Ontario, with both winter and summer storms. We have yet to buy a good generator, but most of our neighbours have one, ready to kick in as soon as the power goes out.

We have had a lot of snow in the past month, with 4-6" falling most times, but last night was 'just a bit' more ... well over a foot and often 18-24" in places, with drifts 3-4 feet high. So beautiful! I feel invigorated now after we were out shoveling our long driveway earlier this morning, albeit somewhat stiff.  

The cold continues, with more snow forecast on Thursday.  

Many of our neighbours have tractor plows, but we have chosen not to purchase one at this time, as we quite enjoy the exercise and freshness of that hearty snow-shoveling experience. Maybe when we're in our 80s we will consider getting a motorized shoveler.  

Way back at the beginning of COVID, I decided to let my hair goes its natural silvery-white. So glad I decided to go this route, but one thing I do miss is when it is snowing, the snow blends in with my hair, whereas when I had a rich dark brown, it looked really cool with snowflakes all over.

Glad your power is back on, starkat!

Thanks for the climate map, fantasia. US weather is definitely defined by its geography.

Seattle got about 10 inches (250mm) of snow over the weekend, something they're not really equipped for. My brother stayed inside and baked goodies.

But here, this month has been dry. We have maybe 2 feet (600mm) of snow on the ground. It's quite pretty.

People here are rejoicing because a few hours ago the temperature actually rose above 0F/-17C for the first time in about a week.

I don't recall experiencing a significant power outage in the winter, fortunately. But my parents lost power for several days in an ice storm associated with the 1991 Halloween Blizzard (they got several inches of ice while we only got snow here). I recall my aunt and uncle were visiting and after being literally locked in the house by ice they swore to never come back. (They lived some 400 miles/640km away so it wasn't an easy trip at their age even under good conditions).

@jo you can always choose to put colour in again!

Our weather has come out in sympathy with the snowed-in, powered-out people. Overnight low of 6 (40F) is chilly for summer! I kept waking and wondering whether to get the winter topper blanket.

@fantasia 

I'm not a big fan of the cold either... or the "rolling blackouts" (eyeroll). I recently moved out of the Seattle area and many of my friends moved to Texas, so everyone there is in my prayers... So glad everyone here has power and is safe! 

I'm in Idaho currently, lots of snow this week but the sun hath shone of late, even though its cold. I keep a small heater cranked up in my room because I refuse to be cold. I jokingly say its against my religion  

Sounds like a good plan to bake cookies when one is snowed in, @stargazer. This winter's weather has set records all over North America, it seems.

We have received a lot of snow over this past month, in particular. I do not know the totals, but there a thick base on the ground. Indeed, so very pretty. Pure; pristine. Ontario ski hills are loving this, particularly now that we have moved up one level with COVID, so folk are able to enjoy that wonderful outdoor activity. We are to receive more snowfall tonight into tomorrow, although a bit wetter this time, as the temperature climbs to around freezing.

But! when I awoke this morning, it was to a most glorious sight ... heavy hoar frost. Each minute twig on up is coated with the unusual stuff. The temp was warmer yesterday than it has been for a long time (just below freezing), and the plummeted last night, causing this wonderful phenomenon.

This is not my photo, but similar to our backyard, as the sun is just rising now:

60F.... almost 30 DEGREES ABOVE last Monday. Supposed to top out at 72. Short sleeves it is! 

Yesterday was the first day this year that felt seriously like spring is on the way at last, so I couldn't help singing this...  

(Hope posting a YouTube link to a well-known song is OK. It's the official channel of the band in question, so there shouldn't be a copyright issue, but moderators, please feel free to edit the above out if it's not in line with forum guidelines.)

Meanwhile, as I'll be moving to the USA some time later this year, I'm having to learn Fahrenheit for the first time in my life. Happily, the weather app on my phone can switch between C and F, so I'm practising looking at the temperatures in both measurements so I get the idea.

Now I have that song in my head.

Glad your area is warming up, starkat.

That's a beautiful picture, Jo. We had some hoarfrost here in the warm run-up to last week's cold spell, though nothing quite so impressive as that scene there.

It feels like spring here too, with highs today expected to reach 40F/4C after last week's cold. There's even melting snow outside, though we have so much it's not going to be gone soon. The polar air is locked way up north again; even Churchill, Manitoba, on Hudson Bay and known for the cold, is at 12F/-7C.

@Courtenay, I imagine the Fahrenheit scale will seem rather weird at first. I grew up with it and usually "think" temperatures in it, though I use SI units in my astronomical logbook so I'm familiar with the Celsius scale.

Posted by: @stargazer

Now I have that song in my head.

And in the immortal words of another of the Beatles, "What's wrong with that... what's wrong with that?"  

Posted by: @stargazer

@Courtenay, I imagine the Fahrenheit scale will seem rather weird at first.

Yes, it does. Celsius at least has two easily graspable markers (0°C = freezing point of water, 100°C = boiling point of water... at sea level, to be technical about it). Fahrenheit, well, um, er... would make perfect sense if I'd grown up with it too. But one can get used to anything if one has a mind to. I had no clear idea how long a mile was until I moved to the UK, which only-ever-sort-of went metric in the '70s and has all road distances and car speedos in miles to this day. Now that I've done a lot of driving here, I understand miles as instinctively as I understand kilometres.

(Driving... now there's something else I'll have to relearn if I end up spending long enough in the US to warrant getting a car. Best not thought about right now. )