Traditonal vs. Historical

[Aussie_Don]

It's not just Canada, either. The Northern Plains and the Western Lake states experience much of that weather too (and crushing cold in winter as an added bonus). We were 94-96*f and well into the 100's with the heat index last week.

ith:

At risk of taking the topic drift even further, IMHO, what
we're talking about here is the difference between a continental
weather system and one that is influenced by sea. Living
in Melbourne, Australia, I'm living in a system mostly
influenced by the Southern Ocean, though when we get a
North wind it becomes more continental.

I'm living at roughly the same latitude as I did in PA.
And the average annual temperature is roughly equivalent,
but Pennsylvania had more extreme cold in the Winter,
and more consistent hot weather in Summer.

Melbourne's weather never gets as cold in Winter, even
with a North wind from the continent. There are days in
summer when the hot North wind really bakes, though.
(But that all stands to reason, the further North you get,
the closer to the Equator and year-round heat.)

England and Scotland have the Gulf Stream bringing warmer
water North to heat them -- kind of like hydronic heat on a
national scale.

Just have a look at how far North Scotland is and compare
the weather with a place equivalently far North in mid-Canada
to understand what I'm talking about.

-Don