# What US location has weather like England? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 13, 2009, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847 "2009-07-13T08:22:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847/1 "2009-07-13T08:22:34Z")
I actuallly like the weather in England. It never gets terribly hot or cold. The frequent rains make everything green. Which location in the US is most similar in terms of weather? ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847/2 "2009-07-13T09:00:04Z")
Windward sides of Hawaiin islands, Oahu in particular. Portions of the Pacific coast of Northern California, Oregon, and Washington should be similiar. Other rainy spots would be too hot/humid in summer or have the snow in winter. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847/3 "2009-07-13T09:24:39Z")
I would’ve thought New England. Perhaps the weather wasn’t what inspired the name. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847/4 "2009-07-13T09:48:35Z")
Seattle. ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847/5 "2009-07-13T09:53:51Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I would’ve thought New England. > > Perhaps the weather wasn’t what inspired the name. Too hot in summer, too cold in winter. Other than that a perfect match 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847/6 "2009-07-13T10:10:44Z")
I asked this a while ago: you want the North-Western states and West of the Rockies. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847/7 "2009-07-13T11:40:26Z")
Washington State, west of the Cascades. Forks, WA, in particular gets so little sun that that’s where Stephenie Meyer chose it for her vampires. Just north of that Victoria, BC is supposed to have weather just like England’s. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847/8 "2009-07-13T11:45:07Z")
Are you specifically asking about England, or are you including the other countries of the UK? ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847/9 "2009-07-13T11:49:23Z")
Never to hot or cold? I’ll have you know that the other week temps were in the high 80s and I recall it being just above freezing point a few winters back. Why even as I type it’s in the mid 70s ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847/10 "2009-07-13T12:03:50Z")
As mentioned above, the Pacific Northwest is pretty close to London temperature-wise; check out Wikipedia’s climate charts for [Vancouver](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver#Geography_and_climate) and [Seattle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle#Climate) compared to that of [London](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London#Climate). The one caveat, though, is that the upper Pacific coast gets a **ridiculous** amount of rain; Seattle gets about 50% more than London, and Vancouver gets almost double London’s precipitation. [Victoria’s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria,_BC#Climate) annual precipitation and temperature ranges are almost identical to London’s, but even then, it’s not a perfect match; unlike London, Victoria has distinct wet and dry seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847/11 "2009-07-13T12:44:20Z")
Regarding rainfall comparisons, I would have thought that the west cast of England, especially the Lake District, would have comparable rainfall amounts to that of the Pacific North West. Don’t forget that London is in the east and therefore (because of the prevailing westerly winds) has much lower rainfall amounts compared to the west coast of England. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847/12 "2009-07-13T13:20:52Z")
> [@ticker](#): > > Too hot in summer, too cold in winter. Other than that a perfect match 🙂 Sure, but on average it’s perfect! ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847/13 "2009-07-13T13:58:34Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > Never to hot or cold? > > I’ll have you know that the other week temps were in the high 80s and I recall it being just above freezing point a few winters back. > > Why even as I type it’s in the mid 70s Yeah…but you should understand that in many areas of the US, mid-70s is what you get on a lovely cool morning before the sun rises (in summer, anyway). Right now, we are having a remarkably cool summer–mostly. It’s almost 7am, I’m about to go out for my morning walk, and it’s 75, woohoo! By noon it will be in the 90’s and I will think it’s not very hot, because it’s not really hot until it hits 105. Or are you just rubbing it in? ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847/14 "2009-07-13T14:00:17Z")
Averages are funny. If it is around 64-68 most days in one location for an avg temp of 66, but ranges from 20 all the way up to 95 at another location, but averages out to 66, I know way too many people who will go, “Hey look, they are similar!” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847/15 "2009-07-13T14:06:38Z")
> [@Rayne\_Man](#): > > Regarding rainfall comparisons, I would have thought that the west cast of England, especially the Lake District, would have comparable rainfall amounts to that of the Pacific North West. Don’t forget that London is in the east and therefore (because of the prevailing westerly winds) has much lower rainfall amounts compared to the west coast of England. The Lake District, maybe, but I lived in Somerset and Dorset for 12 years and it didn’t rain any more there than in London or Birmingham. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847/16 "2009-07-13T14:30:51Z")
Never too hot? Clearly you’ve never ridden the Tube. ---
**Author:** ![Scruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Scruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruff)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847/17 "2009-07-13T14:33:00Z")
Another vote for Seattle. I’ve lived in England, Scotland, New England and now the Pacific North West (Seattle). ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847/18 "2009-07-13T14:34:03Z")
I’d also vote for the Pacific Northwest. I don’t think you’re aren’t going to get an exact match in the continental US. Places that are wet enough have more seasonal variation. The places in the US with minimal seasonal variation are far warmer and dryer, like San Diego, which prides itself on its climate (it’s a matter of opinion). In examining Pacific Northwest cities, you might consider Portland, OR, which is inland, and subjectively seems like a slightly less soggy version of Seattle, climate-wise. Although the precipitation figures say it’s just as wet or wetter. Just don’t go over the mountains, or you will find a vastly different climate on the other side. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847/19 "2009-07-13T15:36:57Z")
In terms of number of rainy days (defined by the BBC/Met. Office as at least 0.25mm precipitation), the PNW is the only region that comes close, I think ```auto City Precip Wet days Edinburgh 676 191 Cardiff 1065 180 London 593 153 Seattle 849 150 Dublin 762 139 New York City 1086 125 Atlanta 1234 124 St Louis 1001 112 San Francisco 563 67 San Diego 261 44 ``` That table includes Scottish, Welsh and Irish capitals, but it gives you an idea of the variation/I. Obviously total rainfall is a different matter. In Britain/Ireland it tends to rain less heavily but more often. Temperatures in Seattle are very similar to London too, just a couple of degrees higher in summer. Northern England/Scotland is a couple of degrees colder than the south, on average. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city\_guides/](http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/) ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847/20 "2009-07-13T15:47:20Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > Yeah…but you should understand that in many areas of the US, mid-70s is what you get on a lovely cool morning before the sun rises (in summer, anyway). Right now, we are having a remarkably cool summer–mostly. It’s almost 7am, I’m about to go out for my morning walk, and it’s 75, woohoo! By noon it will be in the 90’s and I will think it’s not very hot, because it’s not really hot until it hits 105. > > Or are you just rubbing it in? 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-location-has-weather-like-england/502847.md?page=2)