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Comment by davidw | Hacker News Reader

I guess it makes sense that because of the shorter summer days and high humidity they don't see highs that are that extreme there. Still seems a bit unexpected if you're going by simpler mental models where "south == warmer".

I dug up this map (which isn't very good, maybe someone has a better one) where it shows the highest temps in various places. Florida is behind states like Oregon and Washington.

https://eldoradoweather.com/climate/US%20Climate%20Maps/Lowe...

The humidity really does make a big difference though. Here east of the Cascades in Oregon it's quite dry, so even on a hot day, a bit of shade, breeze and a cool drink makes for pleasant conditions.

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That's part of it, but a much larger part of the reason Florida has a narrower temperature range is that it's surrounded by huge bodies of water.

Also Florida is FLAT. Kansas looks downright hilly by comparison. So there’s no natural elevation to break up wind patterns moving across the state.

Not to diverge too much but Florida has some interesting topography

South Florida is basically all coral and sand at a few dozen feet above sea level except for the small ridge on the east coast (peaking at a whopping 86 feet) which provides the bedrock for Miami.

Central florida gets up to ~300 feet, downright alpine compared to south Florida.

Then you have the panhandle, which has the highest point in Florida, which isn’t surprising because it’s actually on the main continental block of North America

I really appreciated this little topography lesson; ty friend

Right - the Willamette Valley in Oregon isn't that far from the coast, with predominant westerlies coming from over a very chilly ocean. But the Coast range is tall enough to block some of the chilly moisture from over there.

No surprise to anyone who has passed through the high desert or steppe butte wasteland extending nearly the full length of 120°W-ish of the NW hemisphere. The conditions in Bishop California are effectively the same all the way to Okanagan British Columbia.

Wet bulb temp would be better to look at for that reason IMO.

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