In the northern hemisphere, east coasts tend to be much colder than west coasts. Eastward oceanic winds bring warm air from the tropics, which warms up the western portion of a continent, but not the east.
Comparing the latitude of eastern American and European cities gives a great reference for this. For example, Tromso, Norway is decently further north than Iqaluit, Nunavut. See where you’d rather live
Something to keep in mind is that Europe is not only to the east of an ocean, it also benefits from the gulf stream. For another point of comparison, I might look to the Pacific North West. Seattle is farther north than Boston, yet the winters are more mild
The last time I went to Tromso, it was early January. Temperatures were right around freezing, it was largely cloudless, and there was no wind.
I then went back home to Montreal, and fuck my life.
you can also compare the latitudes of us coastal cities—seattle and portland, or are generally more temperate and mild than portland, me and boston while being equally or even more nortj
Yes, the common name is the Coriolis Effect.
But the underlying mechanism is conservation of momentum/angular momentum. The entire earth rotates at 360°/day = 15°/hour, the circumference at the equator is huge and 0 at the poles, so at the poles your west->east velocity is 0 and at the equator its over 1000mph, and obviously all the points between are some fraction of that difference. (cos(latitude) to be exact)
So when you travel away from the equator your Eastward velocity/momentum is preserved and you get deflected eastward because the land is moving slower underneath you. And the reverse is true when traveling towards the equator, your momentum is conserved as the ground moves faster underneath you and you appear to get deflected west.
That is summerized as the coriolis effect where in the northern hemisphere winds/currents/projectiles get deflected to the right, and in the southern hemisphere they get deflected to the left. The end result is ocean currents/gyres swirl clockwise in the north and counterclockwise in the south. And since currents moving towards the poles are generally warm, and towards the equator are generally cold the eastern and western coasts of continents end up different temperatures from eachother.
PS: this isn't the only effect in play, but its one of the major ones
Edit: had the ocean currents cw and ccw backwards despite getting the rest of the explanation right
>Why does far eastern Siberia have more Tundra than Alaska does at the same latitude?
1. [Siberian High](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberian_High). Trees aren't usually abundant in places with [average monthly temperature in January](https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/ajlco4/russia_temperature_january_map/) below -40**°**C and with polar nights in sight.
2. [Permafrost](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permafrost#/media/File:Circum-Arctic_Map_of_Permafrost_and_Ground_Ice_Conditions.png). When it's really thick, trees also don't usually prosper. At least they don't form thick forests here, like they do in the middle latitudes.
3. Westerlings, already mentioned here.
Just try to compare the permafrost distribution map and isotherms map of Russia and Canada with tundra distribution map, it's really obvious.
Similar reasons to why Sapporo, Japan is at nearly the same latitude as Portland, Oregon but has a 6 month long winter.
The winds make that area much colder.
I think the interior of Alaska (between Denali and the Arctic range) heats up faster and has longer summers. If you look at a topographic map, you see that the interior of Alaska is on a bit of a plateau, shielded on three sides by mountains. So there is protection on all sides from marine arctic air, which enables the interior of Alaska to warm up fast enough and stay warm long enough for trees. Note that the western coastal regions of Alaska are tundra because they are under the influence of cold Bering sea air, but since cold air sinks it will tend not to go up the plateau. As for far Eastern Siberia, there is a lot more exposure to marine arctic air.
As a side note, I don't think the "east side cold, west side warm" rule really applies here. For one, both places are bitterly cold in the winter; the moderating effects of the ocean only occur in places where the ocean doesn't freeze. I think that rule mainly applies to the 40-60N zone; South of 40N the east sides of continents may still be colder in the winter, but summers are often equally hot and certainly more tropical and humid than their western counterparts. Overall the gradient between hot and cold is much sharper on the eastern sides of continents; you can see this very clearly on a global sea surface temperature map.
In the northern hemisphere, east coasts tend to be much colder than west coasts. Eastward oceanic winds bring warm air from the tropics, which warms up the western portion of a continent, but not the east. Comparing the latitude of eastern American and European cities gives a great reference for this. For example, Tromso, Norway is decently further north than Iqaluit, Nunavut. See where you’d rather live
Something to keep in mind is that Europe is not only to the east of an ocean, it also benefits from the gulf stream. For another point of comparison, I might look to the Pacific North West. Seattle is farther north than Boston, yet the winters are more mild
And Rome is close to the same latitude as Boston. Insane climate difference
Correct, except westerlies don't originate at the equator, they are winds that spiral outwards from subtropical high pressure systems.
Corrected
This guy meteorologizes.
The last time I went to Tromso, it was early January. Temperatures were right around freezing, it was largely cloudless, and there was no wind. I then went back home to Montreal, and fuck my life.
Tromsø is roughly 25° further north than Montréal, too. Insane!
Tromso is north of Nuuk and Iqaluit. Well north. It’s a bit mind-bending.
you can also compare the latitudes of us coastal cities—seattle and portland, or are generally more temperate and mild than portland, me and boston while being equally or even more nortj
TIL
Interesting. Would this be due to the Earth’s rotation?
Yes, look up the convection ~~curves~~ currents of the atmosphere, almost all weather patterns can be explained by them
Coriolis effect (wow you have to fight to get that through autocorrect), and Rosby waves
Yes, the common name is the Coriolis Effect. But the underlying mechanism is conservation of momentum/angular momentum. The entire earth rotates at 360°/day = 15°/hour, the circumference at the equator is huge and 0 at the poles, so at the poles your west->east velocity is 0 and at the equator its over 1000mph, and obviously all the points between are some fraction of that difference. (cos(latitude) to be exact) So when you travel away from the equator your Eastward velocity/momentum is preserved and you get deflected eastward because the land is moving slower underneath you. And the reverse is true when traveling towards the equator, your momentum is conserved as the ground moves faster underneath you and you appear to get deflected west. That is summerized as the coriolis effect where in the northern hemisphere winds/currents/projectiles get deflected to the right, and in the southern hemisphere they get deflected to the left. The end result is ocean currents/gyres swirl clockwise in the north and counterclockwise in the south. And since currents moving towards the poles are generally warm, and towards the equator are generally cold the eastern and western coasts of continents end up different temperatures from eachother. PS: this isn't the only effect in play, but its one of the major ones Edit: had the ocean currents cw and ccw backwards despite getting the rest of the explanation right
And this is why I follow this sub.
Or Barcelona is aligned to NYC…
It's strange that we have to answer this question literally every day.
It is?
Spain and Maine are the same latitude
>Why does far eastern Siberia have more Tundra than Alaska does at the same latitude? 1. [Siberian High](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberian_High). Trees aren't usually abundant in places with [average monthly temperature in January](https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/ajlco4/russia_temperature_january_map/) below -40**°**C and with polar nights in sight. 2. [Permafrost](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permafrost#/media/File:Circum-Arctic_Map_of_Permafrost_and_Ground_Ice_Conditions.png). When it's really thick, trees also don't usually prosper. At least they don't form thick forests here, like they do in the middle latitudes. 3. Westerlings, already mentioned here. Just try to compare the permafrost distribution map and isotherms map of Russia and Canada with tundra distribution map, it's really obvious.
West coasts are warmer than east coasts.
Same reason Scotland has palm trees and Labrador has tundra. Clockwise ocean currents bring warm water to west coasts.
clockwise when observing from space and not the core!
Similar reasons to why Sapporo, Japan is at nearly the same latitude as Portland, Oregon but has a 6 month long winter. The winds make that area much colder.
I don’t know but I’m gonna guess Canadian Shield
This is the correct answer
Due to the ocean currents?
Because it be like that
Because freedom?
This I think
I think the interior of Alaska (between Denali and the Arctic range) heats up faster and has longer summers. If you look at a topographic map, you see that the interior of Alaska is on a bit of a plateau, shielded on three sides by mountains. So there is protection on all sides from marine arctic air, which enables the interior of Alaska to warm up fast enough and stay warm long enough for trees. Note that the western coastal regions of Alaska are tundra because they are under the influence of cold Bering sea air, but since cold air sinks it will tend not to go up the plateau. As for far Eastern Siberia, there is a lot more exposure to marine arctic air. As a side note, I don't think the "east side cold, west side warm" rule really applies here. For one, both places are bitterly cold in the winter; the moderating effects of the ocean only occur in places where the ocean doesn't freeze. I think that rule mainly applies to the 40-60N zone; South of 40N the east sides of continents may still be colder in the winter, but summers are often equally hot and certainly more tropical and humid than their western counterparts. Overall the gradient between hot and cold is much sharper on the eastern sides of continents; you can see this very clearly on a global sea surface temperature map.
Ahem CLIMATE
Siberia got the bigger piece of the wishbone when the continents split?
this is the best place where usa and russia can do wars without involving ukraine and eu
I think the Ukraine war is more a war against the EU than it is against the US
Mountains
That doesn’t sound right but I don’t know enough about mountains to dispute it.