Seasons [Debate and Information]

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by We3_MPO, Dec 21, 2017.

?

Which season definition(s) do you go by?

Solar 3 vote(s) 23.1%
Meteorological 10 vote(s) 76.9%
Conventional/Astronimical 5 vote(s) 38.5%
South Asia/Southeast Asia 0 vote(s) 0.0%
Tropical 2 vote(s) 15.4%
Subpolar 0 vote(s) 0.0%
Polar 2 vote(s) 15.4%
Other (please post below!) 2 vote(s) 15.4%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. Which season definition do you think they should go by (assuming subtropical, warm temperate, or boreal climate)? I'll explain on in each spoiler, and how the seasons are different in South Asia despite being subtropical in places.

    Some people believe that the solstices and equinoxes should actually be the middles of their corresponding seasons, due to the angle sunlight hits the region at and the length of the day. The reason this is not the case is due to Seasonal Lag.

    In the Northern Hemisphere, these months would be:
    • Winter: November (partial; it would begin in late Autumn), December, and January
    • Spring: February (partial; it would begin in late Winter), March, and April
    • Summer: May (partial; it would begin in late Spring), June, and July
    • Autumn: August (partial; it would begin in late Summer), September, and October
    • In the Southern Hemisphere, simply put the same months in the opposite season.


    Due to Seasonal Lag, meteorologists define the seasons by making the hottest three months meteorological Summer, the coldest three meteorological Winter, and the corresponding gaps meteorological Spring/Autumn.

    For most of the non-tropical, non-coastal Northern Hemisphere (opposite season for Southern Hemisphere), the meteorological seasons are:
    • Winter: December, January, February
    • Spring: March, April, May
    • Summer: June, July, August
    • Autumn: September, October, November
    • However, most coastal areas have enough seasonal lag to push the first month of these seasons to being the last month of the previous season.


    The seasons that most of you probably know and love were traditionally defined as beginning in their corresponding solstices and equinoxes. Once again, keep the months and flip the seasons if you live in the Southern Hemisphere:
    • Winter: January, February, March (late March is in early Spring due to the Vernal Equinox)
    • Spring: April, May, June (late June is in early Summer due to the Summer Solstice)
    • Summer: July, August, September (late September is in early Autumn due to the Autumnal Equinox)
    • Autumn: October, November, December (late December is in early Winter due to the Winter Solsctice)


    In South Asia and Southeast Asia, the seasons tend to be defined differently than those in the rest of the Northern Hemisphere. They are as follows:
    • Their Winters are usually later December, January, and February
    • Their Summers are March, April, May, and June on average, but it varies throughout different regions (it's actually hottest in April and/or May for most of India)
    • Their rainy season (when monsoons occur) is mostly in July, August, and September
    • Their post-monsoon season is generally October, November, and earlier December (which is their autumn)


    Most tropical climates have a wet season and dry season, as the peak temperatures in different tropical regions can vary widely. Also, insolation can actually decrease in June (or December in the southern hemisphere) compared to the surrounding months in many areas due to the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn facing the sun directly at their corresponding solstices.

    Most subpolar climates, particularly the land in the Arctic (excluding Greenland) but also the Antarctic Peninsula, have a long, cold winter and a short, cool summer. In those regions, "spring" usually doesn't occur at all until sometime in May due to the cold climate, and it usually snows except in June, July, August, and September (and sometimes even then). In most of Antarctica and most of Greenland, the summer is negligible except for the midnight sun due to the continental glaciers.


    EDIT: I forgot to point out that the Solar and Conventional definitions are both Astronomically correct. It's just that they're defined differently.

    EDIT 2: This thread has gotten some very interesting responses so far THANK YOU MY LOVES please keep up the good work!
    RainbowPony likes this.
  2. idk they all seem pretty much the same to me

    I'd say it depends on where you live? Like Northern England, with the exception of this year (Atlantic was really warm during summer hence the intense forest fires all across the Mediterranean throughout the entire year, the early and exceptionally destructive hurricanes in the Carribbean and Northern Europe, Northern Europe being warm until December), will start hitting sub-zero in mid November (winter) and it'll only start to warm in mid February (spring?), hitting peak of 20-30 in July (summer?), drops to 15-20 throughout August and starts getting colder in September (autumn).

    So overall idk
    We3_MPO likes this.
  3. Bump. Still curious to see what you all think, and it's still the Winter solstice!
  4. Except it isn't the Winter solstice anymore now.
  5. In Canada, I find we dont fit in any of those, as we have our first snowfall in October and goes will end of April start of may. And then the spring is like one month, and summer is till Aug and fall is the rest.

    So like i say, hard as where I am from, none of those fit our seasons.

    If you want to get even more detail I would say there are 3 seasons of winter. The point where it first falls, and Jan and Feb is like Super Winter (Its always a huge snowfall amounts and very cold reaching -40c+) and then March on is like normal winter.
    We3_MPO likes this.
  6. True. In many Arctic and Subarctic areas, "spring" doesn't happen at all until May. In most of those areas, it usually tends to be a short, cool summer in May through September, with everything else being a long, cold Winter and the meteorological Winter being like a "Super Winter". This is also true of other Subarctic/Arctic climates (if my info is correct) such as Alaska, Russia, Scandinavia, and Iceland.

    EDIT: Forgot about Greenland. I didn't know it was inhabited at the time I initially posted this.
  7. Here in Florida we have kinda hot , stupid hot, hurricane season, and not as hot sometimes.
  8. In arizona its either extremely hot, or somewhat warm. The only time we have cold is when there is no sun out
    FadedMartian and We3_MPO like this.
  9. I've seen pictures of things (plastic and paint) actually melting in Pheonix, AZ in June 2017 because it got so hot (not just soften but like actually drip), and heard on the news that many regional flights were out of use then due to the extreme heat. It even showed a picture of someone baking a batch of cookies in their CAR. But I'd like to ask an Arizonan: is that real or fake news?
    FadedMartian likes this.
  10. I thought this was going to be about something else..

    Sydney4363 likes this.
  11. This diagram I made shows what each month is like (on average) here in Tennessee:


    Just a note: The climate is classified as humid subtropical (I've done research on this), and the seasonal variations in temperature are harsh where I live.
  12. thats real alright
    Sazukemono and We3_MPO like this.
  13. It must not be very pleasant.
  14. not at all
    I can set my phone down on my car dash for 5 mins in the summer and it will bring up a heat warning lol
    We3_MPO likes this.
  15. Oh wow. I could not imagine dealing with that all the time, even in June, July, and August.
  16. you get used to it
    We3_MPO likes this.
    1. January: Below freezing, snow once to twice a week, and no days above 30 degrees (Fahrenheit)
    2. February: 1-15 Freezing, 16-28 Slightly above freezing
    3. March: Cold, but not freezing
    4. April: Still cold, but not freezing
    5. May: Moderately warm.
    6. June: Hottest month of the year. Sweltering.
    7. July: Slightly cooler than June, but still HOT.
    8. August: Vacation month, I'm never in the state.
    9. September: About room temperature across the area.
    10. October: Slightly cooler than room temperature, my kind of weather. Also my birthday's in October!
    11. November: Starting to get cold. 40 degrees average.
    12. December: 1-10 from 30-40 degrees, 11-31 below freezing and snow once every other week
    We3_MPO likes this.
  17. Bump! Still curious to hear your opinions. :)
  18. Apparently, this Winter really hates the subtropics. The weather here in Tennessee is noticeably worse than normal, and I've seen what has happened to the Carolinas, Georgia, and the gulf coast states. I'm sick of it. :(
  19. Yes, we've had a much worse winter here in the mid-Atlantic than usual.

    edit: gah, forgot Arial!
    We3_MPO likes this.