Humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a
Humid continental climates are generally found between latitudes 40° N and 60° N,[3] within the central and northeastern portions of North America, Europe, and Asia. Occasionally, they can also be found at higher elevations above other more temperate climate types. They are rare in the Southern Hemisphere, limited to isolated high altitude locations, due to the larger ocean area at that latitude, smaller land mass, and the consequent greater maritime moderation.
In the Northern Hemisphere, some of the humid continental climates, typically in
Definition
Using the
Second letter in the classification symbol defines seasonal rainfall as follows: [5]
- s: A dry summer—the driest month in the high-sun half of the year (April to September in the Northern Hemisphere, October to March in the Southern Hemisphere) has less than 30 millimetres (1.18 in)/40 millimetres (1.57 in) of rainfall and has exactly or less than 1⁄3 the precipitation of the wettest month in the low-sun half of the year (October to March in the Northern Hemisphere, April to September in the Southern Hemisphere).
- w: A dry winter—the driest month in the low-sun half of the year has exactly or less than one‑tenth of the precipitation found in the wettest month in the summer half of the year.
- f: No dry season—does not meet either of the alternative specifications above; precipitation and humidity are often high year-round.
while the third letter denotes the extent of summer heat:[5]
- a: Hot summer, warmest month averages at least 22 °C (71.6 °F),
- b: Warm summer, warmest month averages below 22 °C (71.6 °F) but at least four months averages above 10 °C (50.0 °F).
Associated precipitation
Within North America, moisture within this climate regime is supplied by the
Vegetation
By definition, forests thrive within this climate. Biomes within this climate regime include temperate woodlands, temperate grasslands, temperate deciduous or evergreen forests,[8] coniferous forests, and coniferous swamps.[10] Within wetter areas, maple, spruce, pine, fir, and oak can be found. Fall foliage is noted during the autumn of deciduous forests.[6]
Hot summer subtype
A hot summer version of a continental climate features an average temperature of at least 22 °C (71.6 °F) in its warmest month.[11] Since these regimes are restricted to the Northern Hemisphere, the warmest month is usually July or August. High temperatures in the warmest month tend to be in the high 20s or low 30s °C (80s or low 90s °F), while average January afternoon temperatures are near or well below freezing. Frost-free periods normally last 4–7 months within this climate regime.[6]
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Within North America, this climate includes portions of the central and eastern United States from east of 100°W to south of about the 44°N to the Atlantic. Precipitation increases further eastward in this zone and is less seasonally uniform in the west. The western states of the western United States (namely Montana, Wyoming, parts of southern Idaho, most of Lincoln County in Eastern Washington, parts of Colorado, parts of Utah, isolated parts of northern New Mexico, western Nebraska, and parts of western North and South Dakota) have thermal regimes which fit the Dfa climate type, but are quite dry, and are generally grouped with the steppe (BSk) climates. In the eastern and Midwestern United States, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, southern New York, southern Connecticut, and southern Rhode Island fall into the hot-summer humid continental climate. In Canada, this climate type exists only over portions of Southern Ontario.
In the Eastern Hemisphere, this climate regime is found within interior
Dsa climates are rare; they are generally restricted to elevated areas adjacent to mid-latitude Mediterranean climate regions with a Csa climate well inland to ensure hot summers and cold winters. They are generally found in the highly elevated areas of south-eastern Turkey (Hakkâri), north-western Iran, northern Iraq, parts of Central Asia, and very small parts of the Intermountain West in the United States.
This climate zone does not exist at all in the Southern Hemisphere, where the continents either do not penetrate low enough in latitude or taper too much to have any place that gets the combination of snowy winters and hot summers. Marine influences are very strong around 40°S and such preclude Dfa, Dwa, and Dsa climates in the southern hemisphere.
Warm summer subtype
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Also known as hemiboreal climate, areas featuring this subtype of the continental climate have an average temperature in the warmest month below 22 °C (72 °F). Summer high temperatures in this zone typically average between 21–28 °C (70–82 °F) during the daytime and the average temperatures in the coldest month are generally well or far below the −3 °C (27 °F) (or 0 °C (32.0 °F)) isotherm. Frost-free periods typically last 3–5 months. Heat spells lasting over a week are rare.[6]
The warm summer version of the humid continental climate covers a much larger area than the hot subtype. In North America, the climate zone covers from about
High-altitude locations such as
In
In the
Use in climate modeling
Since climate regimes tend to be dominated by vegetation of one region with relatively homogenous ecology, those that project climate change remap their results in the form of climate regimes as an alternative way to explain expected changes.[1]
See also
References
- ^ doi:10.3354/cr01204.
- .
- ^ Béla Berényi. Cultivated Plants, Primarily As Food Sources -- Vol II -- Fruit in Northern Latitudes (PDF). Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems. p. 1. Retrieved 2015-02-23.
- ^ "Halifax, Nova Scotia Temperature Averages". Weatherbase. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ^ (PDF) from the original on Dec 4, 2023.
- ^ ISBN 978-1305480629.
- ISBN 978-1-305-14730-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-56670-616-2.
- ISBN 978-0-19-803678-4.
- ISBN 978-1-59874-463-7.
- ISBN 978-1-107-26886-9.
- ^ "Temperature and Precipitation Graph for 1981 to 2010 Canadian Climate Normals WINDSOR A". Canadian Climate Normals 1981-2010 Station Data. 25 September 2013.
- ^ 中国地面国际交换站气候标准值月值数据集(1971-2000年) (in Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-285-40221-5.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-58037-670-9.
- Environment Canada. 2011-10-31. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
- ISSN 0011-216X.
- ^ https://www.yr.no/en/statistics/Bodø - Normal (mean monthly temperatures 1991-2020) and observed temperatures from met.no
- ^ "Warm-summer Humid Continental Climate (Dfb) | SKYbrary Aviation Safety". skybrary.aero. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
- ^ Erdoğan Bölük (2016). Köppen İklim Sınıflandırmasına göre Türkiye İklimi (PDF). Meteoroloji Genel Müdürlüğü. p. 18.
- ^ "Japan Meteorological Agency | General Information on Climate of Japan". www.data.jma.go.jp. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
- ISSN 0277-3791.
- ISSN 1607-7938.
- ^ "Updated Köppen-Geiger climate map of the world". people.eng.unimelb.edu.au. Retrieved 2019-03-06.