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Climate of Extreme South Florida Truly Tropical?


palmsOrl

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We've had some beneficial rains here lately. Has kept it nice and cool and the plants look happy. The only plant I see damage on is a pothos vine growing up a fence in a corner. The sheltered corner must have harbored frost. Other than that, no significant damage so far.

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I

If I lived in the tropics, I would prefer not to live in a wet, humid, oppressive climate,where when you sweat there would be little if any evaporative cooling. I think I would prefer a distinct rainy season, but a dry season with enough rain to keep flora green and lush.

Walt,

The summer in South Florida is every bit as humid as here in the equatorial humid tropics. The nights in the summer in S. Florida are even worse than here. The big difference is the winter. There is no real winter here as the graph I posted shows. But, the rainy season, although more humid than the dry season is more comfortable as the temperature does not get as high. The peak of the dry season has the lowest humidity which in the daytime ranges around 50 percent, unless it rains. And, AC has made a big difference in life here as it has everywhere. One of the things in my specific location is a lack of wind for the most part. There is a breeze by the rivers. But, the kind of breezes and winds found in locations with the trade winds does not exist.

One thing that is either cultural, or maybe even physical is that Brazilians tend to have a higher heat tolerance than Americans.

dk

No doubt, it's a subjective preference as to the best place in the tropics (all other things considered aside from weather) to live, if one wanted to live there. Every where there are trade offs of one thing or another. Myself, I would like a marked change of seasons, but average low temperatures during the winter months to not go below 50F(10C), and only that low on the coldest few days of the winter. I would just want some kind of break from the long summer heat and humidity. But summers here in Lake Placid, Florida, can get fairly brutal, more so than Miami, at least during the day, as I'm not in proximity to water. As such, nighttime lows can get cooler as there's no hot body of water to hold nighttime temperatures up. On my same latitude over on the Gulf of Mexico side, nighttime lows during peak summer months can sometimes be terrible. I've seen low over there not getting below 85 degrees (29+C) or slightly higher.

You are right about air conditioning. In the summer months I get what I need to get done outside by 10 a.m., then head for either shade work (back in my wooded areas where I have lots of tropical plantings) or in the house. I will re emerge in the evening when the sun is at a much lower angle.

Being on the the equator, where the days are the same length year round (I understand your are at 3 degrees, so there would be a slight variance), places like Miami could even be more tropical (as per definition) during the the summer soltice, where the days are about 1-1/2 hours longer than at the equator (more hours to absorb short wave radiation from the sun).

I understand twilight is a much faster event right on the equator than at high latitudes. They also say that nighttime is the winter in the tropics (i.e., only time the temperature would signifigantly drop).

Walt,

There is a marked change of seasons here. That is from dry season to rainy season. It is very clear when it happens. I think the main thing is that you like the culture, place, etc where you live. I personally like Manaus which is a crazy city of 2 million. But, not everyone would. I live on one of the most beautiful rivers in the world, the Negro River. And, it never gets cold. By the weekend I should be in Great Falls, Montana. I hope it is not 30 belo when I get there. It was last week.

dk

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Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just because a place has a lot of tropical plants, doesn't make it the tropics. I would disagree and say that while Miami is a great place to live weather wise, and there is a lot that you can grow there, it does have frosts, freezes and even snow once-I was there when it happened. You will never, ever see any frosts/freezes/snow in the real tropics. There is also a definite seasonal change in the temps that is much more extreme in Miami that is not definitive in the tropics. You don't need to depend on micro climates in the tropics either to grow certain plants. Yes-it snows on the Big Island-but only at 13,000 ft altitude, but I think that everyone would agree that that is not what we are referring to. Hawaii is not even considered "tropical" . Its considered "subtropical" and it's climate is too cool to grow coconuts on a commercial level. I remember when I lived there that I wanted to move to the tropics where it was warmer.

I feel the need to clarify some things here. NUMBER ONE: I would never consider Hawai'i as subtropical. Hawaii is 100% tropical. It is considered tropical by everyone because it's IN the tropics, climate, temperature and vegetation wise as well. I was born and raised in Panama City, Panama, just 9 degrees north of the Equator, and although Panama City's climate is more oppressive than Hawaii's, it's very similar. That is the number one reason I love going to the Hawaiian Islands (and lived there for 5 years), because it reminds me of my childhood: the swaying coconut palms, the large cumulonimbus clouds, the humidity, the mugginess, the greenery. To say that Hawaii is not tropical is a pretty absurd statement. Also, temperatures in Hawaii are very ideal for commercial coconut growing. I really don't know where you get your information. When I lived in Maui, I grew so many coconuts and breadfruit and any kind of tropical fruit I ever grew in Panama. The main difference between the climate of Panama and Hawaii, is that Hawaii's is better.

One thing that I'd like to point out is that even while I was growing up in Panama, we had "cooler" days, just like Hawaii has. Especially around December and January.

Regarding Cuba, it's totally within the tropics. It's tropical.

Edited by Panamajack
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Palos Verdes Estates - coastal Los Angeles - 33°45'N 118°24'W

On a cliff, 2 blocks from the Pacific Ocean. Zone 10b - Sunset zone 24

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seems like the consensus is that tropical = within the tropics (south of 23.5N and north of 23.5S).

Everything else, including Key West, Midway, etc., subtropical?

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If the sun rises to 90 degrees, it's a tropical location. Not all tropical locations have tropical vegetation, but that doesn't mean it's not tropical. I think many, many people think that ALL tropical places must be green, rainy, insanely hot, humid, etc, etc, etc. In Panama, there are verdant, emerald colored valleys like in Hawaii, but there are also areas that are arid and dry, just like Hawaii and pretty much every other tropical location. True test to see whether you live in a truly tropical climate, if you can grow a Cyrstostachis Renda (Lipstick Palm), then you live in the tropics. They are very common all over Hawaii and Panama.

Regarding Key West or Midway, even though they are technically out of the tropics, personally, I consider them both tropical. The sun does rise to 88.9 degrees in the sky, close to 90, the temperatures are always balmy and the vegetation is completely tropical, and I have seen Lipstick Palms in Key West.

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Palos Verdes Estates - coastal Los Angeles - 33°45'N 118°24'W

On a cliff, 2 blocks from the Pacific Ocean. Zone 10b - Sunset zone 24

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Miami and the Keys have temperature averages that meet one of the most commonly accepted (if not the most) definitions of a tropical climate and have a majority of even the native vegetation being tropical (virtually all landscaping in these areas is tropical). Due to the aforementioned locations being on the edge of the tropics, these areas can on occasion experience chilly temperatures. Same with Cuba, Northern Coastal Mexico, Hawaii, Southern China, etc. Still tropical in my book, just on the edge.

Here's an example. It was widely reported during our epic 1998 drought here in Central Florida that the soil here (drought index) had literally become as dry as a desert. The weather for a month or two was definitely just like summer in a hot desert, it was miserable. Well Central Florida is not now, nor has it ever been in my lifetime, a desert. Despite a rare period of conditions consistent with that of a desert. It still averages a humid, subtropical monsoon climate.

Hawaii is most certainly tropical, but not fiery hot tropical like Indonesia or the Caribbean since it is both further from the equator (than almost all of the Caribbean and all of Indonesia) and not surrounded by extremely warm ocean waters overall (fairly warm, but not approaching 90F in the summer). I've been to Hawaii, it is "comfortable tropical", just lovely.

Edited by palmsOrl
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Just like Keith said, "close, but not quite". Very close to tropical, yes, but "truly" tropical, no. To a person born up north where it is truly temperate, Miami may look 100% tropical. But if you come from the north and only been as far as Miami or the Keys, you ain't seen the best of the tropics yet.

I was born where the lowest temperature any given year is about 65°F, and that happens only in the coldest months at 5 AM. Lows almost always in the 70s and highs in the 80s (or low 90s in the summer "dog days"). It wasn't oppressive heat because we had constant trade winds. The temperature was so constant that it took me long to grasp the concept of temperature; the news man said "it's 78°F" and I couldn't feel a thing. Almost like trying to feel the atmospheric pressure. All I knew is that under the sun it was hot, under shade and at night it was not.

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Frank

 

Zone 9b pine flatlands

humid/hot summers; dry/cool winters

with yearly freezes

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When I was in the US Navy (1967 - 1971), I had a shipmate who was born and raised in Panama. I guess he became a US citizen by joining the navy and performing military service. I remember he came aboard the ship sometime in late 1968, while we were homeported in Charleston, S.C. He told me he had never been exposed to cold temperatures until he came to the US. He told me he flew from Panama to New York City, and it was January. He said when he exited the plane the cold air hit him like a sledge hammer, that it almost took his breath away (cold air in his lungs). He said it was quite an experience being exposed to such cold air, snow, ice, etc.

On February 1, 1969 we left for a month in San Juan, Puerto Rico (with three of those days in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands). My buddy felt like it was similar to Panama. He spoke fluent Spanish and got around well in Puerto Rico.

In late 1969 we made a one month trip to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Again, my buddy from Panama enjoyed that, as the weather was very warm.

In early 1970 we were informed that our ship would be changing home ports from Charleston, S.C., to Key West, Florida. My buddy from Panama enjoyed the transition as Key West was far more like Panama than Charleston was. I really enjoyed my 13 months in Key West. Great place for a guy like myself when I was in my early 20s.

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Mad about palms

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  • 1 year later...

Interesting thread. My true "tropical" exposure has been limited to Thailand and Cambodia, but I must say that my first trip to Southeast Asia felt a lot like my birth town in the Glades. (Shall we say that this had as much to do with poverty, stray dogs, raised houses, and poor infrastructure as it did with humidity and flora.) Though I was raised away from it for most of my life, I've been visiting the Glades (often for extended trips as a child and teenager) for the last thirty years.

Here's my take on what it means to be tropical vs. near-tropical: I could discern no difference between my uncles' and aunts' places in South Bay, FL in the summer and Bangkok, Siem Reap, or Phnom Penh in the summer. (Takeo province in Cambodia was much hotter and drier than any of the other places, and I was told by a local that it was called the frying pan.) I never made it back to SE Asia in the winter, but I know that the truly tropical latitude there means longer winter days than in FL, and that, I think, is the number one reason the Glades aren't truly tropical. When we visited my aunt and uncle in South Bay this December, we did so after spending Christmas night and the day after in the Lower Keys. South Bay was actually warmer than the Keys (I'd say high 70s-low 80s). But the main thing that reminded me that we weren't actually in the tropics was the shortness of the days--there wasn't a lot more day time than my Northern Cal home far to the north.

My father, who was born and raised in South Bay, has very clear memories about frosts in the area. His father was a farmer in South Bay--he survived the hurricane of '28 on a barge in the canal there--and he made a living through his ability to grow the earliest vegetable crop in the continental US. Frost events were an extreme danger and hardship for the family. On the basis of my father's recollections, areas as near as five miles south and/or west of South Bay were often hit with frost damage when South Bay was spared (due to the lake). But there is nothing comparable to this in SE Asia--low-lying muck land like the Glades (think the basin around the Tonle Sap in Cambodia) will NEVER have a frost event there!

I think South Florida is near-tropical--rarely cold and natural vegetation has more in common with the tropics than not (e.g. pond apple and Okeechobee gourd jungles once found on the southern shores of Lake Okeechobee but not on the western and northern shores; gumbo limbo, strangler fig, royal palms, etc., on the coasts and further south). By contrast, a place like San Diego is, in my opinion, to Miami what Vancouver is to San Diego: a place capable of growing things far outside of the latitude where such things were meant to be grown. San Diego, which I love (and where both my brother and my wife's brother once lived), is not in any way near-tropical despite its ability to grow much of what FL grows. Instead of the lipstick palm, I would say that the ability to grow healthy and delicious mangosteen is the litmus test for tropical bottomlands. They love it in Cambodia, but I'm pretty sure you could never grow a grove of them in the Glades.

Edited by Yunder Wækraus
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hawaii is cool sometimes-I have plenty of pictures of me wearing sweatshirts in the winter etc. But bear in mind that after living in a warm place like Hawaii, it will thin your blood out and the weather feels cooler than to someone who lives in a cooler climate. But there are definitely two seasons there. I don't think that there are really seasons in the tropics, but I have never lived there so don't know for sure. It also doesn't get the higher temps of inland southeastern US in the summer-but its also overall warmer in the winter. The key part to remember is that the tropics never, never , never get frosts/freezes/snow. Thats one big factor that takes a lot of warm places out of the equation -like Miami

Where I live there are definitely two seasons. They are hot with not much rain and less hot with a lot of rain. Cold is when the day time temperature stays around 70 F and people pull out wool sweaters and comment that it feels like Switzerland. Then again at 3.25 degrees south latitude and an altitude of around 300 feet above sea level on an average with over 150 inches of rainfall a year it feels pretty tropical most of the time.

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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Here is an indication of being tropical.

Manaus sunrise - sunset May 26, 2015

Sunrise 5:58 AM

Sunset 5:56 PM

On the longest day of the year in Manaus, Dec. 21

Sunrise 5:49 AM

Sunset 6:07 PM

On the shortest day of the year in Manaus, Jun 21

Sunrise 6:04 AM

Sunset 6:00 PM

The amazonian summer, really the southern hemisphere winter is approaching and the real heat will be here soon.

dk

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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Here is an indication of being tropical.

Manaus sunrise - sunset May 26, 2015

Sunrise 5:58 AM

Sunset 5:56 PM

On the longest day of the year in Manaus, Dec. 21

Sunrise 5:49 AM

Sunset 6:07 PM

On the shortest day of the year in Manaus, Jun 21

Sunrise 6:04 AM

Sunset 6:00 PM

The amazonian summer, really the southern hemisphere winter is approaching and the real heat will be here soon.

dk

At 0 degrees (equator) the days are 12:07 (hours) year round (the 7 minutes is twilight time). Your location isn't too far from that.

My latitude (Lake Placid, Florida) is a little over 27 degrees north, and on the longest day of the year (June 21st) is close to 14 hours. So it's actually more tropical here on that day than at the equator, as I'm getting far more solar radiation (sun higher in the sky) and duration of radiation than at the equator.

On the other hand, on the shortest day of the year (December 21st) my day is only about 10-1/2 hours long. I hate those short winter days -- and the cold it brings.

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Mad about palms

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As they say. The best thing about Miami is that it is close to the USA.

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Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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Here is an indication of being tropical.

Manaus sunrise - sunset May 26, 2015

Sunrise 5:58 AM

Sunset 5:56 PM

On the longest day of the year in Manaus, Dec. 21

Sunrise 5:49 AM

Sunset 6:07 PM

On the shortest day of the year in Manaus, Jun 21

Sunrise 6:04 AM

Sunset 6:00 PM

The amazonian summer, really the southern hemisphere winter is approaching and the real heat will be here soon.

dk

At 0 degrees (equator) the days are 12:07 (hours) year round (the 7 minutes is twilight time). Your location isn't too far from that.

My latitude (Lake Placid, Florida) is a little over 27 degrees north, and on the longest day of the year (June 21st) is close to 14 hours. So it's actually more tropical here on that day than at the equator, as I'm getting far more solar radiation (sun higher in the sky) and duration of radiation than at the equator.

On the other hand, on the shortest day of the year (December 21st) my day is only about 10-1/2 hours long. I hate those short winter days -- and the cold it brings.

Walt, the sun here bakes your brains when there are no clouds. South Florida never has this type of solar radiation. I do not think it is the hours of daylight it is the angle of the sun. Here paint just does not last. The 12 hours of daylight is just intense when the sun shines. The impact on paint and plastic is one thing I really notice when travelling north or south of here. Summer in South Florida is actually more uncomfortable than here but the solar radiation is less. You can feel iit. One of the things I notice when I go to S. Florida is the light. The weather is not that much different most of the time. But, the light is.

dk

  • Upvote 1

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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Here is an indication of being tropical.

Manaus sunrise - sunset May 26, 2015

Sunrise 5:58 AM

Sunset 5:56 PM

On the longest day of the year in Manaus, Dec. 21

Sunrise 5:49 AM

Sunset 6:07 PM

On the shortest day of the year in Manaus, Jun 21

Sunrise 6:04 AM

Sunset 6:00 PM

The amazonian summer, really the southern hemisphere winter is approaching and the real heat will be here soon.

dk

At 0 degrees (equator) the days are 12:07 (hours) year round (the 7 minutes is twilight time). Your location isn't too far from that.

My latitude (Lake Placid, Florida) is a little over 27 degrees north, and on the longest day of the year (June 21st) is close to 14 hours. So it's actually more tropical here on that day than at the equator, as I'm getting far more solar radiation (sun higher in the sky) and duration of radiation than at the equator.

On the other hand, on the shortest day of the year (December 21st) my day is only about 10-1/2 hours long. I hate those short winter days -- and the cold it brings.

Walt, the sun here bakes your brains when there are no clouds. South Florida never has this type of solar radiation. I do not think it is the hours of daylight it is the angle of the sun. Here paint just does not last. The 12 hours of daylight is just intense when the sun shines. The impact on paint and plastic is one thing I really notice when travelling north or south of here. Summer in South Florida is actually more uncomfortable than here but the solar radiation is less. You can feel iit. One of the things I notice when I go to S. Florida is the light. The weather is not that much different most of the time. But, the light is.

dk

dk,

It is a fact that where you live (almost on the equator) that your average daily radiation 12 months a year is far more than south Florida's. But that is not so around the time of the summer solstice (June 21st). Because on June 21st at noon the sun is directly overhead at 23.5 north latitude (south Florida is around 24-25 degrees north latitude).

At the equator on June 21st the sun is 23.5 degrees less than directly overhead (but that is still fairly intense). So the sun's rays are more oblique, traveling through more heat reflecting atmosphere, plus the light is spread out over greater area, thus less intense per unit of ground area.

Also, during the summer solstice (at 23.5 degrees north), the day's duration is the longest of the year (probably about 13-1/2 hours in south Florida, compared to 12 hours at the equator).

But from June 21st on, the sun rises higher in the sky at the equator, until the sun is directly overhead at the equator on the spring equinox (March 21st). The sun is, at the equator, directly overhead again at the autumnal equinox on September 23rd. At that time the sun's radiation intensity is the greatest, and you get it two times a year, where south Florida only gets it once a year.

The bottom line is that Manaus gets far more intense solar radiation on a yearly average than south Florida, thus making it truly tropical. Yes, dk, I do believe you when you say the sun bakes your brains (figuratively speaking)when there's no clouds!

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Mad about palms

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Walt, I guess that makes sense. The hottest months of the year are normally August and September. September is the normally the hottest and the driest. It does get hotter than S. Florida during this time of the year. Temperatures in the city regularly go over 100 F in the daytime. Which does not happen in South Florida from my experience. I should be in S. Florida around the end of June so I will take some personal observations.

dk

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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Walt, I guess that makes sense. The hottest months of the year are normally August and September. September is the normally the hottest and the driest. It does get hotter than S. Florida during this time of the year. Temperatures in the city regularly go over 100 F in the daytime. Which does not happen in South Florida from my experience. I should be in S. Florida around the end of June so I will take some personal observations.

dk

I think the temperature map at the below link really tells the climate story (with respect to heat)in Manaus. Even the record low temperatures are exceptionally high when compared to south Florida. I was surprised how warm the record low temperatures were.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manaus#Climate

Mad about palms

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Well, I guess not truly tropical, but it is more than tropical enough for me right now in the keys.

post-1207-0-41996200-1432779894_thumb.jp

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In my post I sometimes express "my" opinion. Warning, it may differ from "your" opinion. If so, please do not feel insulted, just state your own if you wish. Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or any other damages

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Keith, That looks pretty tropical to me.

Walt,

The temperatures on the graph are from the airport which is surrounded by forest and do not reflect the temperatures in the city all the time. That record low temperature must have killed a lot of fish. I have never seen anything approaching that in the time I have been here. The night time temperatures are nearly always the same, between 70 and 74 F. The difference in the dry season is that it only gets to these lows around 3 am or so. That is in the city. In the country it cools down quicker as there is no asphalt and concrete. There are temperature and time signs all over town put up by the city government. In September it is between 38 and 40 C every day normally. It is always nice to see the rains return in November. October is a transition month between the two seasons.

dk

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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Anyone else see the nice sized breadfruit tree growing in the front yard of a house near the graveyard in Key West?

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  • 2 years later...

Not certain I understand this commentary. I count over 10 Cocos nucifera in your Google shots of a run down area where it is certain that “tending the garden” is not high on the laundry list. Still more fruiting specimens than I have ever seen in a Mediterranean climate. Please feel free to quantify your point.

What you look for is what is looking

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On 31.01.2014 08:25:23, stevethegator said:

I love this discussion! As a kid growing up in "SoFla" I always wanted to travel somewhere "tropical" so what does that tell you?

 

But, when I flew from Ft. Lauderdale to San Juan this past December I didn't notice a difference between the two places, in terms of temperature or vegetation (Puerto Rico being slightly more "green" due to higher rainfall, fertile volcanic soil). I really didn't notice a difference in the Islands either until I got to Dominica, which at 15N, is covered in solid tropical rainforest and has average daytime temps of 85 degrees year round.

 

Just my two cents: like they say its all about how you define it. Geographically South Florida is "subtropical" being between the Tropic of Cancer and 32N. Climactically (Koppen) it fits the definition of tropical, average temp above 64.4. But why 64.4 and not 65? Does it really matter? Doesn't change what the place actually is.

 

Personally I like to look at the native ecosystems of an area. South Florida has four distinct naturally occurring "tropical" ecosystems: tropical hardwood forests, mangrove estuaries, shallow water coral reefs, and tropical savannah (in the everglades). However, it also has temperate ecosystems as well: cypress swamp, pine flatwoods, and mixed deciduous forest. That's what makes South Florida so special, it has both temperate and tropical ecosystems right next to each other!

 

So, when I'm down there in a hammock surrounded by giant Ficus, gumbo limbo, black ironwood, mahogany, mastic, and all other manner of West Indian vegetation, coupled with the associated tropical animal life I really am somewhere tropical. But when I'm in a cypress swamp or some pine woods I'm somewhere temperate. And when I'm in the Fakahatchee strand and there are native Roystoneas growing right next to native red maple I don't know where I am! Haha

Stove season of 2016, I traveled to the southern coast of European-Turkey. It looked like Miami, I did not notice a difference. Feelings and measurements do not overlap. I think Miami is not tropical.

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Tropical Desert,

 I appreciate the explanation that you put forward by referencing Stevethegator's vignette.  I believe your thought process is along the lines that Tropical  is defined strictly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. On that basis, I agree and understand.

 However, the Google shot in your attachment is misleading.  The Pine in the Google  surrounded by the numerous Cocos nucifera is a Pinus elliotti var. densa (Dade County Pine).  As I referenced in response to your identical post in Tropical Plants,  this Pine is  found in habitat that is of west Indian and Bahamian origins.  This Pine is indeed evidence of a Tropical environment and certainly not  mediterranean. 

Miami  by no means is comparable to the climates that one associates with the tropics between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn such as Singapore or KL  or the Caribbean. That stated, the climate of south Florida cannot be properly  delineated as Mediterranean. Trust me, many times of the year I wish your statement was true!  I am very interested in the location in Turkey that is similar to Miami because I suspect it  would be amenable to growing tropical specimens like Cocos nucifera.  Can you identify the region together with pictures of the expected tropical foliage. Best, bubba

 

 

 

 

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What you look for is what is looking

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Also, I want to add that there are pines native to the Bahamas, Hispaniola, Cuba, and Central America.

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Brevard County, Fl

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This thread will never be resolved. 

  • Upvote 1

Corpus Christi, TX, near salt water, zone 9b/10a! Except when it isn't and everything gets nuked.

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22 hours ago, Tropicɑl desert said:

Stove season of 2016, I traveled to the southern coast of European-Turkey. It looked like Miami, I did not notice a difference. Feelings and measurements do not overlap. I think Miami is not tropical.

You need to notice harder, my friend. Ain’t no coconuts, green iguanas, or magnificent frigatebirds in the former Greek and Armenian lands now occupied by the Turks (a.k.a. “Turkey”). South Florida has a tropical climate, but it lies just north of the true tropics. That’s the beginning and end of the matter. No part of the Mediterranean has a climate that remotely resembles the humid warmth of South Florida. Remember, even the Nile Delta is far north of Miami. Florida has warmer winters, hotter summers, the sun higher overhead, and a slew of endemic tropical flora and fauna species in addition to thriving introduced species. 

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13 hours ago, Yunder Wækraus said:

You need to notice harder, my friend. Ain’t no coconuts, green iguanas, or magnificent frigatebirds in the former Greek and Armenian lands now occupied by the Turks (a.k.a. “Turkey”). South Florida has a tropical climate, but it lies just north of the true tropics. That’s the beginning and end of the matter. No part of the Mediterranean has a climate that remotely resembles the humid warmth of South Florida. Remember, even the Nile Delta is far north of Miami. Florida has warmer winters, hotter summers, the sun higher overhead, and a slew of endemic tropical flora and fauna species in addition to thriving introduced species. 

Palmtalk; plant platform, is not it? Do not do history literature. Your fathers, or you; Are you very innocent?

 

'miami hotter summers' Perplexed and contradictory.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Beach,_Florida#Climate

Turkey summers scorching...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adana#Climate

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodrum#Climate

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmaris#Climate

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayd%C4%B1n#Climate

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antalya#Climate

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anamur#Climate

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%B0skenderun#Climate

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c v.jpg

There are so many kinds of endemic plants you can't imagine; there are even coconut...

ALSO:

'The Turkey lands were not affected by the last glacial era' Professor, İbrahim Adnan Saraçoğlu

Edited by Tropicɑl desert
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Tropical Desert,

I enjoyed the numerous Wikipedia articles on the beautiful locations of the various cities  in the Mediterranean area of southern Turkey. The history of these regions is  riveting and South Florida never experienced the  travails of Alexander the Great.  It is certain that the climate of this area is beneficent and similar to south Spain, the Algarve of Portugal, Greek islands and other areas throughout the Mediterranean.  Like California, the articles discuss banana production,  papaya production as well as citrus and mango.

 That stated, the numbers outlined in the climatological data show this beneficent climate to  be clearly Mediterranean in nature. Correspondingly, the same climatological data provided for Miami portrays the Koppen designation of Tropical Monsoon and by no means Mediterranean. Why your 2016 Stove season trip to this region of Turkey led you to conclude that Miami is "Mediterranean hiding in Tropical  camouflage" is obscure. 

 With no intention whatsoever to show disrespect,  my conclusion is similar to my fellow Gladesman, Yunder.  There is simply no logical basis to support your conclusion that Miami's climate is Medditerranean rather than Tropical. Your assertion that this region of southern Turkey allows Cocos nucifera culture is  dubious unless supported by empirical evidence.  In the event you can produce this evidence in the form of a photograph, you should be advised that based upon the latitude of the region, this area would be the new record holder for the farthest Coconut growing from the  equator in the world. Please provide this evidence  because it would be greatly appreciated by all on this board. Best, bubba

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What you look for is what is looking

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2 hours ago, Tropicɑl desert said:

c v.jpg

There are so many kinds of endemic plants you can't imagine; there are even coconut...

ALSO:

'The Turkey lands were not affected by the last glacial era' Professor, İbrahim Adnan Saraçoğlu

I suggest taking another look at the climate data you posted. Pay close attention to the January avg High and Low for each location. More importantly, look at how the rainfall differs... I've been to Miami and I've been to the Mediterranean and they're very different. The climate data you posted also shows that. 

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.

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You mention Turkey's endemic nature. I would suggest that you open a title for it. You should not harm the things here.

It is pointless to put the climates in the competition. Each zone has disadvantages or advantages; I love the Mediterranean climate in terms of its reasonable and livable nature. Nice combination of Mediterranean, sunbathing and holiday; this is the difference between gloomy and cloudy Florida. Nothing is as tempting as it looks in photographs.

I think climate closest to Florida: Lebanon in the Mediterranean region 33N. This is the closest climate to Florida, but striking on the sharp differences.

Coconut is a separate debate... Coconut is not a very delicious fruit throughout the world. The palms may be nice in exotic terms, but they are forbidden in some areas because they fall into people's heads and cause injuries. In most tropical coastal areas, alternatively palm trees for ornamental purposes are planted. Even in Florida, now Roystonea regia palms are widespread...

But the issue is not the coconut itself, nor the tropical regions. The real issue is the presence of coconuts in peace with the Mediterranean. That combination is an obsession for most people :)

Florida seems to have warmer conditions than the mediterranean zone; however, coconut is a very difficult palm type. They exist in Florida, it's not enough, because coconuts, grow like weeds in real tropical climates.

They live in Florida, but even there there is actually a risk, and their lifetime is not too long!

There is no end to this obsession; I need parrots, I need sea corals, I need a lot... These are things that are relevant to God, or inventors who will modify plants and animals :))

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Ekran Alıntısı.PNG

Lebanon, the most reasonable condition in the Mediterranean region; but even Lebanon is a bit cooler climate than Florida.

Edited by Fernandо
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  The topic of whether the climate of extremely South Florida is tropical has officially gone highly weird.  I certainly have wandered the edges of the sardonic in my soliloquies on this board. I have learned that attempts at humor do not translate many times in this forum.

I will wander back into cloudy and gloomy South Florida (nothing as tempting as I have viewed in photographs), where the not very delicious coconut has not been banned but I will remain fearful of potential bodily injury from the falling forbidden fruit. Although ubiquitous, naturalized and weed-like North of the Old Monkey Jungle, I will attempt to accept the fact that the coconut in South Florida merely exists. As I feed my parrots, I will consider whether or not I will dive the coral reefs in the afternoon....?

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What you look for is what is looking

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You're not alone. Fernando (and his other 5 accounts) is a troll. 

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Jonathan

Katy, TX (Zone 9a)

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15 hours ago, Fernandо said:

You mention Turkey's endemic nature. I would suggest that you open a title for it. You should not harm the things here.

It is pointless to put the climates in the competition. Each zone has disadvantages or advantages; I love the Mediterranean climate in terms of its reasonable and livable nature. Nice combination of Mediterranean, sunbathing and holiday; this is the difference between gloomy and cloudy Florida. Nothing is as tempting as it looks in photographs.

I think climate closest to Florida: Lebanon in the Mediterranean region 33N.

I would think California is closer to Lebanon, latitude-wise ... not Florida.

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5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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8 hours ago, Xenon said:

You're not alone. Fernando (and his other 5 accounts) is a troll. 

Glad I wasn’t the only one thinking that these posts were strangely reminiscent of certain other posts by a different (or multiple different) username that is no longer active. 

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Corpus Christi, TX, near salt water, zone 9b/10a! Except when it isn't and everything gets nuked.

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