5 places that see a 'Groundhog Day'-like weather repeat
Does it feel like the days are repeating themselves? It might -- particularly in one U.S. location that averaged nearly 300 "pleasant" days each year for 20 years.
By
Adriana Navarro, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Jan 28, 2022 5:56 PM EDT
|
Updated Jan 28, 2022 6:00 PM EDT
Punxsutawney Phil has been making weather predictions in Pennsylvania since the late 1800s, but the tradition dates back a lot farther.
The weather in these places isn't stuck on repeat the way Bill Murray's character found himself in the beloved 1993 movie Groundhog Day, but at times it might seem that way. Either due to their proximity to the equator or where they fall in the path of a persistent storm track, some locations around the world have earned their own unique reputations for having weather that's on a Groundhog Day-like loop.
About 1,500 miles east of the Philippines sits the Mariana Islands, an island chain known for its place in the Ring of Fire down as well as its colorful coral reefs. While it has a landscape of differing features, there was a span of eight years during which the temperature of the Garapan, the center of the tourism industry and largest village on Saipan, varied no more than 22 degrees Fahrenheit. From 1927 to 1935, the lowest temperature recorded in Garapan sat at 67.3 degrees F (19.6 degrees Celsius) with the highest temperature never reaching above a balmy 88.5 degrees F (31.4 degrees C), according to Guinness World Records.
Seattle's grey and gloomy weather is infamous across the United States thanks to its proximity to a persistent storm track in the Pacific Ocean during the cooler months of the year.
"Frequent storms bring clouds and rain in off the Pacific Ocean from November through March," AccuWeather Meteorologist Dale Moher said. "In the warmer season, it's the opposite. Storms shift farther north and nearby high pressure keeps the weather fairly dry and sunny from May through September. There can be exceptions to both of these patterns, but they are fairly consistent from year to year."
People walk past a downed power pole blocking E. Madison St. in Seattle after it fell into an office building during a storm on Nov. 9, 2021. Seattle, a city known for soggy weather, saw its wettest fall on record. The National Weather Service says 19.04 inches of rain fell in the period between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30, breaking a record set in 2006. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
When low-pressure systems build in the Gulf of Alaska, the storms charge towards the Pacific Northwest. Combine that with Seattle sitting in the path of the jet stream that fast-tracks these storms plus the mountainous terrain of the nearby Cascade Range and it creates a reliable setup for rain throughout the colder months.
With a generally comfortable climate year-round, Medellín, Colombia, has come to be known as The City of Eternal Spring. Or at least one of them. Cities such as Da Lat, Vietnam; Cochabamba, Bolivia; Kunming, China; Bangalore, India; Cuernavaca, Mexico, and many others have also taken this moniker.
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The average high temperatures throughout the year range from 69.3 degrees F (20.7 degrees C) to 74.8 F (23.8 C), and the lows drop to an average of 52.3 F (11.3 C) to 54.9 F (12.7 C), according to Weather Atlas. The city sits about 5,000 feet above sea level, so while it is located near the equator, its location in the Andes gives the city a generally temperate climate.
In 2014, the real estate company Zillow ranked San Diego as the best place to live in regards to the climate in the U.S. based on weather data from NOAA, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. The city recorded 261 "pleasant" days per year, which was defined as days with an average temperature between 55 to 75 degrees F, a minimum temperature above 45 degrees F and no significant rain or snow.
Come 2019, San Diego ranked second in the most pleasant days per year with 276.1 pleasant days behind the 304.1 days recorded in Ventura, California, according to Zillow. Ventura is just north of Los Angeles, right on the coast. In this survey, pleasant days were defined as days with a high temperature between 55 and 85 degrees F, no measurable precipitation and no hail, thunderstorms or tornadoes recorded. Data included 20 years of observed weather from 1999 to 2018.
Located in the tropics, Hawaii experiences mild temperatures throughout the year. For most of the islands, there are only two seasons -- summer, which falls between May and October, and winter, between October and April, according to the National Weather Service.
FILE - In this file photo from Saturday, June 3, 2006, Je'essinia enjoys the gentle trade winds shortly after sunset off of Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. Part of what makes living in Hawaii so pleasant is the gentle breezes. (AP Photo/Lucy Pemoni)
The tradewinds play a large part in the weather that different parts of the island experience. When the tradewinds remain steady, typically more common during the summer, the eastern sides of the mountains frequently experience brief and light showers.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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News / Weather News
5 places that see a 'Groundhog Day'-like weather repeat
Does it feel like the days are repeating themselves? It might -- particularly in one U.S. location that averaged nearly 300 "pleasant" days each year for 20 years.
By Adriana Navarro, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Jan 28, 2022 5:56 PM EDT | Updated Jan 28, 2022 6:00 PM EDT
Punxsutawney Phil has been making weather predictions in Pennsylvania since the late 1800s, but the tradition dates back a lot farther.
The weather in these places isn't stuck on repeat the way Bill Murray's character found himself in the beloved 1993 movie Groundhog Day, but at times it might seem that way. Either due to their proximity to the equator or where they fall in the path of a persistent storm track, some locations around the world have earned their own unique reputations for having weather that's on a Groundhog Day-like loop.
Saipan, Mariana Islands
About 1,500 miles east of the Philippines sits the Mariana Islands, an island chain known for its place in the Ring of Fire down as well as its colorful coral reefs. While it has a landscape of differing features, there was a span of eight years during which the temperature of the Garapan, the center of the tourism industry and largest village on Saipan, varied no more than 22 degrees Fahrenheit. From 1927 to 1935, the lowest temperature recorded in Garapan sat at 67.3 degrees F (19.6 degrees Celsius) with the highest temperature never reaching above a balmy 88.5 degrees F (31.4 degrees C), according to Guinness World Records.
Seattle
Seattle's grey and gloomy weather is infamous across the United States thanks to its proximity to a persistent storm track in the Pacific Ocean during the cooler months of the year.
"Frequent storms bring clouds and rain in off the Pacific Ocean from November through March," AccuWeather Meteorologist Dale Moher said. "In the warmer season, it's the opposite. Storms shift farther north and nearby high pressure keeps the weather fairly dry and sunny from May through September. There can be exceptions to both of these patterns, but they are fairly consistent from year to year."
People walk past a downed power pole blocking E. Madison St. in Seattle after it fell into an office building during a storm on Nov. 9, 2021. Seattle, a city known for soggy weather, saw its wettest fall on record. The National Weather Service says 19.04 inches of rain fell in the period between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30, breaking a record set in 2006. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
When low-pressure systems build in the Gulf of Alaska, the storms charge towards the Pacific Northwest. Combine that with Seattle sitting in the path of the jet stream that fast-tracks these storms plus the mountainous terrain of the nearby Cascade Range and it creates a reliable setup for rain throughout the colder months.
Medellín, Colombia
With a generally comfortable climate year-round, Medellín, Colombia, has come to be known as The City of Eternal Spring. Or at least one of them. Cities such as Da Lat, Vietnam; Cochabamba, Bolivia; Kunming, China; Bangalore, India; Cuernavaca, Mexico, and many others have also taken this moniker.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
The average high temperatures throughout the year range from 69.3 degrees F (20.7 degrees C) to 74.8 F (23.8 C), and the lows drop to an average of 52.3 F (11.3 C) to 54.9 F (12.7 C), according to Weather Atlas. The city sits about 5,000 feet above sea level, so while it is located near the equator, its location in the Andes gives the city a generally temperate climate.
San Diego
In 2014, the real estate company Zillow ranked San Diego as the best place to live in regards to the climate in the U.S. based on weather data from NOAA, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. The city recorded 261 "pleasant" days per year, which was defined as days with an average temperature between 55 to 75 degrees F, a minimum temperature above 45 degrees F and no significant rain or snow.
Come 2019, San Diego ranked second in the most pleasant days per year with 276.1 pleasant days behind the 304.1 days recorded in Ventura, California, according to Zillow. Ventura is just north of Los Angeles, right on the coast. In this survey, pleasant days were defined as days with a high temperature between 55 and 85 degrees F, no measurable precipitation and no hail, thunderstorms or tornadoes recorded. Data included 20 years of observed weather from 1999 to 2018.
Hawaii
Located in the tropics, Hawaii experiences mild temperatures throughout the year. For most of the islands, there are only two seasons -- summer, which falls between May and October, and winter, between October and April, according to the National Weather Service.
FILE - In this file photo from Saturday, June 3, 2006, Je'essinia enjoys the gentle trade winds shortly after sunset off of Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. Part of what makes living in Hawaii so pleasant is the gentle breezes. (AP Photo/Lucy Pemoni)
The tradewinds play a large part in the weather that different parts of the island experience. When the tradewinds remain steady, typically more common during the summer, the eastern sides of the mountains frequently experience brief and light showers.
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For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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