America’s climate is weird

[Trouble]

Isn’t it kind of bizarre how parts of the US that are both cold and located deep inland are as moist as they are? Gary Indiana gets a whole ass 38 inches of rain despite being located hundreds of miles from any coast and that’s way more than any coastal European city.

Then you have the high alpine regions on the west that have Siberian esque winters but get hot and dry in summer to where they burn like crazy from forest fires.

[Trouble]

Moreover parts of the US like Kansas and Oklahoma have a huge number of tornados, a weather phenomenon practically unheard of in the rest of the world.

I remember hiding from tornado warnings when I was small. This is why we have basements.

[Trouble]

bump

[PaleoEuropean]

Why is that weird? Inland Russia is wet too, that's how atmospheric pressure and storm systems work; they don't just stick on the coast.

[Trouble]

Why is that weird? Inland Russia is wet too, that's how atmospheric pressure and storm systems work; they don't just stick on the coast.

Not nearly to the same extent. Russia gets a fair amount of rain in the summer months but is mostly dry otherwise. This is particularly the case in Siberia which is hyper-continental.

[Universe]

Then you have the high alpine regions on the west that have Siberian esque winters but get hot and dry in summer to where they burn like crazy from forest fires.

Sounds like continental climate. You have that in much of Eastern Europe: hot summers and cold winters. Summers in parts of Russia can be really hot (even though Russia is usually associated with cold weather)

But yes, USA has an interesting climate.
Tornado is a peculiar phenomenon indeed.
USA have lots of different climates for its size, its size is comparable to that of Europe, but USA's climate is more diverse.

[Universe]

"Where Europe & Asia would fit in North America climate-wise"
https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/com...north_america/

[pulstar]

We have pretty cold weather in Southeastern/Central Europe right now. Usually this time its around 32-33 degrees C (90 F), now its just 15 C (55 F), quite rainy and windy. Its nothing strange every once in 10 years or so we got that.

[Trouble]

Sounds like continental climate. You have that in much of Eastern Europe: hot summers and cold winters. Summers in parts of Russia can be really hot (even though Russia is usually associated with cold weather)

But yes, USA has an interesting climate.
Tornado is a peculiar phenomenon indeed.
USA have lots of different climates for its size, its size is comparable to that of Europe, but USA's climate is more diverse.

The big difference is that in Russia you have warm wet summers and very cold dry winters. It is kind of the opposite in much of the alpine west like the Rockies where summers are dry and then a ridiculous amount of snow is dumped during winter due to high moisture.

[frankhammer]

It suits the North American continent's location and geography perfectly. Cold water currents on one coast, warm water on the other. High mountains one side, low mountains and a coastal plain on the other side with a massive water catchment in between.