[cmrdporcupine]

The point is that many Americans treat 'Canada' as a bucket in which everything is cold weather. And yet the whole swathe of the northern states Minnesota, North Dakota, upper Michigan, etc. are _significantly_ further north and colder than where the bulk of the Canadian population is.

I once had a coworker from Atlanta at our office in Toronto. Overheard him on the phone talking to his wife, gobsmacked by the cold, which he said "it's just so far north!" and yet that's not the reason -- we're no further north than northern California. He happened to be here during a cold front that came out of northern Ontario. It's a classic continental climate; summer heat here is as intense as that of many southern US states.

The climate on the north side of Lake Ontario is actually milder than on the other side due to lake effect and weather patterns. Just got back from a trip to the Finger Lakes; our wines in the Niagara region are noticeably riper than those from down there.

[brooklyndavs]

Thats funny. I wonder if the same coworker from Atlanta would make the same comment about a city like Chicago? I've spent years in both Chicago and Toronto in the past and it seems like the climate is almost identical. Toronto maybe being a touch colder in the winter, but not by much. Summer I remember was almost identical (hot and humid). Chicago also has that classic continental climate, as does most of the upper midwest.

Actually, I think the climate on the south side of Lake Ontario is a bit warmer and wetter (thus the lake effect snow). The cold air is moderated a bit as it crosses over the lakes, but it also picks up all that moisture. In fact, I think the windward side of all the Great Lakes are similar and might be in different climate zones vs the leeward side of the lakes. I know in Western Michigan for example there is a bit of a fruit belt because of this.

[cmrdporcupine]

The weather patterns here are predominantly with the prevailing winds of west to east. Most of the weather in this area comes over from Michigan. Most of the weather hitting upstate NY is not coming over from Lake Ontario and being moderated by the lake, but comes from the west. Yes, the lake effect snow is a thing more on the south side, but the plant growing zone for example is 1 level higher on the northwest corner of the lake than on the south bank.

[greg5green]

> It's a classic continental climate; summer heat here is as intense as that of many southern US states.

As someone who grew up outside Buffalo and lives in NC now, this is a big NO.

There are cold streaks (or polar vortexes or whatever the weather people want to call them now) in Atlanta and heat waves in Buffalo and these might cause temperatures to seem similar for a few days per year, but it is NOT the same.

The difference is that these cold streaks last for a couple days in Atlanta and for months in Buffalo, and vice versa for heat waves. Temperatures in the 20s (Fahrenheit, sorry) with dips lower are common for Buffalo all winter, but happen only for a few days at a time (and maybe once per winter) in Atlanta.

And same with the high temps -- temps in the 90s are expected from July thru the end of September in Atlanta, but its only a few days in Buffalo that are that way. Last summer here in Durham, NC, we set a record for days above 90 in a row that was in the high 20s, if not 30s (as in 20 or 30 days in a row). I very clearly remember that my second summer down here didn't even have nightly lows in the 80s. That just doesn't happen up North.

PS: Please forgive me for substituting Buffalo weather for Toronto. It's about the same, but I wanted to accurately represent my anecdotal experiences.

PPS: This should not distract from the fact that weather in Ontario is very similar to weather in New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio and maybe better than Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, etc.

[dasil003]

It's an interesting climate over there because of the continentality plus the moderating influence of the lakes. For instance, I am from Minneapolis which is much colder than Toronto in the winter and also much hotter in the summer (in fact our record high is higher than Florida's record high, but I digress).

[scott_s]

Well, it's about two degrees more north than northern CA, but yes, that's a good reference point.