[nerdponx]

Have you ever been to anywhere in North America at the same latitude as Amsterdam? Summer gets above 30 C and winter gets below -10 C, with frequent extreme weather events like thunderstorms, wildfires, "nor'easter" blizzards, even hurricanes once every few decades. European weather at the same latitude is comparatively much more moderate.

[javcasas]

"9 meses de invierno y 3 de infierno" (9 months of winter and 3 of hell) - an old saying from my old city in Mainland Spain. -5C in winter, 40C in summer. Also thunderstorms, golf-ball sized hailstorms, prolongued droughs and quite a few wildfires.

Is that extreme enough by your standards?

[saiya-jin]

Is this valid also for places in US directly next to oceans? IMHO ocean shores are pretty mild in places all over the world in those lattitudes I've visited.

We also have harsh dry continental weather in Europe, you just have to move a bit more east, Russia starts to have its meteorological say.

Ie my own Slovakia has generally much lower humidity compared to say Switzerland or France, summers and winters and everything in between. Younger back home I've skied in -30C, and also experienced above 30 regularly during summers.

This is coming from decade and a half spending here in the western Europe. Coming home say on Christmas is always quite a shock for my breathing aparatus, more humidity simplifies breathing and infections.

[Tagbert]

The US Eastern coast has a generally more extreme climate than the European west coast. The prevailing wind patterns are west to east so the harsh continental air is blown over the US East coast and the relatively warmer Atlantic air is blown over Europe.

The US west coast is mild near the ocean, but quickly hits mountains and the Eastern side of those mountains has a much more extreme climate. Seattle has a climate not too different than London and much more mild than Boston.