Why Two Places at the Same Latitude Can Have Completely Different Climates
If latitude—a measurement of how far north or south a location is from the equator—helps determine how much solar energy a place receives, shouldn't places at the same latitude have similar climates?
Not necessarily. And one of my favorite examples comes from somewhere I've actually lived.
What Actually Determines the Climate of a Place?
Why is Miami hot and humid while Phoenix is hot and dry?
Why can you travel from a warm coastline into cool mountain air without traveling very far north or south?
Why do some places have four recognizable seasons while others organize the year around wet and dry periods?
A place's climate isn't random.
Every climate has a story. And if you know what to look for, you can start to understand why a place feels and functions the way it does.