(The Hill) – If you’ve always wanted to spend a long weekend in Pittsburgh, now might be the time.
According to federal weather data, Pittsburgh ranks as one of America’s coolest cities in midsummer, with an enviable average temperature of 73.2 degrees in July.
Much of the country is suffering from a dangerous heat wave that is breaking records across the South West. The maximum temperature in Phoenix has reached or exceeded 110 degrees for 20 consecutive days.
Pittsburgh, on the other hand, has a forecast high of 78 on Friday.
Kentucky declares a state of emergency over flooding
In an attempt to escape, we found ten major cities, including Pittsburgh, that have some of the coolest July weather in America. Our average temperatures, sourced from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, span the years 1991 through 2020, reflecting the increasing magnitude of global warming.
san francisco
Mark Twain once said, “The coldest winter I’ve ever had was a summer in San Francisco.” (Or was it?)
With an average temperature of 60.3 degrees in July, San Francisco has one of the coolest summers in the western hemisphere.
The chill comes from the city’s coastal location on the Pacific Ocean. The Central Valley in eastern California acts like a vacuum, drawing cool ocean air through the city, a meteorologist reported.
“Today’s high is 62 degrees,” said Dan Luscher, an urban planner and longtime San Francisco resident, on Wednesday. “If I hadn’t read the news, I wouldn’t even know there was a heat wave.
“I think San Francisco should start positioning itself as a climate paradise or climate hotspot,” he said, “as heat events of this type will become more common.”
Seattle
With an average temperature of 66.5 degrees in July, Seattle is one of the coolest cities in the country in midsummer.
Seattle is on the same cool part of the Pacific Coast as San Francisco, but about 800 miles further north. To the east lie the Cascade Mountains, a mountain range that protects the city from the cold air of the American interior in winter and the extreme heat in summer. There’s a reason Frasier Crane always wore that suit on TV.
According to a local news site, Seattle experiences 90-degree weather about four days a year. When a heat dome settled over the city in 2021, generating 90 and even 100 degree heat for eight days, the city plunged into crisis.
San Jose
While San Jose may be on fewer vacation routes than the cities listed above, the California city boasts an enviable average temperature of 69.5°C in July. See northern neighbor San Francisco for an explanation.
Portland
With an average July temperature of 70.2 degrees, Portland shares many climatic characteristics with other Pacific Coast cities.
But Portland, too, is experiencing more 90-degree days during a time of ongoing climate change.
San Diego
The average July temperature in San Diego is 70.7 degrees. And unlike Seattle, for example, San Diego also gets a lot of sun. The city tops many lists of American destinations for having the most sunshine and objectively beautiful days.
Pittsburgh
We are now leaving the West Coast and heading to Pittsburgh of all places, where the average temperature in July is a cool 73.2 degrees.
Due to its distance from the coast, Pittsburgh occasionally experiences extreme weather conditions. In 2014, temperatures dropped to over 40 degrees in mid-August. The leaves began to change color.
“Pittsburgh residents have been known to wear bathing suits and winter jackets in the same week,” a local reporter wrote after a previous summer cold snap, captioning it: “The weather in Pittsburgh is terrible for a number of reasons.”
On the plus side, summers don’t get too hot in Pittsburgh.
“We’re close enough to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream to get some of the moderation that comes with being close to the coast,” said Neil Donahue, a chemistry professor at Carnegie Mellon University. “We’re not too far north of the Mason-Dixon line, but we’re definitely not south.”
Milwaukee
With an average July temperature of 73.3 degrees, Milwaukee stays slightly cooler than Chicago, its southern neighbor. Both cities enjoy wonderfully cool summer breezes off Lake Michigan.
The angel
Angelenos like to bitch about the weather, but the truth is that July is relatively sweet in Los Angeles, with an average temperature of 73.3 degrees.
“The only real advantage we have is the beach,” said John Singh, an entertainment advertising consultant in the Sherman Oaks enclave. “So if it gets uncomfortably hot, we can go to the coast, where it’s almost always cool.”
Detroit
Like Milwaukee, Detroit benefits from its location on the Great Lakes and from its pure northern location: the city is only a stone’s throw from Canada. Average temperature in July: 74.1 degrees.
Boston
Of the big East Coast cities, Boston seems to be the best at resisting the summer heat. The average temperature in July is 74.1 degrees.
“What I like best about it is that it’s cool enough, at least in the early morning, to walk to work, which is one of my favorite everyday days,” said Gal Wettstein, a research economist at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
“Of course we still complain about the hot and humid summer days in Boston.”
