<p>Weather rankings are simply foolish, and everyone knows it. People have different tastes in weather.</p>
<p>The only reason this was brought up in the first place was so that the OP could harp on how much "better" the big sports schools s/he favors are than those nasty northern Ivies and LACs.</p>
<p>There are microclimates in the SoCal area as well. In the summer, there are huge differences in the temperatures at the coast versus places in the basin, like Calabasas.</p>
<p>^^ Same with northern Cal. I have been on trips to San Francisco where we drove inland and I was in and out of my jacket all day.</p>
<p>Weather IS a personal preference, but the weather in the northeast is NOT a selling point. I don't care how much you like to sled down the hill by the library. I go on winter vacations and do winter sports, but let me come back home where the cold season isn't as long.</p>
<p>Consolation,
The rankings were produced by College Pr owler, not me. Some folks care what the weather is going to be like where they go to college.</p>
<p>In response to your charge,
"The only reason this was brought up in the first place was so that the OP could harp on how much "better" the big sports schools s/he favors are than those nasty northern Ivies and LACs.</p>
<p>the top five schools that I posted as receiving the highest grades from CP were:</p>
<p>A+ Claremont McKenna
A Harvey Mudd
A Pomona
A- Stanford
B+ Emory</p>
<p>With the exception of Stanford, not exactly "big sports schools." </p>
<p>BTW, the current conditions at Claremont McKenna are sunny skies and 72 degrees. </p>
<p>The current situation at Dartmouth (grade of C) is cloudy and 29 degrees. </p>
<p>At MIT (grade of C-) it's snow and wind, 27 degrees with wind chill making it feel like 13. </p>
<p>At Cornell (grade of D), it's foggy, 21 degrees and a wind chill of 11 degrees. The expected high for tomorrow is 16. </p>
<p>I think that, for many people (including me), CP probably has it about right.</p>
<p>But it is ridiculous that, as someone pointed out, one college gets a different grade than the campus across the street. Unless now we're talking nanoclimates?</p>
<p>
[quote]
The current situation at Dartmouth (grade of C) is cloudy and 29 degrees.</p>
<p>At MIT (grade of C-) it's snow and wind, 27 degrees with wind chill making it feel like 13.</p>
<p>At Cornell (grade of D), it's foggy, 21 degrees and a wind chill of 11 degrees. The expected high for tomorrow is 16.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Speaking as somebody who has lived in Ithaca and Boston, and spent many winters snowshoeing in NH, there is absolutely no reason for this variation.</p>
<p>
[quote]
So yes, I'd say the weather is worse in Chicago than in the Twin Cities.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Nope.</p>
<p>From Wikipedia and other sources:</p>
<p>Average January Daily Temperature Range (F) Chicago: 18-32, Minneapolis: 4-22
Average July Daily Temperature Range (F) Chicago: 66-84, Minneapolis: 63-83
Average Annual No. Sub-zero (-18 C) Days Chicago: 15, Minneapolis: 30</p>
<p>Average Annual Snowfall: Chicago: 38 inches, Minneapolis: 45 inches</p>
<p>Wind
[quote]
Although Chicago is known as the Windy City, it is not significantly breezier than other American cities.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>
[quote]
The Twin Cities ... on average is [sic] windier than The Windy City, Chicago, Illinois.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>*Annual Cloudy Days * Chicago: 174, Minneapolis: 169</p>
<p>
Although tastes in weather do vary, the ranking is not useless. I have SAD, as do some of my friends, and weather was a somewhat important factor in college selection. Some of the colder and gloomier colleges have attempted to compensate (e.g. with sun lamps), but it's not at all the same as going to a college with sunnier and warmer weather.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The current situation at Dartmouth (grade of C) is cloudy and 29 degrees.</p>
<p>At MIT (grade of C-) it's snow and wind, 27 degrees with wind chill making it feel like 13.</p>
<p>At Cornell (grade of D), it's foggy, 21 degrees and a wind chill of 11 degrees. The expected high for tomorrow is 16.</p>
<p>I think that, for many people (including me), CP probably has it about right.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>And believe it or not there are many other people who actually ENJOY winter!</p>
<p>It's snowing here right now. Guess what? I LIKE it. It is beautiful. </p>
<p>Get over it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Although tastes in weather do vary, the ranking is not useless. I have SAD, as do some of my friends, and weather was a somewhat important factor in college selection. Some of the colder and gloomier colleges have attempted to compensate (e.g. with sun lamps), but it's not at all the same as going to a college with sunnier and warmer weather.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Information about weather is valuable. If you have SAD, the number of cloudy days or length of daylight is important. But that is completely different from RANKING weather. You simply cannot say that hot is necessarily better than cold, etc. To some of us, the idea of living in a place where the temperature is regularly over 100F is sheer torture. I find May in Florida, with the temperature in the 80s and high humidity, extremely unpleasant. Southerners always say "That's why we have air-conditioning!" to which I would respond that the winter is why we have heat! Moreover, one can dress for the cold and go out and enjoy the crisp snow in perfect comfort. When it's 95 with 95% humidity, the only way you'll feel comfortable outdoors is if you are immersed up to the neck in water!</p>
<p>Conso,
I glad to hear that you're enjoying the snow, ice, and cold. No one, including me, is claiming that all people favor the warmer climes. If that's the right temperature and weather for you, then who cares what CP or I have to say. </p>
<p>As for the extreme warm conditions that you warn about, you're neglecting the fact that most colleges are done by the end of April. For example, classes at U Florida will conclude this year on April 22. Not much different from many northeastern colleges, eg, Cornell (May 2).</p>
<p>
From Wikipedia and other sources:</p>
<p>Average January Daily Temperature Range (F) Chicago: 18-32, Minneapolis: 4-22 Average July Daily Temperature Range (F) Chicago: 66-84, Minneapolis: 63-83 Average Annual No. Sub-zero (-18 C) Days Chicago: 15, Minneapolis: 30</p>
<p>Average Annual Snowfall: Chicago: 38 inches, Minneapolis: 45 inches
</p>
<p>Generally the reported data are based on National Weather Service readings taken at the airports. In Chicago's case that means O'Hare which is a good 10 miles or more away from the Lake. Northwestern and the University of Chicago are both on the lakefront where it is much windier, damper, and snowier ("lake effect" snow) than at O'Hare. Nonetheless, using National Westher Service data:</p>
<p>MEDIAN JANUARY HUMIDITY
Chicago 78%
MSP 75%</p>
<p>AVERAGE JANUARY WIND SPEED
Chicago 11.7 mph
MSP 10.5 mph</p>
<p>PERCENT POSSIBLE SUNSHINE JAN/FEB/MAR
Chicago 44/49/51
MSP 53/59/57</p>
<p>Conclusion: even at O'Hare, Chicago is grayer, more humid, and windier than Minneapolis/St. Paul in the winter months. At the lakefront, i.e., at Northwestern or the University of Chicago, Chicago is even grayer, damper, and windier, and although lakefront-specific data apparently are not available, my bet is Chicago's lakefront is snowier than Minneapolis-St. Paul.</p>
<p>
[quote]
As for the extreme warm conditions that you warn about, you're neglecting the fact that most colleges are done by the end of April. For example, classes at U Florida will conclude this year on April 22. Not much different from many northeastern colleges, eg, Cornell (May 2).
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's true, but in my experience students have a tendency to end up staying year round in the area where they go to school. (Especially grad students, but undergrads too.)</p>
<p>Of course, my experience is in the Boston and Chicago areas, where people actually WANT to stay because there is so much to do. And of course there's Harvard Summer School, many students at MIT work in labs over the summer, the U of C goes year round, and so forth. I can certainly see that students in some locales would head straight out every year.</p>