Hi everyone,

I'm curious to know if there is anywhere else in the world (on land) that has a similar latitude to the UK but has winters that are as mild as we get here on average. I think I remember reading that there are places, but find it hard to believe how anywhere can beat the UK in terms of winter mildness!

Principally wondering about northern hemisphere but also southern.

I would have thought areas of British Columbia have a similarly fairly mild winter climate given the ameliorating influence of the North Pacific Current.

EDIT: Snap, Rob

Seattle isn't a million miles further south than Cornwall and the Winters there in Seattle are similar to the UK. In the US it has a reputation for it's rain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Vancouver

There is virtually no difference between Vancouver and Central England in terms of temperature. We may be a degree cooler by day but they appear perhaps a degree cooler by night. 

Yes incredibly

Yes it's easy to forget how far north we are on a global scale. 

True fact: if you live in London, you live further north than 75% of all Canadians. 

North Western USA, even Southern Alaska is a bit like NW Scotland at times.

Yes, Ireland

But assuming you meant similar latitude to the British Isles on other continents, then there are a few extreme maritime locations that would have as or mild mild winters. Whilst Vancouver does count, Western Vancouver Island is even milder.

Interestingly there is a portion of SE Vancouver Island near Victoria that claims to be the most Northerly example of a mediterranean climate owning to its very dry summers and wet winters. If you look at the climate chart on the Wikipedia article the monthly temperatures are almost identical to those in parts of Western England and Wales, and the cooler bits of the South Coast. Victoria is at 48N, about the same as Brest in Brittany.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria,_British_Columbia

The difference is the summer rainfall, averaging 14mm in July and around 20mm in June and August.

The temperature data for Victoria international airport for 1981-10 are actually strikingly to South East England, for every single month.

Victoria's "mediterranean" status triggered an interesting debate on the Wikipedia forum which proves to me that the concept of the med climate has to be more than just a statistical thing, but takes in people's contextual associations with vegetation (olive trees, evergreen oaks, scrubby hillsides), culture and lifestyle (youths on scooters, short old people gossiping on village squares, celebs hanging out at pool parties in the Hollywood hills) as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AMediterranean_climate

Off topic a little, a couple of years ago I looked into the Met Office site records to find the most "mediterranean" site in the UK. The closest I could get was Lymington on the South Coast, which has around 35mm average rain in July compared with 3 times that in November.

Just stop it.

(we all remember how you get like a kid in a sweetshop when it snows)

I genuinely do in deepest, darkest winter.

PS - I have one of these to keep me warm

PPS - no, that's not me

PPPS - I bet you have a snood

PPPPS - apologies for wrecking your thread, BHB

To actually answer the question, the obvious answer is the Republic of Ireland.  Valentia in the far SW is impressively mild.

I think in the Southern Hemisphere the general rule is that in temperate regions at least the equivalent climate there equates to about 10 degrees nearer the equator than in the Northern Hemisphere. For example, The Falkland Islands at around 50°S have a similar climate to Shetland at around 60°N.

Seattle is a little colder than Torquay. In Seattle they can grow Chamaerops Humilis, the most northerly naturally occuring palm in the world, native as far north as France, and Trachycarpus Fortunei (Windmill Palms, Chusan Palms) those are mountain palms from China, Burma, Nepal, etc. But they can't grow Date Palms like the one's in the Med like we can in Torquay.

A Canary Island Date Palm in Torquay. They can't grow these in Seattle.

The Pacific North West and British Columbia coast would be the only places with winters as vile as the British Isles.

The endless cold, wind, gloom and rain of last winter was utterly horrific and is what I imagine places in this part of the world have to endure on a regular basis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Hardy 

Certainly seems as though many winters would see little snow here just endless rain and 5-7C maxes like we suffered last winter. Only at 50 degrees north though. The climates further north are equally as putrid, with regards to cold rain and gloom, but snow and frost are much more likely than in the UK.

Indeed - The city of Forks in the Pacific North West is very wet, probably comparable to western Scotland/Lake district. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forks,_Washington#Geography_and_climate

The only difference is that it's further south than Scotland so when the much stronger sun decides to come out it would feel a bit more pleasant than a Summer in Fort William!