The European Union and the United States take up large swaths of geography but at the same time are broken down into states that allow for differences within the superstates to be examined further. Here, the climates that exist in these two entities are broken down by state. By far the most abundant climates in both entities are the continental and the temperate as classified by the most widely used climate classification system, the Köppen Climate Classification.
Findings
- Tropical climates and monsoon climates are only found in the US.
- Conversely, the ice cap climate is not found in the US and only shows up in one small area in the EU.
- By far, the most common climates in both the EU and the US are the temperate and the continental climates.
- Plains and flatlands generally tend to have one climate over large swaths of land.
- Mountainous regions tend to have multiple climates ranging from very hot to very cold and from humid to dry over a limited area.
Caveats
- The data presented is based on the Köppen-Geiger Climate Classification System. There are other classification systems out there, but this is the one most commonly used.
- Some countries indicate that they have a particular climate even if it takes up a very small portion of their territory. There is a kml file that shows the geography of the climates.
Details
Only the United States (US) has tropical climates (Af: rainforest, Am: monsoon, Aw: wet savanna) and even there, it is only found in Hawaii and a small part of the southern Florida coast.
The only state in the European Union (EU) that has a hot desert climate (BWh) is Greece and even there it is only found on two Aegean islands, whereas large swaths of the southwestern United States experience it.
Spain is the only EU state that experiences a cold desert climate (BWk) in a couple of isolated areas on the eastern side of the country, whereas this climate is pervasive throughout the western US.
The hot semi-arid climates (BSh) tend to surround the desert climates and are primarily found on Ibiza in Spain and the Cycladic Islands in Greece in the EU and in the southern parts of Texas, Arizona, and California.
Cold semi-arid climates (BSk) are far more prevalent and can be found throughout the western US starting around the Great Plains and heading west to the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Range. In the EU the climate is primarily found in eastern Spain.
The temperate climates (Cfa: humid subtropical, Cfb: temperate oceanic, Cfc: subpolar oceanic, Csa: hot Mediterranean, Csb: Warm Mediterranean) are found throughout both the US and the EU.
The humid subtropical climate is common in northern and eastern Italy and the western Balkan peninsula in the EU and throughout the southern US.
The temperate oceanic climate is common in the British Isles and northern Spain, France, and western Germany in the EU and in the Alaskan panhandle in the US.
The subpolar oceanic climate is only found in small parts of France and Slovenia in the EU and in a tiny part of the Alaskan panhandle in the US.
The hot Mediterranean climate is found throughout the Central Valley in California in the US and southern Portugal and Spain, southern and western Italy, and southern and western Greece in the EU.
The warm Mediterranean climate is found in the northern Greek panhandle (Thrace), central Italy, southern France (south of the Massif Central) and northern Portugal and Galicia in Spain in the EU. In the US it encompasses the California coast all the way up to Washington state.
The continental climates (Dfa: hot humid continental, Dfb: warm humid continental, Dfc: subarctic, Dsa: hot dry continental, Dsb: warm dry continental, Dsc: dry subarctic, Dwa: monsoon hot continental, Dwb: monsoon warm continental, Dwc: monsoon subarctic) are also found throughout both the EU and the US.
The hot humid continental climate is found throughout the Central Plains in the US. Whereas in the EU it is considerably less prominent showing up only in the Danube delta and in the Great Alfold.
The warm humid continental climate dominates the North European Plain as well as southern Scandinavia. Whereas in the US it encompasses upstate New York, New England, and the area between the Great Lakes and the Rocky Mountains.
The subarctic climate is primarily found in Alaska in the US and throughout Finland and northern Sweden in the EU.
The hot dry continental climate is only found in small patches in western US states.
The warm dry continental climate is found primarily in the Pacific Northwest in the US while in the EU it is found in the Guadarrama Mountains north of Madrid in Spain and in Thrace in Greece.
The dry subarctic climate is only found in the US in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest.
The monsoon hot continental climate is only found in the Dakotas in the US.
The monsoon warm continental climate is also found in the Dakotas and in Minnesota in the US.
The monsoon subarctic climate is only found in Alaska in the US.
The mild tundra climate (ET) is found primarily in Alaska in the US with small patches in the continental US whereas in the EU it is prevalent in the Alps, the Rhodope Mountains, the Southern Carpathians, and the Pyrenees.
The ice cap climate (EF) is only found in the EU in the Rila Mountains.
Sources
Peel MC, Finlayson BL, and McMahon TA. 2007. "Updated World Map of the Köppen-Geiger Climate Classification." Hydrology and Earth Systems Sciences, 11, 1633-1644. http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1633/2007/hess-11-1633-2007.pdf