Love seasons? Stay in Suffolk

Published 10:07 pm Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Lovers of individual seasons have it made in Suffolk, according to a new survey from website WalletHub.com.

But so do folks who like to experience mild weather all year around, according to Odysseas Papadimtriou, chief executive officer of the website, which advises consumers on the best and worst places to live for varying things.

“Most people fall into two categories,” Papadimtriou said. “Some people like mild weather all year around. Others like seasonal differences, but they still don’t want extreme weather in any season.”

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The website looked at the nation’s 600 largest cities and examined metrics including temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness and propensity for extreme weather, Papadimtriou said.

Suffolk scored in the 20th percentile for mild temperatures all year around, with the first percentile being the best. For lovers of variation between the seasons, it scored even higher, in the eighth percentile.

WalletHub said it’s important to rank weather because it dictates more than just what kind of clothes you wear.

Routine weather conditions cost the economy as much as $485 billion annually, according to WalletHub.

Ranging from monthly energy bills and local infrastructure costs to time and money spent dealing with extreme weather, the effects on the wallets of individuals and municipalities can be substantial. Papadimtriou also said weather affects mood and mood affects productivity at work, ultimately hitting consumers where it counts — in their paychecks.

“It has broad implications,” Papadimtriou said. “The weather can affect what outdoor activities our kids can have. All of these are a function of the weather.”

He acknowledged that ranking weather is a tricky thing.

“Ranking weather is so hard, because everyone has a different definition of what is nice,” he said. “Some people will say, ‘I like to see 10 inches of snow on the ground in the winter.’ Even the people that like the four seasons, they like the variations of seasons, but they don’t like extremes. They don’t want temperatures above 100 or 10 inches of snow on the ground. If you like extremes, these rankings will not apply to you.”

Those folks who like extremes, unsurprisingly, would do well to move to Alaska, Hawaii or Texas. Fairbanks, Alaska, is the coldest city in the country with an average temperature of 28 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the survey.

The Hawaiian cities of Pearl City and Honolulu are the warmest, each with an average temperature of 78 degrees.

Hilo, Hawaii, is one of the most humid cities in the country. Ketchikan, Alaska, has one of the highest levels of precipitation in the country, with a daily average of one-third of one inch.

The city of Amarillo, Texas, is one of the windiest cities in the country, according to the report.

To see the full results, visit www.wallethub.com.