6 random weather and geography factoids · 11:07pm Oct 3rd, 2020
#1: Venice is at the same latitude as Montreal (45.5 degrees North).
Let that sink in for a moment.
#2: London is not a rainy city.
London only gets an average of 23.7 inches (602mm) of precipitation per year.
That's the same amount of precipitation as San Francisco (23.7" or 601mm per year), and less than half the annual precipitation of New York City (49.9" or 1268mm per yr).
#3: Palm trees are not confined to the tropics.
They can grow in a wide variety of climates. Here's some palm trees in Vancouver (49N latitude):
In London (51N latitude):
A small windmill palm even survived for a few years in Sitka, ALASKA (57N latitude):
#4: Winters in Iceland are warmer than much of the Eastern US.
Although Reykjavik, Iceland is known as a blustery Arctic city, their winters are actually very mild. Reykjavik's coldest month, January, has an average temperature of 32.2F (0.1C). That's warmer than the coldest month in Cincinnati (30.9F or -0.6C in January).
#5: "Midnight sun" does not mean 24-hour daylight.
The midnight sun is a phenomenon where the sun is still visible after midnight. It happens in the summer in and near the Arctic.
But because of discrepancies in time zones, the sun can set after midnight the next day. For example, on June 20 in Reykjavik, Iceland (at 64N latitude), the sun rises at 2:55am and sets at 12:03am the next day.
Meaning the sun is still up at midnight, but it is shortly followed by night from 12:03am to 2:55am. (Due to the low sun angle near the Arctic, this "night" is actually more like a dull twilight. From personal experience, is still bright enough to walk around without electric lighting.)
#6: Perhaps one of the greatest ironies in global history: the UK has an ideal climate for growing tea.
"Whoops, looks like we colonized India for nothing!" 
True British tea was first grown in 2005, in Cornwall (southern England). Tea is now grown as far north as Scotland.
Hope you find these facts entertaining. If not, you must forgive me for being a nerd. 
Sources:
Cincinnati climate; Reykjavik climate; NYC climate; London climate; San Francisco climate; Reykjavik sunrise/sunset; Cornwall tea; Scotland tea
Images:
London palm tree; Vancouver palm tree; Alaska palm tree
Ooh! Intresting!
The Gulf Stream really does wonders for Europe's climate. You know it's crazy when it gets hotter in Amsterdam than in Phoenix.
Those were indeed interesting! Thank you for sharing. Number Four surprised me the most. Perhaps it’s a case of the ocean regulating temperatures.
really interesting. The gulfstream is really a miracle when you never get a winter in Europe but at the same latitude the winter is here 6 months a year