Comparing AC's Airport With The City

Last week, we compared Atlantic City's Airport with Philadelphia to reflect the differences between the official "Shore ob" site and the city.   How about comparing Atlantic City's Airport with its representative city ten miles down to the southeast?   Atlantic City proper is definitely a warmer climate on the whole -- thanks to the ocean, but the differences are most noticeable in the winter, thanks to the ocean.

Average daytime highs are the same in the city during the day in January, while over six degrees warmer at night.   Those differences in temperature at night remain rather constant -- average temperatures at night are at least four degrees cooler at the Airport each month through the year, as high as seven degrees in November.   Daytime highs vary by month through the year, with the greatest spreads in May and June as temperatures at the Airport are five degrees higher than they are in the city proper.   The Atlantic warms slowly due to the ocean's ability to absorb heat more slowly compared to land.   This results in a spread that widens out until mid summer, when ocean temperatures warm into the 70's and hold steady through early September.   Temperature spreads close from July through January as the ocean cools more slowly...thanks to its ability to retain heat.

The city's average low temperature is comparable to Philadelphia's during much of the year whereas the average high in the city is lower except from November through February.

Comparing Local "Climates" -- AC & Philly

We started this series in late January with a look at the comparison in temperatures and snowfall between Allentown and Philadelphia, separated geographically by about 50 miles but quite a bit different overall in terms of winter weather. This time, we're going about 55 miles southeast, to Atlantic City to highlight their weather.

AC's official weather measurements are actually ten miles inland from the city, in Egg Harbor Township at the Airport.  The result of an inland site and not an observation site on the barrier island means that temperatures, while still prone to the influence of the ocean, see a bit less influence than areas closer to the coastline do.   Next week I'll compare the Airport in AC to the Courthouse in Atlantic City to show you the difference ten miles makes on average.   In this week's report, we'll simply compare the most often seen "Shore" report with our climate to show you the differences in temperature between the two locations.

Atlantic City's high temperatures are quite similar to Philadelphia -- a bit warmer in the winter (oceanic influence, being a touch south of the city help) but a bit cooler in the summer (ocean).   However, the difference between the Airport and Philly is rather insignificant outside of the winter as temperature differential in most months is generally within a degree.   The biggest differences are at night where low temperatures are several degrees cooler than Philadelphia -- in the case of May it's as much as five degrees cooler.  Even when the ocean is at its warmest, those effects don't show up in Atlantic City at night due to being inland, in a rural area, and on the edge of the Pinelands.  Atlantic City is prone to some rather cold nights at its airport due to the sandy soil that surrounds the location.   Philadelphia's heat island is a powerful factor in boosting temperatures at night compared to surrounding locations.

Snowfall, with Atlantic City closer to the ocean and a touch south, is lower (15" average compared to Philadelphia's average just over 20").