Looking forward to wearing shorts all winter? Bad news for new RV snowbirds looking for warm weather and sunshine! Winter is still winter, no matter where you travel, at least in the continental US.
Unfortunately, the arctic blast that currently grips the rest of the US does not skip favorite snowbird destinations. So where can RVers go to guarantee spending their winter in shorts … swimming and playing on the beach? If your getaway is only for a week, warm weather and sunshine is a totally unpredictable. If for all winter, expect days/ sometimes a week of cold (not arctic cold, just breezy gray and chilly!) in between stretches of paradise.
It’s our first snowbird winter in our Lance 1685 travel trailer (prior winters we spent in the Caribbean, the Keys or Southwest Florida on our sailboat).
Sunset at Boca Grande, 16 miles from Key West.
Having spent the last two winters in Key West/Bahamas/Cuba, we’re venturing out to see what we can find in the rest of the US for warm sunshine. This year, we’ll head to the RV Snowbird destination Rio Grande Valley in south Texas. (I’ve learned that’s RGV in RV Snowbird lingo.) We’ll become “Winter Texans” … wonder if that means we’ll have to fly a Texas state flag like all the Texan cruisers do! 🙂
In choosing our first RV Snowbird destination, being sailors, the first thing we looked at was latitude. Obviously Key West, at 24.5N, is the farthest south you can get in the continental US. We’ve spent the last two winters there & chose not to go back this year.
David can wear his shorts! And beachcomb and enjoy Key West on days where paradise permits!
Each 1 degree of latitude is 60 miles. Brownsville, Texas is at 25.9North or in between Key West and Miami. Hopefully similar to Key Wests latitude, although South Padre/Brownsville is missing Key West’s warm Gulf Stream waters impacting the climate.
In contrast Tucson, Arizona’s latitude is 32.3 North … but it has the advantage (or not) of being in the desert. Temperatures there and other areas of Arizona are reportedly among the very best for being a snowbird. We won’t find out this winter, but we’ll leave future options open.
But the reality remains, no matter where we go, winter is still winter. Unless we relocate to the southern hemisphere, we’ll still be dealing with Northers (cold fronts) and winter weather – it’ll just be a bit warmer and no snow/ice. In Key West the last two winters, we had two, sometimes three “northers” a week – meaning the temperatures would dip, wind would howl from the north and sometimes it would pour rain. Between those days, we’d have paradise perfect weather – just enough to let the seas settle to venture out before another Norther blew down on us.
About to Become “Winter Texans”!
We’re hoping that southwestern Texas will have fewer Northers. But we won’t know until we get there. It does occur to us that Mexico offers smaller latitudes which should equal warmer weather…. but we’re unsure this year about RV Snowbirding in Mexico — but we may take a road trip, or two, to find out more for future winters!
In the meantime, we’re packing some “winter” clothes – David actually bought not one but TWO pairs of jeans, as well as a couple pairs of hiking zip off pants/shorts. He’s not happy, but he is a bit prepared for what we’ll find when we arrive in South Padre Island on January 10, 2017! Stay tuned, we’ll let you know!
Continuing our quest for sunshine & short’s weather, all year long…. Anyone have a recommendation for don’t miss stuff in the Brownsville/South Padre Island area? Please leave a comment and share! Cheers! Jan
