Regions of north-eastern North America such as Long Island, New England and the Maritimes, are classified as Dfa and Dfb in the Köppen-Geiger classification, despite being on the coast. Why don't they have a C climate like the British Isles, New Zealand and coastal Washington state? Only Nantucket, MA, is Cfb.
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Because the gulf stream upwelling, and subsequent high sea surface temperature and evaporation, causes a semi-permanent low pressure zone near but not directly along the coast. This means that the weather systems that effect the eastern seaboard are predominantly drawn from inland leading to a continental rather than maritime aligned climate. Nantucket sits in the gulf stream and benefits from it's heat.
