Most Americans say that the perfect temperature is in the 70s, while people in the Northeast and Midwest are more tolerant of the cold than people in the South and West
From the Rocky Mountains eastwards most of the United States will see unusually cold, stormy weather this week. For a large area - stretching from Dallas to New York City - severe thunderstorms and tornadoes have been forecast, following on from the tornadoes that hit New York and Pennsylvania last week. Until now, however, the summer had been relatively gentle, avoiding the scorching heatwaves of prior years and letting most Americans enjoy a mild summer.
YouGov's latest research shows that the ideal average temperature for Americans is 72 degrees Farenheit. Only 7% of the country say that their ideal temperature is less than 60 degrees, while 13% say that their ideal is 80 degrees or more. 18% say that their ideal temperature is in the 60s and 60% say it's in the 70s. The single most popular answer was 75 degrees, which was chosen by 16% of Americans.
Asked what counts as too hot, the average American says that anything above 86 degrees is pushing it. When it comes to the cold, the average is 37 degrees, but there is a noticeable regional split. For people out West, things start to get too cold when the thermometer drops to 41, but for people in the Northeast things have to be approaching freezing at 33 degrees.
Older Americans are more tolerant of wider range of temperatures than young people. For under-30s, 83 and above is too hot, compared to 88 for over-65s. When it comes to the cold, the average person under the age of 30 starts complaining at 42 degrees, while over-65s only begin to feel the cold at 34.
Full poll results can be found here.
Image: Getty
