Well, and it's crazy how cold the middle and eastern parts of North America get.
Boston and Chicago are famously cold cities. Chicago is exactly parallel with Rome; Boston is only 50km north of Rome. Rome, Barcelona, even Tblisi - all about 10+ degrees C (so 20 degrees F) more mild in the winter than Chicago. The entirety of continental France, including its southern coast, is north of Boston. Paris is almost far enough north to be exactly at the long E-W US/Canada border. Yet rarely gets below freezing.