Each of the Sunshine Guides
you have at your fingertips represents my professional opinion as to the
most likely weather that you will encounter at that particular destination from
month to month over the course of a normal future year. These Guides present the kind of information
that is useful both to people who travel for pleasure and to those who travel
for business. Weather is inherently
complex, but I have tried to present this information in a format that is easy
to understand.
The easiest way to use them is
by comparing a Guide for a place whose climate you are
familiar with (your home town, for instance) and a Guide for whatever
destination you have in mind. This way,
you get a feeling for how much sunnier or cloudier, warmer or cooler, wetter or
drier the proposed destination is compared to someplace you know.
If that’s not practicable (not
everybody’s home town can be included in the collection), then you just use the
Guides as best you can. I have tried to
make them pretty much self-explanatory.
To help you out, the following comments will lead you through a typical
guide, line by line.
LOCATION: These Guides start off by telling you where that
destination is in the country, and something of its geographic situation
(mountains, coast, riverbank, etc.). For
those with health concerns, you will be told its rough elevation.
LIGHT: You will be told how long the average
daylight periods are from month to month, how many hours of daily sunshine you
can reasonably expect to encounter, and how much of the sky is normally blue
rather than cloudy.
AIR TEMPERATURES: I will tell you what each
month’s lowest temperature (for the whole month) is likely to be and what the
highest temperature is likely to be.
This information is useful in packing a wardrobe, since if you can dress
for those extreme temperatures, you will have clothing for anything in
between. I will tell you how cool the
mornings are, and how hot and how humid the afternoons are likely to be.
SPECIAL TEMPERATURE CONSIDERATIONS: I will let you know how many mornings are likely to
start out below freezing, and how many afternoons are likely to pass the 90°F mark. The
formation of frost and ice affects a lot of travel activities, and the 90° point marks the point where your body can no longer
be cooled by radiation and conduction, but must rely essentially on the cooling
produced by evaporation of moisture from the skin and lungs (sweating and
panting).
WATER TEMPERATURES: If there are any waters nearby
that are commonly used for water sports, I will tell you the likely surface
temperature of those waters from month to month. These water temperatures are open water
temperatures, away from the shallows and the outflows of rivers and streams.
PRECIPITATION:
I will tell you the most likely percentage of truly dry days (no measurable
rain) and the most likely percentage of reasonably dry days (either no rain at
all, or not enough to wet the ground under the trees). I will tell you how much rain you can expect
in a five-day period (monthly totals are misleading, because different months
have different numbers of days). I will
sometimes tell you how much snow you can expect during the month, but only if
that snowfall is heavy enough to either offer an opportunity for snow sports or
have a serious effect on travel in most years.
If it’s less than that amount, you won’t see a line for it.
OTHER WEATHER PHENOMENA: I will offer you information on the most likely
percentage of snowy days during that month, days with thunder (thunder heard is
the key, not necessarily thunderstorms bringing rain), and days with fog thick
enough to obscure the scenery or be a hazard in driving.
COMMENTS:
These comments can be on peculiar aspects of the weather, how the year is
divided into seasons, or anything else that happened to catch my fancy when I
was writing the Guide.
* * * * *
There you have it. I simply want you to have a good idea of what
kind of weather you can reasonably expect at your chosen destination in your
chosen month. Other kinds of weather are
going to happen (depending upon how lucky or unlucky you happen to be). I can’t help that, and neither can you. All I can do is to give you the best
information that is within my power to give.
It is up to you to take the weather that you actually get and to make
the most of it.