FreeWeather.info

While most people make their holiday plans weeks or months in advance of departure, weather forecasts are only available at best for 3 to 5 days into the future. So how do you find out what sort of weather to expect when you are planning your holiday?

Luckily recurring weather patterns do exist for most places and these can be identified from historical weather records (climate statistics) averaged over many years. Find the best month to travel to a particular destination based on the sort of weather you would like on your holiday.

Take the following into consideration while planning an Holiday trip:

Average Maximum Daytime Temperature gives a good indication of the highest temperatures to expect at the warmest time of the day for each month.

Maximum Daytime Temperatures are classified in the following ranges:

*Cool 8-14°C (46-58°F)
*Comfortable 14-22°C (58-72°F) — Beast suitable for Trekking and walks
*Warm 22-30°C (72-86°F)
*Hot 30-38°C (86-100°F)

Average Minimum Night-time Temperature gives a good indication of the lowest temperatures to expect during the night for each month. In some places it can become relatively cold at night for example at high elevations, and in desert areas. 12°C (54°F) to 15°C (59°F) is the comfortable temparature during nights.

Average Hours of Sunshine shows the average number of hours of bright sunshine per day for each month, rounded to the nearest hour. A further indication of good weather is the percentage of Daylight Hours with bright sunshine. Typically 11-14 hours of daylight hours is considered to be good.

Average Monthly Rainfall shows the average monthly rainfall in millimeters and inches for each month. High levels of rainfall do not necessarily indicate poor weather conditions. Many places in the tropics have high levels of rainfall and lots of sunshine as well. The Maldives, for example, has more than twice the rainfall of Manchester but also has more than twice the amount of sunshine.

Heat & Humidity gives an indication of average levels of discomfort caused by high temperatures combined with high humidity. High temperatures alone do not necessarily indicate how hot it ‘feels’, because high levels of humidity in the air also play a role. As the air temperature approaches body temperature (37°C / 98°F) in humid conditions, the body’s ability to cool itself by perspiring becomes impaired. The result is a feeling of discomfort. The higher the level of heat and humidity the more uncomfortable you are likely to feel.
Heat and Humidity is not an issue at temperatures below about 24°C (75°F), no matter how high the humidity.

UV Index (Maximum) gives an indication of how strong UV radiation may be under clear sky conditions around midday, i.e. noon. This shows the potential for skin damage through exposure to the sun at the most dangerous time of the day.

Average Sea Temperature shows average monthly sea-surface temperatures for each month rounded to the nearest degree. Because the sun also emits infra-red radiation, swimming in the sea in direct sun can help to improve the sensation of the cooler water temperatures. Temperatures are classified in the following ranges:
* Very cold and Dangerous : Less than 16°C
* Cool 18°C to 24°C (65°F to 75°F)
* Comfortable 24°C to 28°C (75°F to 82°F) — Best Suitable for Swimming
* Warm 28°C or more (82°F or more)

Weather Map is typically a graphical representation of various factors involving atmospheric conditions such as wind strength/direction diagrams, Temparature maps, Low/High Pressure indications etc.

Wind strength is inversely proportional to the distance between isobars — the closer the lines, the stronger the winds. This rule does not apply in the tropics where the effect of the earth’s rotation is weak. For this reason, tropical meteorologists usually replace isobars with streamline arrows which indicate wind and direction without directly relating to the pressure gradient.

Shaded areas on weather maps show where there has been rain in the previous 24 hours, and wind direction is shown with arrows that have a series of barbs on their tails to indicate speed.

Energy balance (the Earth’s annual and the global mean): of the incoming solar radiation, 49% (168 Wm-2) is absorbed by the surface. That heat is returned to the atmosphere as sensible heat, as evapotranspiration (latent heat) and as thermal infrared radiation. Most of this radiation is absorbed by the atmosphere, which in turn emits radiation both up and down. The radiation lost to space comes from cloud tops and atmospheric regions much colder than the surface. This causes a greenhouse effect.

Climate variability: Climate changes (to mean states for example) that occur on time and spatial scales beyond those of individual weather events. Some of this variability is “forced” from outside the climate system itself—by things like anthropogenic greenhouse gases or solar variability. Other variability, such as oscillations in atmospheric-oceanic circulation, is internal to the climate system.

Adaptation to climate variability: Changes in land use or climate can pose threats as well as opportunities to people and ecosystems. The quality of life and habitats will reflect the resiliency of people and ecosystems to negative changes, and their ability to take advantage of arising opportunities. For people, this includes having resources and skills (e.g., to plan for the future despite uncertainties) to cope with change.

Climate models: Mathematical representations of the Earth’s climate system and components and their processes and interactions. They are used as a research tool to study and simulate natural climate variability, and project the climate response to human activities (i.e. human induced forcing). They are also used operationally for monthly, seasonal and multi-year climate predictions. Climate models of varying complexity depict climate system components singly and in combination.