Local SDT Weather Data! OCT 1 – SEP 30 Water Year

One year of weather data doesn’t allow for trend analysis--but for geeks like me, it is fun. A few obvious things stand out--like when the sunshine is at its peak. Locals always complain about February and it was “brutto” this year rain-wise. November had more rain, but was warmer. Our annual precipitation (47 in.) here is not unlike the situation in Portland, Oregon.  At our farm in central Oregon, we had only 12 in. per year.

The weather in surrounding towns on the Riviera dei Cedri is very similar to Santa Domenica Talao. In the hottest months, SDT can be 1-3 degrees Celsius lower due to hilltown breezes.  BUT, if the breezes are not here, we are usually the same as the lowlanders by the beach.  Average wind in SDT is about 4mph--(see the gust reports for how the squalls behave when they arrive). We had lots of dead air in August. The Calabrians always complain about weather, so I felt right at home. Next week it’ll drop to 17 or so and they will be out in their sausage coats!

Our instruments are from Oregon Scientific. The equipment on the roof has minimal interference from nearby structures.  Like professional weather services, the temps are recorded in the shade. You hear people talking about temps in the high 30’s and 40’s here, but that is in the sun. When we told you about experiencing 43C/114F in Egypt--that was measured in the shade. Measurements are in both metric and American except for wind speeds.

	Actual Temp  L/H	Ave Temp L/H	Sunny Days	Ave % L/H  Humidity	Monthly Precip	High Wind Gust MPH	Notes
OCT	10/29C 50/84F	14/23C 57/74F	No data	45/83%	178.3mm 6.93in	34	15% annual precip
NOV	8/30C 46/86F	12/20C 53/67F	14.5	49/88	320mm 12.6in	59.7	27% annual precip
DEC	-2/25C 29/77F	7/15C 44/59F	23	43/85	121.6mm 4.79in	59	2 days snow 100mm
JAN	4/21C 39/70F	8/17C 47/63F	13.5	41/81	69.5mm 2.74in	46.5
FEB	1/24C 34/75F	7/15C 44/59F	18.5	42/80	199.1mm 7.84in	37	16% annual precip
MAR	1/27C 33/81F	8/16C 46/62F	25.5	38/76	139mm 5.5in	47.6	Sunny days returning
APR	7/25C 45/77F	12/20C 45/77F	22	30/69	5.3mm 0.21in	32
MAY	9/28C 48/82F	14/24C 58/75F	29	36/77	93.8mm 3.69in	34
JUN	16/32C 61/90F	19/26C 66/80F	26	42/72	12.7mm 0.24in	28
JUL	18/34C 63/93F	23/28C 74/83F	30.5	39/63	3.1mm 0.24in	38.7
AUG	18/31C 64/88F	21/28C 70/83F	31	31/62	0 0	28	Annual Precip
SEP	14/31C 56/88F	20/27C 68/81F	26.5	30/61	45.3mm 1.78in	65	1189mm 46.82in

*

FYI, a sunny day is full sun. A 50% sunny day is partly cloudy--so two partly sunny days totals to one day of sun. Complete overcast is a zero.

*

This was a long hot summer. It felt worse than the data shows as far as humidity. There were a lot of days in Jul/Aug when we had no breezes, so the heat and humidity (comfort index) worsened. The humidity comes and goes. In comparison, we had more humidity (in the 50-60% range) this year than last year. Certainly not as miserable as in the American South—but you get spoiled living in the dry Western US for 40 years.

*

Oh, and thanks to Di--not only for being the blog queen--I have no idea how this gets onto a blog--but also for working hard to make the Excel spreadsheets I use for the weather data. I am in her debt once again. In the past, if I ever needed a spreadsheet at work, she would make it at home and I would email it to the office! Now I just have to keep her gin and tonics cold delivered on-time.  Guido, a weather geek in Southern Italy