The English
ClimateWell, We've Done a Little Research, and Surprise ....
First, a comment .... before starting this page, we thought climate would be
a good topic. As "climate" (long-term weather trends) though, there are
only a few extremely well hidden web-sites, mostly research-type -- as
"weather" (short-term climate), information abounds. So, this has
developed into a page for both. Now, the surprise .... despite what is said
about English weather .... despite the deep down gut feel that it rains alot
here .... London actually gets considerably less precipitation than Chicago,
and is warmer .... Believe It, Or Not. Remember, statistics don't lie .... and
Rhode Island is bigger than Texas. A few other facts and links follow.
(Play "optimistic" music -- Here Comes The Sun) (Play "pessimistic" music -- Here Comes The Rain Again)
"How We Feel" About the Weather Here:
Today is April 24 -- it was light until well after 8 pm -- We love the spring, and it comes early here sundown-wise. On November 24, it was dark at 4:30 -- We hate the fall. A fact -- there is a physical condition in England .... we forget what it's called .... something like "sunlight deficiency syndrome".
Forget the statistics .... it does rain and is foggy alot here .... but there is very little snow or ice. Good thing, because neither car fits in the garage. Bring umbrellas, or buy them here .... we recommend one for each car, briefcase, purse and pocket .... they will not go to waste. Before here, we had never heard of actually "wearing out" an umbrella.
Reminds us of a rain story .... went shopping with overcast and threatening weather. One of us was very macho .... "a hat will be fine .... this jacket .... oh yeah, it's waterproof". After two hours of steady rain, and soaked to the very innards .... the macho one swallows his pride (oops, we gave it away) and reluctantly (but also happily, almost greedily) buys the last umbrella for sale from a street vendor .... while the mostly dry spouse .... that brought her umbrella .... chortles deeply.
The temperature is moderate .... another good thing, because air conditioning in homes is pretty rare. Heat is a different story .... we have a boiler .... runs on oil .... have a big tank in the garage (one of the reasons the cars don't fit), and duh silly us, we have run out of oil EVERY SINGLE TIME before we remember to call to have the tank re-filled. Also, every oilman that comes out, parks by the road .... because it is a very tight squeeze for the truck thru the gates .... tries to stretch a 100 foot hose 120 feet .... EVERY SINGLE TIME before deciding to try back the truck up the drive. Oil tanks .... boilers .... lockouts .... seems positively medieval to us.
London/Heathrow vs. Chicago/O'Hare
Average Rainfall by Month (In Inches)
London is about 51.5°N, 0.4°W. Chicago is about 42.0°N, 87.9°W -- On average, it rains more in Chicago from March - September -- from below, alot more.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 2.4 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 23.2 | |
| Chicago | 1.6 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 35.1 | |
London is about 51.5°N, 0.4°W. Chicago is about 42.0°N, 87.9°W -- Chicago is a little warmer from April - September. London is alot warmer from December - February.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 40.8 | 40.3 | 44.8 | 48.2 | 54.7 | 60.1 | 65.1 | 64.0 | 59.4 | 53.6 | 45.9 | 43.0 | 51.8 |
| Chicago | 21.0 | 25.5 | 37.0 | 48.6 | 58.8 | 68.5 | 73.0 | 71.6 | 64.4 | 52.7 | 39.9 | 26.6 | 48.9 |
European Weather / Climate Links
English "National Weather Service" England's version -- we are "Eastern Counties" -- good site Yahoo Weather
- Peterborough -- Where we live, in Cambridgeshire
- Cambridge -- You know, the famous university -- 30 miles SE
- Leicester -- Pronounced Lester -- 50 miles W
- London -- 100 miles S
- Boston -- Lincolnshire, not Massachusetts -- 50 miles N
Institute of Global Environment & Society Europe 10 day Outlooks -- click Europe - temperature, precipiatation, soil miosture -- absolute predictions and variance from normal Wunderground Current conditions for all of Europe -- temperature, visibility, wind, heat index, wind chill, humidity, dewpoint -- also, select country, then city for current conditions and forecast OK fine, The Weather Channel Cloud cover -- satellite, current and time lapse loop option -- watch the clouds move--- ooohhhh !! Levitus94 Ocean temperature around England -- hey, it is an island -- research site, zoom in or out -- it's different anyway Worldbath Elevations in the U.K. (it's very flat) -- another research site, zoomer -- misplaced from the geography page, that will likely never happen
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[Hits Since 04/27/99 21:45 GMT -- {or, English Style, 27/04/99}]
