Without using degrees, how would you describe your ideal summer weather? (average, full moon)

[moonshadow]

Cool in the mornings but with the sun holding enough warmth that you can sit outside in your jimmy jams barefoot and drink your cawfee and watch the dew twinkle.

Warm enough during the day that you can get around doing anything without being overheated and sweaty. Sunshine with a light cooling breeze is my favorite. Comfy in light clothing and thongs (flip flops) without getting sunburnt. Warm enough you can swim.

I like my evening balmy but not so balmy the mozzies have a feast the minute you walk outside.

[ColdCanadian]

Originally Posted by moonshadow

Cool in the mornings but with the sun holding enough warmth that you can sit outside in your jimmy jams barefoot and drink your cawfee and watch the dew twinkle.

Warm enough during the day that you can get around doing anything without being overheated and sweaty. Sunshine with a light cooling breeze is my favorite. Comfy in light clothing and thongs (flip flops) without getting sunburnt. Warm enough you can swim.

I like my evening balmy but not so balmy the mozzies have a feast the minute you walk outside.

Ah, that's wonderful.
In my mind this first paragraph paints a perfect picture of spring, or an unexpectedly-warm (not in Canada) winter day.

I guess it's all relative. That kind of weather I'm "able" to swim () but swimming in comfort would probably require a wet suit if the breezes are already "cooling" before you get wet. But then again, I'm not satisfied with a "quick dip;" I usually prefer staying in at least an hour.

** Funny you should say that,
because my experience in Canada is that mosquitos attack people more often when it's below 18 C at dusk, and especially below 15 C (here they seem to LOVE 10-15 C) because they can track us down better by comparing our body heat with the air temperature. Also, I've noticed in fairly-hot weather our mosquitos cannot find us. I had a baseball game on a day that had a high of 37 C (99 F) starting at 6 pm. At 6 pm it was still 36 C (97 F) and by the end of the game around 9 pm it was still 35 C. (95 F) The baseball diamond was near some woods that was always bad for mosquitos and I always got at least a half-dozen bites in a game. NOT THIS DAY! Sure enough the mosquitos were still came out, but they could not FIND us! I watched a few in between plays, and they looked like they were flying drunk and all disoriented.

Mosquito feasts in Canada are the worst in places that are typically very cool after sunset in summer.
That being said, how do mosquitos in hot climates even survive?
Do they focus their feeding when it's under (32 C) 90 F, like maybe after sunset?

[moonshadow]

Originally Posted by ColdCanadian

Ah, that's wonderful.
In my mind this first paragraph paints a perfect picture of spring, or an unexpectedly-warm (not in Canada) winter day.

Yeah, well I don't think I've seen dew here in Melbourne for years.
Actually that's not true there was one day last year and I was that excited to see it I could barely contain myself. Thought it was a thing of the past. Same with frost! We had one morning of it here over the winter just gone and I was so excited I was taking pictures.

Originally Posted by ColdCanadian

I guess it's all relative. That kind of weather I'm "able" to swim () but swimming in comfort would probably require a wet suit if the breezes are already "cooling" before you get wet. But then again, I'm not satisfied with a "quick dip;" I usually prefer staying in at least an hour.

I don't mind wet suit swimming water either if I'm in the mood for it and we do have a longer wet suit season here in Victoria than other parts of the country, well except for Tassie!

Originally Posted by ColdCanadian

** Funny you should say that,
because my experience in Canada is that mosquitos attack people more often when it's below 18 C at dusk, and especially below 15 C (here they seem to LOVE 10-15 C) because they can track us down better by comparing our body heat with the air temperature. Also, I've noticed in fairly-hot weather our mosquitos cannot find us. I had a baseball game on a day that had a high of 37 C (99 F) starting at 6 pm. At 6 pm it was still 36 C (97 F) and by the end of the game around 9 pm it was still 35 C. (95 F) The baseball diamond was near some woods that was always bad for mosquitos and I always got at least a half-dozen bites in a game. NOT THIS DAY! Sure enough the mosquitos were still came out, but they could not FIND us! I watched a few in between plays, and they looked like they were flying drunk and all disoriented.

I am still coming to terms with my mosquito experience in North America. NEVER seen so many of them in my life and couldn't believe I got bitten so much. I was sure I would end up a big blotchy mess for weeks but they barely left an itch on me. Of course once I got myself the "aeroguard" they left me well alone.

Originally Posted by ColdCanadian

Mosquito feasts in Canada are the worst in places that are typically very cool after sunset in summer.
That being said, how do mosquitos in hot climates even survive?
Do they focus their feeding when it's under (32 C) 90 F, like maybe after sunset?

You know I don't know. I'm always so surprised when they turn up I've never really paid attention to the conditions when they do other than it is usually a warm night if I'm sitting outside to get bitten.

[§AB]

During the few days of 110-115F last week, there was not a single hint of any insect, no flies, no mosquitos.

Yet when its cooler (75-85F days; 60-70F nights), the flies and mosquitos kill you.

My worst mosquito/insect experience was in Mildura in April 2005. You couldn't go outside. Period.

[ColdCanadian]

Originally Posted by moonshadow

Yeah, well I don't think I've seen dew here in Melbourne for years.
Actually that's not true there was one day last year and I was that excited to see it I could barely contain myself. Thought it was a thing of the past. Same with frost! We had one morning of it here over the winter just gone and I was so excited I was taking pictures.



I don't mind wet suit swimming water either if I'm in the mood for it and we do have a longer wet suit season here in Victoria than other parts of the country, well except for Tassie!



I am still coming to terms with my mosquito experience in North America. NEVER seen so many of them in my life and couldn't believe I got bitten so much. I was sure I would end up a big blotchy mess for weeks but they barely left an itch on me. Of course once I got myself the "aeroguard" they left me well alone.



You know I don't know. I'm always so surprised when they turn up I've never really paid attention to the conditions when they do other than it is usually a warm night if I'm sitting outside to get bitten.

You might also like to see southern Florida.
It is quite humid there. You get dew and several hours of bright sun in the same day usually.
It seems that at least half the mornings I was there, there was some dew.
In fact the other winter I was there, there was dew an hour after sunset and it didn't burn off until 9am.

When I think of swimming weather, wet suits aren't supposed to be neccessary. (in theory) I love the water and will suit up, but I KNOW when I do that I'm nuts about watersports, rather than because it's good swimming weather.


How are the mosquitos in Australia?

I've seen them come in clouds after sunset.
You step out with a t-shirt and jeans when it's 14 C in "cottage country" and you get about 20 land on you within 5 seconds, and if you did nothing, you would have about 60 bites within one minute. More typical though is "only" a few bites a minute in the backwoods areas.

Maybe your area is too dry for much mosquito activity.
The city I live in usually doesn't have much activity unless it's been raining a lot.
It also tends to be worse when you go an hour or more north, or east...
Possibly because it tends to be cooler and/or damper out that way.

[§AB]

Originally Posted by moonshadow

Yeah, well I don't think I've seen dew here in Melbourne for years.

hmmmm I'm guessing you live in a Melbourne in an enterely different solar system then. Dew is extrememly common virtually every night during the cooler half of the year. I know coz I use a telescope and dew is a constant problem.

I don't mind wet suit swimming water either if I'm in the mood for it and we do have a longer wet suit season here in Victoria than other parts of the country, well except for Tassie!

Well, the wet suit season lasts 365 days a year on Victoria's ocean beaches, while in Port Phillip Bay the season lasts about 320 days.

[§AB]

Originally Posted by ColdCanadian

How are the mosquitos in Australia?

horrible

[koyaanisqatsi]

Cool with no humidity at nights to make it easy to get a good night's sleep and warm during daytimes. Rain/storms with torrential falls every second day followed by a sunny day and so on.

Speaking of mozzies - have them here but not in huge numbers. Flies on the other hand have been unusually absent since around Nov/Dec last year. Don't miss them one bit as they'll do anything to get into eyes, ears, mouth just for the sake of trying to suck sweat or to do a wee dump!

Lots of huntsmen spiders around, got couple of baby ones in my home office, they don't do any harm. If it was the Sydney Funnel Web spider - totally different story

[§AB]

I've got redbacks around my pool which appear at night. Not many hunstmen though. But for some reason there's a crap load of cockroaches this year.

Oh yes, and those damn flies are out in plague proportions as per freaking usual.

[si33]

Perhaps the best summer weather for my liking..

Mild/balmy still mornings for greeting the day..maybe with a few Alto cumulus Castellanus thrown in, just for something neat to look at..

Hot, Bright crystal blue skies followed by a few building cumulus clouds..perhaps a light breeze while out at the beach or working..sweating is ok,..there are worse things to endure..

Warm/balmy early evenings with scattered thunderstorms around, or passing through..just to temper the late day heat..and put on a sparkling light display to enjoy while sitting outside enjoying an adult beverage at home,or at some place near the beach

warm/balmy later evenings with a few flashy storms left drifting around the horizon..the perfect time for a car ride with the windows down..or just sitting back on a beach and watching the stars...or listening to the summer symphony of nature's dictation form the back deck..even if i share it with a few Huntsman spiders, a Cane Toad, or the neighborhood Raccoon.

...And at no time..on any day of the year..absolutely NO fog..to ruin anything..and no need for wetsuits..