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BA seems to have a decided summer max/winter min rainfall pattern. Sydney is an interesting one, June is the wettest month but rainfall tends towards the earlier half of the year. I believe July is also actually sunnier than January (in terms of HOURS, not percentages!) so I don't think people in Sydney particularly associate sunshine with summer. I've been to Sydney in winter several times and it seemed mostly clear.
Quite the opposite in Melbourne. Late winter/spring here, on average, though this can vary considerably on an yearly basis, sees the highest number of clear days whereas summer and especially autumn sees many cloudy days. The January average, for Sydney, is higher due to the longer length of recordable sunshine (approx. 13 -14 hours) compared to July (9-10 hours).
Yes, but February is almost as wet and August, I believe, is Sydney's driest month. Sydney's rainfall is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year.
The same goes for Melbourne. When it rains in summer it's usually quite cool. I think that's more the fact that both these cities do not have hot summers to start with.
Sydney, however, has a low number of raindays during spring so personally I don't think it's evenly distributed. Rain is usually reliable during the summer and autumn seasons but varies considerably so over the winter and spring seasons.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Originally Posted by koyaanisqatsi1
Sydney, however, has a low number of raindays during spring so personally I don't think it's evenly distributed. Rain is usually reliable during the summer and autumn seasons but varies considerably so over the winter and spring seasons.
Relatively, speaking, of course. Sydney doesn't really have a real wet or dry season, that is obvious.
In Costa Rica, the dry season is called "summer" even though the sun is lower in that season since it's north hemisphere winter. Looks like the colonists used to mediterranean climate associated dry weather with summer and rainy weather with winter. The dry season in however isn't significantly colder than the wet season in Costa Rica; maybe if it was they wouldn't have called it "summer".
I'm in the UK & I associate rain with cold more as winters are wetter than the summers on the south coast...
But saying that rain actually gives us some of the mildest weather during the winter as our rain mostly comes in from the west, so direct off the Atlantic, & during spells like this nightime temperatures don't drop much below what they reach during the day...
I wasn't raised in a maritime or Mediterranean climate, so I don't believe I'm really qualified to give an answer. If anything I associate rain with warmth, at least in winter, since if it's warm enough for plain rain it means it's too warm for snow, and thus not wintry. Mentally I like to divide rain into two categories - warm rain and cold rain, and my mind just works in that segregated fashion.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Originally Posted by darth serious
In Costa Rica, the dry season is called "summer" even though the sun is lower in that season since it's north hemisphere winter. Looks like the colonists used to mediterranean climate associated dry weather with summer and rainy weather with winter. The dry season in however isn't significantly colder than the wet season in Costa Rica; maybe if it was they wouldn't have called it "summer".
Ah yes i've heard of this. It is because of the Spanish colonists were used to winter being the rainy time of year. I'm sure if the colonists had hailed from China, for instance, which has a temperate climate but a definite summer rainfall maximum, they would have referred to the dry season as winter.
When I lived in south Florida frequent rainy weather was always associated with the hot season. Not only was rainfall higher in total inches of course, but dew points and R/H are their highest at that time of year. Although even the wet season was relatively sunny in south Florida, I always thought of winter more in terms of sunshine than cloud or rain.
Ah yes i've heard of this. It is because of the Spanish colonists were used to winter being the rainy time of year. I'm sure if the colonists had hailed from China, for instance, which has a temperate climate but a definite summer rainfall maximum, they would have referred to the dry season as winter.
I've heard of this too, but never connected that with the colonists' climate of origin. In fact, we should find out what the pre-columbian inhabitants of those tropical lands called the seasons, and how it relates to other words of their languages.
It's interesting, I very slightly associate rain with cold, even though I grew up in a climate that isn't Mediterranean. And for me, it makes sense to associate rain with winter and sun with heat because, after all, what is the ultimate meaning of summer and winter? I don't think it has to do with cold and heat, but with hibernation (winter) and "opennes", going outside (summer). And that correlates perfectly well with "rain/sun". Usually the rain makes people stay inside, whereas the sun is the opposite. I don't mean to say this works for every individual, of course not. Me, for example, for me rain doesn't necessarily mean staying inside at all... but it does for the majority of people, I guess.
Interestingly, when TV commercials have to use visual images as symbols to express the seasons (for example, as when selling aspirins for the cold), what do they use here to represent winter? Rain. I've seen that a couple of times.
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