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I give a C for this climate because is too dry in the summer and the rain is always cold in this climate (I don't like the cold rain), I prefer the short warm rain in the summer with a good sunshine hours.
I've been to Iraklio five times. They have dry heat, much drier than us. True by the shore it is humid, especially in the evening, but to say that the city/prefecture in general is as humid as Chicagoland is incorrect. Their airport (where they take measurements) is literally on the shore and not indicative of the drier conditions over most of the area. Move that thermometer to the other side of that Highway 90, and I bet you the dew points would fall by 15-20 degrees F.
Ierapetra is a coastal city, so I don't see why one should disregard stats from a coastal station. I didn't claim than inland Crete was as humid as Chicagoland, just that the coast has similar dew points to Chicago.
No inland weather stations from Crete available on this website, so here are a couple mainland ones. Kalamata airport, which is a couple kilometers inland and would definitely be on the other side of highway 90 in Heraklion's case, has similar dew points: Average Weather For Kalamata, Greece - WeatherSpark
Never been to Greece, but my experience with Med regions in France, Spain and Italy is that, even if the coast is definitely muggier than inland areas, the interior doesn't feature desert-like humidity and it can feel rather sticky at times. Indeed the dew point decreases at the time of peak heat and is highest during the night, contrary to Chicago where it's rather even or increases during the day (from what I've seen from weather reports), leading to higher average heat indecies in Chicago compared to Coastal Med locales that have a similar average high and dew point.
An average high just shy of 32C in July/Aug isn't that hot at all really. Especially considering the very low RH% levels.
It's pretty hot, dry heat or not. Besides, a humid heat would just make it feel more stifling - a dry heat can feel more 'searing', if that makes sense.
Ierapetra is a coastal city, so I don't see why one should disregard stats from a coastal station.
The station is a few meters away from the ocean. Of course there is a bias when it comes to measuring temperatures and RH%/Dew Points. My wife's godmother lived in Iraklio a few miles inland. My recollection was very dry oven -like heat at times inland, and moderately warm and usually very windy on the shore. I think it reached 44C on my last visit their in 2003 which was the hottest temperature that I experienced in Greece.
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I didn't claim than inland Crete was as humid as Chicagoland, just that the coast has similar dew points to Chicago.
The coast would as the sea adds moisture to an already warm air mass.... But, like I said, just a few km inland the dew points drop off dramatically. I don't have hard data to prove my point, but only my experience.
I know that RH% isn't necessarily indicative of dew points, but take a look at average RH levels from the Greek Met office for Iraklio (again this station is literally on the seashore). Summer average max temps are on par with Chicago, so RH% levels wouldn't be kept down because of higher temperatures. To me that indicates lower dew points.
Now take a look at the RH averages for O'Hare. The July average is 71%, and about 74% for August (mean morning and afternoon levels).
Weathersparks data from RH Levels for Iraklio
and Chicago
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No inland weather stations from Crete available on this website, so here are a couple mainland ones. Kalamata airport, which is a couple kilometers inland and would definitely be on the other side of highway 90 in Heraklion's case, has similar dew points: Average Weather For Kalamata, Greece - WeatherSpark
Never been to Greece, but my experience with Med regions in France, Spain and Italy is that, even if the coast is definitely muggier than inland areas, the interior doesn't feature desert-like humidity and it can feel rather sticky at times. Indeed the dew point decreases at the time of peak heat and is highest during the night, contrary to Chicago where it's rather even or increases during the day (from what I've seen from weather reports), leading to higher average heat indecies in Chicago compared to Coastal Med locales that have a similar average high and dew point.
From my numerous travels throughout Greece, I can say confidently that dew point levels, which can be high on the coast especially at night, see a dramatic drop just a few km inland. They do not compare to what I usually experience during the summer.
I am interested to know where weathersparks gets it's dew point data. Wunderground? They claim to have data from 1990-2012 for Iraklio, but I don't see it available on the Greek met site. Where are they getting their information?
For Larisa it claims to use 8 years of data from 2004 to 2012.
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This report describes the typical weather at the Larissa Airport (Giannouli, Greece) weather station over the course of an average year. It is based on the historical records from 2004 to 2012. Earlier records are either unavailable or unreliable.
Last edited by chicagogeorge; 02-16-2014 at 02:14 PM..
The station is feet away from the ocean. Of course there is a bias when it comes to measuring temperatures and RH%/Dew Points. My wife's godmother lived in Iraklio a few miles inland.
Ierapetra is a coastal town. The whole builtup area is within 700 meters or so from the shore, so I don't see why using a coastal station should be a problem. It's representative of the location (even if in another city).
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I highly doubt that. I don't have hard data to prove my point, but only experience.
When data is available, I'd rather rely on it. My guess as to why it feels different from Chicago:
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Indeed the dew point decreases at the time of peak heat and is highest during the night, contrary to Chicago where it's rather even or increases during the day (from what I've seen from weather reports), leading to higher average heat indecies in Chicago compared to Coastal Med locales that have a similar average high and dew point.
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I know that RH% isn't necessarily indicative of dew points, but take a look at average RH levels from the Greek Met office for Iraklio (again this station is literally on the seashore).
August averages 26.0°C and 58.3%, which would translate in an average dew point of 17.2°C using an online calculator.
Chicago averages 24.3°C and 71%, giving a dew point of 18.7°C, so 1.5°C warmer than the Iraklio seashore for the most humid month (August in Crete, July in the Windy City).
Kalamata airport, a couple kilometers inland in mainland Greece, averages a 18.2°C dew point in August using Greek met office data (26.3°C and 61.1%), which is consistent with Weatherspark data (64°F average). This time, very similar to Chicago. Chicago has higher RH% levels, but that because it's cooler. The dew point is the best indicator of mugginess. After all, Ireland has a high RH% in summer. That's not saying it's muggy.
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Larisa's RH% average 47% in July
46.6% and 27.2°C gives a 14.8°C average dew point. Again consistent with Weatherspark's data. Doing the average of Weatherspark's hi/lo dew points gives a 59°F average dew point. That's a drop from coastal locations, but rather 5°F than 10-15°F, not really dramatic. Whether it's "very low" or not depends on what you're accustomed to. Given my background, I wouldn't call an average relative humidity of 47% on a month that averages over 80°F very low. Then again, I'm not used to humid heat as a Chicagoan would.
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I am interested to know where weathersparks gets it's dew point data. They claim to have data from 1990-2012, but I don't see it available on the Greek met site. Where are they getting their information?
I guess they process the weather observations delivered by the Greek met office thru a climate robot, like Weatheronline and some other weather sites.
Ierapetra is a coastal town. The whole builtup area is within 700 meters or so from the shore, so I don't see why using a coastal station should be a problem. It's representative of the location (even if in another city).
Ok, fair enough Ierapetra is a small coatal town and it's thermometer on the shore would describe the climate there. Iraklion however is much bigger and it's city limits takes it further inland. That's why I noticed a distinction between the shore and where my wife's god mother's home was. It was hotter inland, but much less humid. I guess an analogy would be comparing coastal LA where the airport takes it's readings with downtown LA or in the Valley. There is a large difference.
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August averages 26.0°C and 58.3%, which would translate in an average dew point of 17.2°C using an online calculator.
Chicago averages 24.3°C and 71%, giving a dew point of 18.7°C, so 1.5°C warmer than the Iraklio seashore for the most humid month (August in Crete, July in the Windy City).
Right Chicago city has a higher average dew point that seaside Iraklion. So inland Iraklion, the difference would be greater correct? Our inland dew point readings are actually higher than the city stations (though don't know about Northerly Island).
For example, the station closest to my home (which is about 35 miles from Midway) has this dew point average according to weathersparks and using only 11 years of data
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dew point is the best indicator of mugginess. After all, Ireland has a high RH% in summer. That's not saying it's muggy.
Absolutely correct
Last edited by chicagogeorge; 02-16-2014 at 05:44 PM..
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