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This is a question mainly for those that don't live close enough to the coast to receive a cooling sea breeze. Today at work was hot until the sea breeze (suddenly) kicked at about 2 pm, which was very well received by my coworkers and I. This got me thinking as to what the main cooling mechanism would be in areas well away from the coast.
I would think afternoon thunderstorms or convection showers would be one way, and a big enough lake (Great Lakes) could be another. Do places like Phoenix or Marble Bar have any significant cooling factors other than darkness?
The sea breeze here is prominent for about 5-6 months and is our main wind run.
Here I guess it's just clouds, showers and thunderstorms, although sometimes afterwards it can feel even more humid and uncomfortable and it can still be uncomfortable under cloud cover. Depends on the temperature and dewpoint. So other than in the middle of a storm, there's no guarentee. On rarer occassions, cold fronts and NW winds from Canada can give great relief for a day or two during the summer.
Whenever I visit Myrtle Beach (a hot and sultry place during the summer), I always appreciate the breeze off the ocean...makes a big different, IMO.
Here I guess it's just clouds, showers and thunderstorms, although sometimes afterwards it can feel even more humid and uncomfortable and it can still be uncomfortable under cloud cover. Depends on the temperature and dewpoint. So other than in the middle of a storm, there's no guarentee. On rarer occassions, cold fronts and NW winds from Canada can give great relief for a day or two during the summer.
Whenever I visit Myrtle Beach (a hot and sultry place during the summer), I always appreciate the breeze off the ocean...makes a big different, IMO.
It must of been hard living in a lot of places pre A/C and ceiling fans.
So thunderstorms can sometimes make temps/comfort worse? I guess people wouldn't always enjoy thunderstorms then.
How warm are the sea temps at Myrtle Beach? The summer temps there look tropical, although the 3 months of winter are similar to here. There can't be a lot of cooling from sea breezes in places where the sea temps are up around 30C(80F)
Hot temps (by local standards) only occur here when an offshore wind counters the sea breeze, so the warmest temps come from the coldest direction (south).
It must of been hard living in a lot of places pre A/C and ceiling fans.
So thunderstorms can sometimes make temps/comfort worse? I guess people wouldn't always enjoy thunderstorms then.
How warm are the sea temps at Myrtle Beach? The summer temps there look tropical, although the 3 months of winter are similar to here. There can't be a lot of cooling from sea breezes in places where the sea temps are up around 30C(80F)
Hot temps (by local standards) only occur here when an offshore wind counters the sea breeze, so the warmest temps come from the coldest direction (south).
I couldn't imagine living without A/C. Before it, at least down south, homes were designed in order to allow cross breezes, shade, etc. Now days homes become ovens without A/C.
Sometimes thunderstorms help, especially if strong enough to give a good dumping of rain and really cool things off, but if the sun comes back out afterwards, then it can feel even more humid and uncomfortable. If it stays cloudy, cooler, and showery the rest of the day, then it certainly is an improvement. A cloudy, wet 73 F will feel a lot cooler than a sunny 90 F.
I feel as though the sea breezes down in MB make enough of a difference to make the heat and humidiy more tolerable along the coast despite the warm SST. A breeze is always better than no breeze, even if warm.
This is a question mainly for those that don't live close enough to the coast to receive a cooling sea breeze. Today at work was hot until the sea breeze (suddenly) kicked at about 2 pm, which was very well received by my coworkers and I. This got me thinking as to what the main cooling mechanism would be in areas well away from the coast.
I would think afternoon thunderstorms or convection showers would be one way, and a big enough lake (Great Lakes) could be another. Do places like Phoenix or Marble Bar have any significant cooling factors other than darkness?
The sea breeze here is prominent for about 5-6 months and is our main wind run.
I live about 25K's back from the coast as the crow flies, and sea-breezes if they do arrive, they arrive late - after 4pm - so that the maximum temp is rarely affected.
In further inland places in the Hunter, eg Singleton, there are very few mechanisms to prevent very high temps occurring on an almost daily basis during summer, and sea-breezes do not penetrate.
Other places that are about 40K's or so back from the coast, eg Grafton and Casino in northern NSW, can often see temps spectacularly higher than the coastline, ie 10C or more, and often top the state.
Marble Bar is an interesting place, as one would think that places further inland would actually be hotter (although there are a lack of weather stations in the deep interior of WA).
The only cooling mechanism in Marble Bar are Tropical Cyclones and deep low pressure systems, with accompanying rain.
This failed to occur in the summer of 1923-24, resulting in the infamous heat wave: BOM - Australian Climate Extremes
Before moving down to the S. Texas coast, I used to live in N. Central Texas for 15 years. No seabreeze whatsoever up there. The only thing that mitigated the 100 degree (37.8 C)+ temps, were the hot-as-a-furnace breezes, the sparsely occasional clouds/t-storms, and AIR CONDITIONING!
Of course, here along the coast, you still need A/C, but when the temps are around 90 F (32 C), the sea breeze mitigates that temp very nicely, despite the high humidity. Since alot of my job has me being outside, this is a very welcome thing to have!
Their dryness can contribute to the coolness. Whereas if they were humid they would be very oppressive at nights.
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