Saturday, May 06, 2006

Weather in Cyprus

Every so often I have a look at the searches people use which find this blog. One of the most popular is 'weather in Cyprus' or some variation thereof. So, for anyone who wishes to know and who finds this post at some time in the future, here are two sites which will tell you not just today's weather, but a forecast of the next ten days or so.

Weather Underground or Weather.com

The latter is only for Larnaka, but you can search for other cities. Not that there's a huge variation, since it's not a big island.

Today, should anyone be interested, it was fairly sunny this morning, then it clouded over and became very grey. We even had some rain in the early evening, though not a significant amount. Very good for the garden - I was just thinking I would have to start watering soon, but I think I can wait another week or two. Particularly since more rain is forecast for the next couple of days. The temperature about this time of year is perfect from my perspective: about 20-22C during the daytime, but still cool enough at night to need a thin duvet. I put on a tee-shirt and jeans when I get up, and often have to put on a sweatshirt or fleece after lunch when it begins to get windy.

UK tour operators quote the fact that Cyprus has sunshine for 320 days in the year. I expect that's true, , and it does sound like a good proprtion. But think about it.. that means that there's typically 45 days each year when it's NOT sunny.

From the start of June until the end of September, there's just about guaranteed sunshine all day every day. Combined, in July and August, with heat and humidity.

In May there often seem to be two or three days of rain; this time last year we had a major thunderstorm and torrential rain right at the end of May, so that may still come this year. April is similar, although this year it was very dry. As is October. Perhaps 5 days of rain in all during those months, in a typical year.

So there are about 40 days of rain which occur during the period from November to March. An average of eight per month. And sometimes it rains for several days in a row. So people who come from the UK during the February half-term break are often in for a nasty surprise - it's not only distinctly chilly (February is probably the coldest month here) but it can rain. Constantly. What's more, it's entirely possible to get rain during the October/November half-term break, and even during the Easter holidays. So if you're coming for a week other than in June-September, be prepared for some days when you might not want to go on the beach...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

All it takes for rain to start is for me to wash the car. :)