Travel Weather in Europe
They measure it differently.
Temperature is in centigrade, rainfall in centimeters, and windspeed in km/hr.
The weather changes by the minute and is often different on opposite sides of the house. Nevertheless,
here are some comparison data from two American cities, Atlanta and Chicago, and two European cities,
London and Vienna. This gives you some idea of what
to expect. Precipitation and wind is not included here. Mother Nature will make it wet and blow whenever she wants to.
For information on scores of other cities, including your home town,
go to my source for this data at
WorldClimate.com.
Carpe diem. Vivere bene! Gratia Deo.
Appendix
HOW TO EUROPE:
The Complete Travelers Handbook
John Bermont
This entire book is published totally free on-line by the author, photographer, and webmaster, yours truly, with help from my daughter Stephanie. I welcome all questions, comments, and complaints. For contact information please see NOTE TO READERS. Updated 6 January 2016.
Think sunshine. Prepare for rain.
GENERAL ORIENTATION
Influence of the Atlantic Ocean
The warm Gulf Stream, starting out south of Florida, crosses the Atlantic Ocean and passes all the way up the west coast of Europe. The Gulf Stream moderates temperatures throughout Europe. Norwegian harbors hundreds of miles north of the Arctic Circle rarely freeze. But cold winds sweep down from the Arctic and clash with the vapor above this warm water. This creates an almost constant drizzle over much of northern and central Europe. The result is generally cooler, wetter, and more changeable weather than in America during the summer, but the winters are not nearly as harsh.
For example, London, about 800 miles further north than Chicago, has average January temperatures about 20 degrees warmer and it seldom freezes. But London is known for its rain and fog. The same goes for Amsterdam and other cities near the North Sea. Chicago can be subfreezing for weeks on end, and intermittently for six months. The situation is reversed in July when temperatures in Chicago are about 8 degrees warmer than in London.
As you go east and get deeper into Europe you get away from the influences of the ocean. The weather becomes more extreme in summer and winter. Notice how the temperature in Vienna is about 10 degrees colder than London in January but a few degrees warmer in July. The weather in Russia and Ukraine can be bitter for months, a fact that Napoleon discovered when he tried to conquer the East. Most of his army froze to death or died of starvation and disease. Hitler obviously did not study military history. His army suffered the same fate at the gates of Moscow.
Influence of the Mountain Ranges
Going south, the major mountain ranges are a barrier to the cold north winds. This gives the Mediterranean areas hot summers and mild winters. The Alps run from eastern France through northern Italy, all of Switzerland, and into northern Austria. The Pyrenees define the border between France and Spain. If you like high snowy places there are plenty of them in Europe.
Dressing for the Weather
Travelers "doing all of Europe" will meet all kinds of weather. Dress in layers to be ready for everything. See chapter 5 of How To Europe, What to Wear in Europe: Travel Clothes for all Occasions, for the practicalities of your travel wardrobe.
CONVERT THAT
The Temperature Scales
Europe uses the Centigrade temperature scale. The word centigrade comes from cent, one of the prefixes of the metric system. This refers to the fact that there is a 100 degree difference between the freezing and boiling points of water. See my chapter 27 on the way Europeans measure temperature and everything else at Europe's Metric System: Travel with Grams, Meters, Liters, and Centigrade. Everything is different over there.
Centigrade is also called the Celsius temperature scale after Anders Celsius, the Swedish astronomer who invented it.
Temperature conversion benchmarks:
| °C | -20 | -15 | -10 | -5 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| °F | -4 | 5 | 14 | 23 | 32 | 41 | 50 | 59 | 68 | 77 | 86 | 95 | 104 |
Notice that for every 5°C change there is a 9°F change. To make exact conversions use the following formulas:
| °C= (°F - 32)*(5/9) |
Subtract 32 from Fahrenheit and then multiply by 5/9 to get Centigrade. |
|---|---|
| °F = (°C*9/5) + 32 |
Multiply Centigrade by 9/5 and then add 32 to get Fahrenheit. |
The Rains
Rainfall is measured in centimeters, cm. One inch equals 2.54 cm. So if you have 10 cm of rain you have about 4". That would be a lot of rain for one day.
The Winds
Wind speed is measured in kilometers per hour, kph. One mile equals 1.62 kilometers. If you have a real blow at 100 kph that would be about 62 mph.
Sailors and Pilots
Think in knots. A knot is 1.15 mph, about 1.85 kph.
EXTRA HELP
More Weather
For a bit more about the weather see Weather in Europe: Travel under Your Umbrella .
Quality Weather Links
Current weather conditions and forecasts are available from a large number of web sites. One of the best is Wunderground
Have a good trip!
NOTE TO READERS
I welcome questions, comments, and complaints. If you have any concerns about your trip to Europe that have not been covered well enough on my web site please do not hesitate to write. Ask, cuss, discuss, or whatever. I read every email and update my pages when I see a question repeating, Then I will not get that question again, hopefully. In some cases readers have been so generous with their time and talent that I have included their emails verbatim, e.g. chapters 22 and 25.
I do not open attachments. I do not click links to web pages of any kind. If you have an item you want me to comment on please send the name of the manufacturer and the model number, or the Amazon.com ASIN number. I will reply in a day or two, usually.
My email address is [email protected].
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