Yes, We're Going to Talk About Weather
We thought weather was like Bruno. We don't talk about it. At least, we didn't think we needed to. But it's amazing the number of forums I follow where people are asking about the weather. So in this week's article, we're going to address three major questions that get asked this time of year with complete honesty.
Is it Hot in Florida?
Yes, most of the time. Florida is a tropical climate in the Northern Hemisphere. This means that it is, in general, hotter than temperate climates. It also means that during the months of June-August, it is summer and therefore even hotter.
I know this scientific answer isn't what most people are looking for, so it's best to look at average temperature and humidity throughout the year. Humidity is very important and can't be disregarded. Humidity makes heat feel hotter and cold feel colder. Humidity is expressed as a percentage. 100% humidity pretty much means it's raining. 0% humidity means there is absolutely NO moisture in the air.
Weatherspark has an amazing table that includes average humidity, clouds, and precipitation on this page. If you go there, you will see that humidity, precipitation, and cloudiness are all highest in the months of June through September. Humidity, precipitation, and cloudiness are lowest in the months of November through April. May and October are months where the weather can feel like summer one day and Florida winter the next.
10-year average temperatures can be found here, expressed in Fahrenheit. If you use Celsius, use an online Fahrenheit to Celsius conversion tool. Take-aways from this is that the average high temperature is in the 90s most of the summer, and never gets below 71 degrees. The average low neer gets below 49 degrees. But these are AVERAGES. There will be outliers and fluke days. Florida has experienced a freeze, though it's rare. It has not been unusual for me to wear a jacket on a 40 degree morning in January or February, just to have the temperature warm up to a balmy 75 or so in the afternoon.
Your best bet to deal with Florida weather, especially in the months of October through May, is to pack layers. In the summer, it is incredibly unlikely you would need warmer layers, and your best bet is instead to pack things that will help you stay cool such as cooling towels, personal fans, and changes of intimate clothing.
The Forecast Says It Will Rain on My Vacation. Will I have a Terrible Time?
See above. Florida is tropical. Tropical climates have high humidity and, yes, rain. It is incredibly common during the summer months to see rain and thunderstorms forecast for every single day. In our experience, in the summer, what this means is that at some point during the day, a brief thundershower is going to roll through because humidity has hit a critical point. The rest of the day is beautiful. We joke amongst ourselves that the thundershower is typically around 3 or 4 pm and is announced by a single thunderclap, upon which a torrential downpour happens for about 5-10 minutes, and then the air is fresh again and you can go about your business.
If it's not the summer, then you might still be looking at brief thundershowers, or you might actually experience a rainy day. We think rainy days are great because they drive the crowds down. If you are at all concerned about this, the best way you can prepare is to pack ponchos or raincoats, two pairs of shoes, and bring an extra pair of socks into the parks.
Is it Dangerous to Visit During Hurricane Season?
Short answer: No. The worst danger you might experience, in our opinion, are whatever happens on your way to or on your way out of Disney property. Meaning, flights can be cancelled or delayed, causing frustration. Or streets may be flooded, snarling traffic. But here's the thing, even though hurricanes happen every year, very few of them impact Walt Disney World enough that the parks close.
Hurricane season is June 1 through November 30th in Florida. That's 182 days. Last year, Walt Disney World closed for 2 days for Hurricane Ian, and closed early and opened late the next day for Hurricane Nicole. That amounts to a maximum of 3 days, at two different times, that people could not be enjoying the parks during a 182 day span, which in turn amounts to a 1.65% chance that the hurricane will impact your time at Walt Disney World during hurricane season. Granted, there is a higher chance that air traffic will be snarled, but still, we like these odds. Hurricane season is long, but even during it, hurricanes that impact your vacation are a rare event.
If you happen to be at Walt Disney World when it closes due to weather, the resorts do not close, so it's not like you have to leave, unless you want to. Most resorts are quite safe. At Disney, safety comes first, and if the weather may be very dangerous, sometimes Disney will install a curfew, meaning that you must stay in your room during certain hours. This is to prevent you from being hit by debris, or electrocuted by downed power lines, or whatever trouble tourists may get into if they go outside when it's not safe. This curfew typically only lasts while the center of the storm passes over Disney property.
It is worth noting that we are not downplaying the severity of hurricanes in general. They are typically very devastating to the coastal areas, and Ian was unusually devastating to Orlando because of the flooding it brought. But hurricanes lose strength very quickly as they move away from open water, and by the time they reach Orlando they have often lost quite a bit of strength. Just don't plan to visit the coast during one.
How's the weather? Come visit us over on our Facebook page where you can follow us and see when new articles are posted each week. Until next time...
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