Saturday’s monsoon most likely canceled many a picnic. The torrential rains and high winds pounded our area, leaving in their wake cooler temperatures and steady rains that accumulated to more than 3 inches in area rain gauges. WEATHER makes for an interesting study of contrasts not only between climates, but cultures, because we adapt to our surroundings.
To the east, Springfield, Mo., was deluged with as much as 10 inches of rain also on Saturday.
And though Sunday’s temperatures peaked at 90 degrees, the equally high humidity created the “feels like 100 degrees” — an almost tactile reading of the weather.
Although we’re not technically a tropical climate — by a good 14-plus degrees to the north of the equatorial zone, whose upper limit is about 23 degrees — days like Sunday make us appreciate the luxury of air conditioning.
May, June and July is our rainy season, with June averaging slightly more than 5 inches of rain, putting us well above the 2.5 inches of moisture many tropical climates average. Of course, in Belize, for example, that much comes in a “dry” month. In Iola, we’ll average just shy of 38 inches of rain a year, whereas in Central America the average rainfall is 75 inches. Their rainy season has just begun. They can typically expect 10 inches of rain this month.
The precipitation of other countries that encircle the Earth’s girth fluctuates. Myanmar is a moderate 32 inches a year, while Ethiopia soaks up about 38 inches of rain a year and maintains a moderate climate rarely above 80 degrees or below the mid-30s.
Most countries along the equator — Central America and the northern third of South America, and the Asian countries of India, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines and Borneo — all experience rainy seasons. The oddballs are Africa and northern Australia. While geographically they lie in the equatorial zone, their climates are intensely dry. The massive Sahara Desert in northwest Africa is a classic example as is the Australian Outback; nary a bird of paradise to be found in either location.
Hence most closets here contain fleece-lined boots as well as flip-flops, which at one time would have been a curiosity among remote tribes of the Amazon, perhaps.
At least, before the iPhone came along.
— Susan Lynn
Life in the tropics
