Florida is the most famous destination for vacations or retirement on the East Coast of North America.
Residents from Canada, New England and many other locations flock to benefit from ideal weather conditions. After all it is no coincidence that the nickname of Florida is the Sunshine State!
Enjoying Florida
At the southern end of the Atlantic coast, between warm waters of the Ocean and those of the Gulf, at a subtropical latitude, the
region enjoys an almost tropical climate. Winters are very mild, interrupted here and there by bouts of moderate cold which only bring the gel on rare occasions.
The climate of the city of Miami, where a station of the U. S. Weather Bureau, can be considered representative of the region. For fifty years we have made partial observations, for thirty-four years observations followed. It is a modified tropical-maritime climate that prevails here.
Although during the summer months it is very slightly affected by continental influences, in winter the high and low pressure regulating the climate of the rest of the country move far enough south to reach this area.
Average temperatures are as follows: spring 24°, summer 28°, autumn 25°, winter 20°, with an annual average of 23°9. In winter the average temperature is around 11 degrees higher than in Nice. During this thirty-four period years, the frost was observed only seven times. It never lasted that a few hours. The absolute minimum during this period is -3°.
On this average, there is only one day when the temperature of Miami does not reach 15° or more. Water sea in Miami Beach is at 21°, often more. Summer does not see excessively high temperatures. The average number of days with a temperature of 32° or more, in Miami Beach, is 4 against 9 in Boston. The absolute maximum in Miami has been 35°4 during these thirty-four years. In the heart in summer, the temperature of the Gulf-Stream rises to 26°.
Florida breezes
Daytime sea breezes reinforce the prevailing sea breeze. The air which reaches Miami Beach with a maximum of 30° to 31° at noon heats up as it advances and can give 32 ° above Miami. 2 or 3 kilometers further west, the temperature can rise up to 36° or 37°.
The average variations of annual temperatures are lower than anywhere else in United States, except in Key West. The average daily difference at Miami is 6°, and the average annual variation of monthly temperatures only reaches 8°. If we believe the average, there are only six days a year without sun.
It’s in summer that there are cloudy days. Most of the United States is in the area prevailing west winds, but the southern tip of Florida enters the trade winds zone. By its latitude, therefore, Miami must benefit from the trade wind. She benefits, indeed, well that the summer winds, which show the constancy of it, prevail in the southeast and east direction, not the northeast.
Part of these winds remains under the influence of the area high Atlantic pressures, which deflects them and brings them from the Southeast. These prevailing winds blowing in summer over the Gulf-Stream thus become a source of vapor of water, hence the abundant relative atmospheric humidity: 76 to 80% throughout the year. There are, however, few mists. ‘These disappear with the rising of the sun.