Destinations:

Now that you know a few of the key factors that contribute to a region's climate let's take a look at some examples.

1. Belem, Brazil
Tropical and wet all year
Belem, Brazil is in the Amazon Basin in South America. The temperature changes very little during the course of the year at this location. In January the average afternoon high temperature is 87 degrees. The warmest month is November, when the average afternoon temperature is 90 degrees. This location is very rainy most of the year. November is the driest month with only 2.6" of rain on average. February and March are the rainiest months with over 14 inches on average each month.

2. Cherrapunji, India
Tropical with a wet season and a dry season
Cherrapunji in Meghalaya State in northeastern India is noted for the world's second highest average annual rainfall of 450 inches (1,140 centimeters). But it has a distinct dry season during which very little rain falls. On average Cherrapunji receives 106.1 inches of rain during the month of July alone. That is more than 3 inches of rain per day! The average yearly rainfall total for this location is approximately ten times the average in St. Louis. This location does have a dry season. During the month of December, Cherrapunji receives less than 1 inch of rain on average. This relatively dry trend continues each year until March.

Why the weird weather? This is a monsoonal climate. Look at a globe and find Cherrapunji, India. Notice the location of the Hemilayan mountains in relation to Cherrapunji. The prevailing wind changes direction at Cherrapunji between the winter and summer months.

During the winter the prevailing wind comes from the north. Relatively dry air reaches Cherrapunji because it is coming from a large dry area (Asia). But a big change occurs during the summer months. The prevailing wind direction is from the south, from the warm ocean. This warm humid air is forced upward by the mountains and creates rain in Cherrapunji.