Climate
The climate is characterized as tropical marine. The weather is generally hot and very humid with little seasonal temperature variation. The mean high temperature is 86 °F (30 °C) and mean low is 76 °F (24 °C) with an average annual rainfall of 96 inches (2,180 mm). The dry season runs from December through June. The remaining months (July through November) constitute the rainy season. The months of January and February are considered the coolest months of the year with night time temperatures in the mid to low 70s and generally lower humidity levels. The highest risk of typhoons is during October and November. They can, however, occur year-round.
Guam is located in Typhoon Alley and it is common for the island to be threatened by tropical storms and possible typhoons during the wet season. The most intense typhoon to pass over Guam recently was Super Typhoon Pongsona, with sustained winds of 144 miles per hour, gusts to 173 miles per hour, which slammed Guam on December 8, 2002, leaving massive destruction.
Since Super Typhoon Pamela in 1976, wooden structures have been largely replaced by concrete structures. During the 1980s wooden utility poles began to be replaced by typhoon-resistant concrete and steel poles. After the local Government enforced stricter construction codes, many home and business owners built their structures out of reinforced concrete with installed typhoon shutters.
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record high °F (°C) | 94 (34) |
93 (34) |
93 (34) |
96 (36) |
94 (34) |
95 (35) |
95 (35) |
94 (34) |
93 (34) |
93 (34) |
92 (33) |
91 (33) |
96 (36) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 86.3 (30.2) |
86.3 (30.2) |
87.2 (30.7) |
88.4 (31.3) |
88.8 (31.6) |
88.8 (31.6) |
88.0 (31.1) |
87.5 (30.8) |
87.6 (30.9) |
87.9 (31.1) |
87.8 (31.0) |
86.8 (30.4) |
87.6 (30.9) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 80.7 (27.1) |
80.5 (26.9) |
81.2 (27.3) |
82.5 (28.1) |
83.0 (28.3) |
83.1 (28.4) |
82.3 (27.9) |
81.9 (27.7) |
81.9 (27.7) |
82.2 (27.9) |
82.4 (28.0) |
81.6 (27.6) |
81.9 (27.7) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 75.2 (24.0) |
74.8 (23.8) |
75.3 (24.1) |
76.5 (24.7) |
77.3 (25.2) |
77.4 (25.2) |
76.5 (24.7) |
76.3 (24.6) |
76.1 (24.5) |
76.6 (24.8) |
76.9 (24.9) |
76.3 (24.6) |
76.3 (24.6) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 66 (19) |
65 (18) |
66 (19) |
68 (20) |
70 (21) |
70 (21) |
70 (21) |
70 (21) |
70 (21) |
67 (19) |
68 (20) |
68 (20) |
65 (18) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 3.96 (100.6) |
3.78 (96) |
2.35 (59.7) |
2.84 (72.1) |
4.28 (108.7) |
7.75 (196.9) |
11.45 (290.8) |
16.00 (406.4) |
13.58 (344.9) |
11.74 (298.2) |
8.08 (205.2) |
6.24 (158.5) |
92.05 (2,338.1) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 18.8 | 15.7 | 16.8 | 17.0 | 19.3 | 22.6 | 24.7 | 25.3 | 24.3 | 25.1 | 23.4 | 22.1 | 254.9 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 176.7 | 186.0 | 217.0 | 213.0 | 220.1 | 195.0 | 155.0 | 142.6 | 132.0 | 133.3 | 135.0 | 142.6 | 2,048.3 |
| Source #1: NOAA (normals) | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: Hong Kong Observatory (sun only 1961–1990) | |||||||||||||
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Famous quotes containing the word climate:
“Then climate is a great impediment to idle persons; we often resolve to give up the care of the weather, but still we regard the clouds and the rain.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The climate of Ohio is perfect, considered as the home of an ideal republican people. Climate has much to do with national character.... A climate which permits labor out-of-doors every month in the year and which requires industry to secure comfort—to provide food, shelter, clothing, fuel, etc.—is the very climate which secures the highest civilization.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“When we consider how much climate contributes to the happiness of our condition, by the fine sensation it excites, and the productions it is the parent of, we have reason to value highly the accident of birth in such a one as that of Virginia.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)