How's the weather?

The weather? In a word: wet.

In the month of May, the average precipitation for Taipei is 8.4 inches. That's over double what Port Jefferson gets (3.97 inches). Even PJ's rainiest month of the year is only 4.22 inches. For added comparison, the average rainfall for May in London is 1.86 inches, and in Seattle is 2.03 inches.

To be fair, it's not always May. With that being said, in a year, Taipei averages about 80 inches of rain to New York's 40. We're practically drowning over here!*

I read a poem to my class the other day about the 5 senses, which opened with the following lines:

Hear the winds blow,

See the blue skies.

After reading it first, I explain each line, then we get interactive with it.

Hear the winds blow, (have all of the kids blow and make wind noises.)

See the blue skies. (have all of the kids look outside at the ... uh oh.)

"Teacher John, the sky is white."

"Well, in some countries, they have blue skies."

If it's not raining in Taipei, it's probably cloudy. I used a phrase awhile back, "perma-fog," to describe how there's always a blanket of clouds hovering over northern Taiwan. The rain coupled with the almost rain can really create a dreary atmosphere sometimes. That's why whenever I see a ray of sunshine, I try to get outside as soon as possible.

In just over a week, I'm taking my 3 week vacation. I still have tentative plans to thoroughly explore the entire island of Taiwan. As I travel around, I'm also looking for a place to relocate to. I've heard that as soon as you leave Taipei County, the weather gets better the further south you. (Better weather = less extreme temperatures in the summer and winter, and a LOT less rain!)

So, world, how's the weather?

*some of the numbers I used were approximations from http://www.worldclimate.com and www.weather.com.