The Seasons and Weather in Lake Chapala's Valley
There really are four seasons at Lakeside, just not the ones
we are used to from up north!
Cold
It begins to get cool at night about mid-November, but the really 'cold'
days don't begin until around the middle of
December. This 'cold' is of course relative -- compared to the rest of the
year it seems cold. Mexican's can be seen wearing winter coats. Children
are bundled up as if they had mountains of snow to face, and even the
poor dogs are forced to wear doggie sweaters. Personally, I put away the
shorts and bring out the Levi's, and in the evening wear a long-sleeved
shirt. Nice days still get up into the low 70°s F., but if it gets cloudy
or rains there can be days that have a high around 60° F. Lows are
mostly in the mid-40° F. range. In the five years I have been here,
this 'cold' period ended in mid-January twice, but extended into February
the other years.
Hot
The cold gives way fairly suddenly to warmth, sometime in January or February.
Days are around 80° F. at first, with lows about 50° F. Gradually,
almost imperceptibly, the high temps rise up, bit by bit, until suddenly you
realise it is getting really hot. March is near perfect, April is hot, and
May is the hottest month of the year. Still, 'hot' is relative, like 'cold'
-- the temps in May reach mid-90°s F. by day, but it still cools off to the
mid-50°s F. at night.
Rainy
The rainy season can begin in mid-May, but more typically starts around the
beginning of June. It starts suddenly, but tapers off gradually in September
or October. Due to the climate effects of the lake and its basin, it
almost always rains only at night, and the rain is almost always from
thunderstorms. If there are exeptions, they usually occur early morning or
late evening, as if the clouds were unable to face the full-force of the
mid-day sun. When a hurricane hits either of Mexico's shores we may get two
or three days of constant, drizzling rain, almost a relief from the otherwise
near-perfect days.
The thunderstorms can bring torrential downpours, two or three
inches of rain in an hour are not uncommon. Lightning flashes and thunder
booms, then reverberates off the mountains. Water runs down the roads like
rivers, and gullies can have enough water to drown-out car engines if you
try to cross them. You begin to think you will be mired in mud for several
days -- but by morning most of the water has run down to the lake, or soaked
into the porous soil. By 10:00 A.M. dirt roads are nearly dry, with just a
puddle here and there, and even those are gone by mid-afternoon.
Temperatures in the rainy season run mostly in the low-80°s
F. by day, and upper-50°s F. at night. During rainy season it rains on
average about 50% of the nights, more or less depending on the time of year
and annual fluctuations. Rainy season peaks in July, but June through
September all have respectable amounts of rain.
Transitional
The rainy season does not end as suddenly as it began, but tapers off, with
longer and longer spans between storms, until they hardly come at all. From
late September in a dry year, or mid-October in a wet one, the transition
begins, with the vegetation slowly giving up its fine greenery for more
somber browns. Daytime temps stay around the low-80° F. range, but night
time temps gradually drop toward the 50° mark. November is exceedingly
pleasant, though by the end of the month it may begin to get cold at night.
December starts out fine, but by mid-month it may turn suddenly 'cold' and
the cycle begins again.
Daily Pattern
The high temperature for any particular day is typically mid-afternoon, though
the temps drop only slowly from then until sunset. Once the sun is down it
cools off rapidly, reaching the coldest temps for the day just before dawn.
Mornings are cool and pleasant any time of year. By noon it begins to get
hot and is usually sunny. If there are clouds they typically 'burn off' by
mid-day, and can be seen to gather over the mountains in the evening, waiting
for the sun to set so they can invade the valley. There can be weeks on end
without any clouds
during the dry season. In May the sky is often hazy from smoke, as that is the
season when farmers burn fields in anticipation of planting, and wildfires
often run loose in the mountains.
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