Climate
Bethlehem has a Mediterranean climate, with hot and dry summers and cold winters. Winter temperatures (mid-December to mid-March) can be cold and rainy. January is the coldest month, with temperatures ranging from 1 to 13 degree Celsius (33–55 °F). From May through September, the weather is warm and sunny. August is the hottest month, with a high of 30 degrees Celsius (81 °F). Bethlehem receives an average of 700 millimeters (28 in) of rainfall annually, 70% between November and January.
Bethlehem's average annual relative humidity is 60% and reaches its highest rates between January and February. Humidity levels are at their lowest in May. Night dew may occur in up to 180 days per year. The city is influenced by the Mediterranean Sea breeze that occurs around mid-day. However, Bethlehem is affected also by annual waves of hot, dry, sandy and dust Khamaseen winds from the Arabian Desert, during April, May and mid-June.
| Climate data for Bethlehem | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 12 (54) |
13 (55) |
16 (61) |
22 (72) |
26 (79) |
28 (82) |
30 (86) |
30 (86) |
28 (82) |
26 (79) |
20 (68) |
14 (57) |
22.1 (71.7) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 5 (41) |
5 (41) |
7 (45) |
10 (50) |
14 (57) |
17 (63) |
19 (66) |
19 (66) |
17 (63) |
15 (59) |
11 (52) |
7 (45) |
12.2 (53.9) |
| Avg. rainy days | 12 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 59 |
| Avg. snowy days | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Source: myweather2.com | |||||||||||||
Read more about this topic: Bethlehem
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)
“Nobody is so constituted as to be able to live everywhere and anywhere; and he who has great duties to perform, which lay claim to all his strength, has, in this respect, a very limited choice. The influence of climate upon the bodily functions ... extends so far, that a blunder in the choice of locality and climate is able not only to alienate a man from his actual duty, but also to withhold it from him altogether, so that he never even comes face to face with it.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“There is much to be said against the climate on the coast of British Columbia and Alaska; yet, I believe that the scenery of one good day will compensate the tourists who will go there in increasing numbers.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)