WAT THATON
www.wat-thaton.org
TEMPLES
ACCOMMODATION
WEATHER
Wat Thaton and the area around the river valley have a unique micro climate caused by the mountains cooling in the evenings. The cool air formed in the evenings lasts until the sun starts to rise and heat the valley below. This thermal effect gives a nice morning breeze as the cool mountain air rushes down the valley to replace the warmer rising air, usually lasting until mid morning. So even in the hot summer days you have cool evenings and pleasant mornings. When it gets hot you should do what most of the locals do and have your lunch and take a nap.
The hot air that rises over South Asia during April and May creates low-pressure areas into which the cooler, moisture-bearing winds from the Andaman Sea flow. These circumstances set off a rush of moisture-rich air from the southern seas over South Asia . This is our South West Monsoon, and brings rain, usually in the form of evening showers to the area.
Monsoon comes from the Arabic mawsin (season). It refers to South Asia's seasonal winds (not heavy rain). In Thailand, the southwest monsoon is the summer rainy season.
In the winter months, the cold air rushing down from the Himalayas gives us the dry cool season.
- Rainy Season: The southwest monsoon comes from the Indian Ocean with rain-laden clouds, from about June to October. Not every day brings rain, so there is still plenty of sunshine. The temperature and humidity makes it feel hot and sticky.
- Cool Season: The northeast monsoon from central Asia usually blows from October to February, bringing relatively cool, dry conditions to Thailand. This is the best time to visit Thailand.
- Hot Season: Between the two monsoons, March to May, the land heats up, creating an area of low pressure above it. Eventually the high pressure over the Bay of Bengal moves inland, and the monsoon cycle begins again. This is the hottest time of the year.
The south-west monsoon usually arrives at the end of May and lasts until October. Rainfall is generally heaviest in August and September.
Rainy season however does not mean drizzle for days on end. The normal pattern in the Thaton valley is clear mornings, with better-than-dry-season visibility and mountain views. Often we have clouds in the afternoon and some rain. Evenings are usually dry with occasional rain at night. There may be some cloudy and rainy days.
During the summer months it does get hot in the daytime when there is no breeze. When the sun starts to go down it cools off nicely. In the evenings and mornings until around 10 am it is very pleasant.
You will often be comfortable sleeping with a light blanket, and a long sleeved shirt till around nine or ten when the sun begins to heat everything up.
It begins to cool off in September and the winter months are delightful!
This is a satellite image taken by a weather satellite located 22,300 miles above the Earth. Images around the world are taken by GMS5 and METEOSAT. It shows current cloud cover with the white and grey areas representing cloud cover.
Some of the satellite images are color enhanced. The color of cloud tops relates to how cold they are. Occasionally, the highest, coldest cloud tops produce the heaviest precipitation. Red is the coldest and more likely to have rain.
Now the winter moosoon is finished, and it is starting to get warm during the afternoon, but the cool nights and mornings continue.
When the summer monsoon is working, the wind is flowing from the Bay of Bengal, between India and South East Asia, to the North East . Go to one of the time lapsed images to see this in an animation.
Here are some Asia satellite links:
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LAST MODIFIED ON: 12 SEPTEMBER 2006