During the months of April, May and June, the Province of Naples offers mild weather and is an excellent time to visit. Locals and visitors enjoy pleasant sunny days with temperatures averaging between 65 and 78 degrees fahrenheit. This is in contrast to the fall and winter months when the average temperatures are lower and increased rainfall is more common.
Trees in bloom in Capri, Italy in springtime.
Picture sourced from http://anarchitecturalhumanism.blogspot.com/2010/10/just-what-is-new-urbanism.html
Naples lies at 40 degrees north latitude, placing it in the mid-latitude climate with hot, dry summers. This results in a Mediterranean Csa classification from Koeppen. Increased solar insolation and subsiding air from the northern side of the Hadley cell between the ITCZ and the sub-tropical jet stream warm the region in spring and summer. Naples location in a sub-tropical high results in clear, stable air during that time.
Starting in fall, the ITCZ shifts to the south, causing the weather to become cooler with more precipitation. From November through February, decreased solar insolation lowers the average high temperatures to between 54 and 60 degrees fahrenheit. Additional rainfall arrives with the westerlies and the sub-polar lows.
Stratus clouds on a winter day in Naples. The lifting condensation level appears to be around 3800' in elevation, Mt. Vesuvius's summit elevation is 4203'.
Picture sourced from http://pixdaus.com/single.php?id=135185
Due to Naples being on the windward side of the Apennine mountains, precipitation is between 3.5 and 5 inches monthly. In comparison to Bari, on the leeward side of the Italian peninsula, Naples receives twice the average annual precipitation.
The Apennine Mountain range outlined in red on the map of Italy. Naples is on the western side, placing it in the windward location, enabling it to receive greater amounts of annual precipitation than leeward areas.
Map sourced from http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/apennines.htm
Works cited:
Professor Casey Allen's Geography 1202 lectures
Ritter, Michael E. The Physical Environment: an Introduction to Physical Geography.
Date accessed April 2, 2011. http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/title_page.html
Date accessed April 2, 2011. http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/title_page.html
Seach, John, http://www.volcanolive.com/vesuvius.html, date accessed 4/2/2011.
http://travel-weather.net/italy/bari-italy-weather.php, date accessed 4/2/2011.
http://travel-weather.net/italy/naples-italy-weather.php, date accessed 4/2/2011.
