Visiting Disney World anytime soon? Have fun, but watch for storms moving in. The odds of having to duck away from a bolt of lightning in the land of Disney's Magic Kingdom, Orlando, Fla., are greater than anywhere else in America.
That's what happens when hot air that rises during the summer months in the state's central region draws the wet air from both coasts; the resulting mix means a ton of late-day thunderstorms that spew out as many as 40,000 bolts of lightning. Overall, Florida has been home to over 1,500 lightning deaths and injuries since 1959, according to the National Weather Service.
Ask yourself--how important is weather in your day-to-day life? If you can't stand humidity, be sure to steer clear of Quillayute and Olympia, in the state of Washington, which both average about 80% humidity during the year.
Washington is also one of the rainiest states in the country, though it doesn't even compare with parts of Hawaii. The city of Hilo, on the state's main island, gets 277 days of rain per year, more than any other town. There's plenty of sunshine, too, though most every day sees a shower come through. That combination keeps the local area at a consistent tropical green year-round.
At the other end of the spectrum is Yuma, Ariz., where it rains an average of 17 days per year, or just once every three weeks.
As for temperatures, those who don't mind trading extreme winter cold for a relatively cool summer might like International Falls, Minn., near the Canadian border, which averages 36 degrees year-round. Midsummer temperatures can hit the 70s and 80s around midday, but only for a handful of days each summer. Then they often drop to the 40s at night.
Dan Baker, who by day works a loss prevention expert for Sears Holdings in Dallas, has spent a chunk of his free time indulging his hobby of tracking weather facts across the U.S. since 1998. His Web site not only provides information on all things Texas, but tells readers where they can find the wettest, driest, snowiest and most volatile weather cities in America.
"Growing up in Dallas, with severe weather, my parents gave me an anemometer, which measures wind," he says, and his interest took off from there.
Some of Baker's findings are surprising. Who but the most informed would know that Flagstaff, Ariz., is among the top 10 U.S. cities for snow, with 99 inches per year? That's what happens to a city more than a mile above sea level, no matter how close to the desert it might be.
The windiest city? It's not Chicago, which doesn't even make the top 10. The distinction goes to Milton, Mass. (elevation 628 feet), the highest peak within 10 miles of the Atlantic that's a sitting duck for strong ocean breezes. And Baker reports that his hometown of Dallas is hotter in the summertime than downstate Houston, which is more known for sweltering heat. Dallas averages 96 degree highs during July and August, four degrees hotter than Houston, which nonetheless has daily downtown employees walking from their cars to their office buildings through air-conditioned breezeways.
Overall, the title of hottest American city (weatherwise, that is) goes to Key West, Fla., which averages 78 degrees year-round.
And for those who don't like the weather, or at least changes in it, there's the West Coast. Eight of the top 10 cities described as having the "least variety" are in California, led by the big three of San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles. Why? Cities on the water don't heat up and cool down as extremely as landlocked areas do, and the relatively calmer waters of the left coast means less volatility. "The Pacific coast current keeps the water cool," Baker explains.
