Seasonal delay
The seasonal lag is a meteorological phenomenon. It describes the difference between the time of maximum solar radiation and the time of the highest (average) temperature. The maximum temperatures are only determined with a delay of a few weeks.
root cause
The highest temperatures on a normal summer day are not measured in the midday sun at 12 p.m., but rather in the late afternoon between 5 and 6 p.m. This is because the air first has to be warmed up by the sun's rays. There is a similar delay when looking at the average temperatures over the year. The highest temperatures in Cuxhaven can be observed in July and August, for example. The maximum solar radiation occurs a few months earlier, namely in May.
One reason for this long delay is the proximity to the water. Compared to mineral and organic substances, water has a high specific heat capacity of 4.182 J / (kg · K) . This means that you need more energy (here solar radiation) to heat the water by a certain number of degrees. This ensures that the water temperatures in late summer are also higher than in early summer. Of course, this heat storage also has an effect on the temperatures to be observed, so that we only observe the highs later in the year.
Individual evidence
- ↑ In the late afternoon it is warmer than at noon - weather channel from the Kachelmann weather team. Retrieved on February 24, 2018 (German).
- ↑ Seasonal delay. Retrieved February 24, 2018 .