This report describes the historical weather record at the Long Beach Airport (Long Beach, California, United States) during 1990. This station has records back to December 1947.
Long Beach, California has a mediterranean climate with dry warm summers and mild winters. The area within 25 mi of this station is covered by built-up areas (44%), oceans and seas (38%), and shrublands (15%)
Daylight saving time (DST) was observed at Long Beach, California during 1990. There were two time changes during 1990:
1990 was not a leap year, so it has 365 days and no February 29th. The first leap year before 1990 was 1988 and the first after was 1992.
The summer and winter solstices and the spring and fall equinoxes mark the passing of the seasons. They fall on nearly the same day each year, with differences of a day or two depending on the year. In 1990 they occurred on:
|Spring Equinox||Tuesday, 20 March 1990.|
|Summer Solstice||Thursday, 21 June 1990.|
|Fall Equinox||Sunday, 23 September 1990.|
|Winter Solstice||Saturday, 22 December 1990.|
The hottest day of 1990 was June 27, with a high temperature of 106°F. For reference, on that day the average high temperature is 79°F and the high temperature exceeds 87°F only one day in ten. The hottest month of 1990 was July with an average daily high temperature of 85°F.
Relative to the average, the hottest day was June 27. The high temperature that day was 106°F, compared to the average of 79°F, a difference of 27°F. In relative terms the warmest month was June, with an average high temperature of 81°F, compared to an typical value of 76°F.
The longest warm spell was from June 18 to June 29, constituting 12 consecutive days with warmer than average high temperatures. The month of July had the largest fraction of warmer than average days with 74% days with higher than average high temperatures.
The coldest day of 1990 was December 22, with a low temperature of 29°F. For reference, on that day the average low temperature is 46°F and the low temperature drops below 40°F only one day in ten. The coldest month of 1990 was December with an average daily low temperature of 43°F.
Relative to the average, the coldest day was December 22. The low temperature that day was 29°F, compared to the average of 46°F, a difference of 17°F. In relative terms the coldest month was December, with an average low temperature of 43°F, compared to an typical value of 47°F.
The longest cold spell was from December 20 to December 31, constituting 12 consecutive days with cooler than average low temperatures. The month of January had the largest fraction of cooler than average days with 71% days with lower than average low temperatures.
The clearest month of 1990 was September, with 77% of days being more clear than cloudy. The longest spell of clear weather was from August 26 to September 17, constituting 23 consecutive days that were clearer than they were cloudy.
The cloudiest month of 1990 was March, with 35% of days being more cloudy than clear. The longest spell of cloudy weather was from February 28 to March 4, constituting 5 consecutive days that were cloudier than they were clear.
This station reports both the quantity of liquid precipitation and categorical observations of precipitation (e.g., moderate rain, or heavy snow). Both are subject to erroneous reports, but the former is particularly prone to false reports, especially ones indicating an excessive quantity of precipitation. Please bear this in mind when reading the extrema reported in this section.
The day with the largest quantity of precipitation was February 17. That day saw 1.287" of liquid (or liquid equivalent) precipitation, compared to a median value of 0.181". The month with the most precipitation was February, with 1.783", compared to a median value of 1.783".
As determined by quantitative measurements, the longest dry spell was from May 29 to November 19, constituting 175 consecutive days with no measured precipitation. The months June, July, August, September, and October were completely without measured precipitation.
The month with the largest fraction of days with at least some measured precipitation was January, with 19% of days reporting some measured precipitation.
This station reports when significant weather events (including precipitation) are visually observed at or near the station. Such events do not always correspond to measured quantities of liquid equivalent precipitation, such as when the event is near by not at the station, or in the case of solid precipitation that does not melt in the collection basin.
The day in 1990 with the most precipitation observations was February 17. There were 10 hourly weather reports that day (out of a maximum of 24) in which some form of precipitation was observated at or near the station. The month with the most precipitation observations was February, with 25 hourly present weather reports involving some form of precipitation.
As determined by the present weather reports, the longest dry spell was from September 20 to November 19, constituting 61 consecutive days with no observed precipitation. The months July and October were completely without observed precipitation.
The month with the largest fraction of days with at least some observed precipitation was April, with 30% of days reporting some observed precipitation.
Either snow is exceptionally rare at this location or this station did not reliably report it during 1990.
Humidity is an important factor in determining how weather conditions feel to a person experiencing them. Hot and humid days feel even hotter than hot and dry days because the high level of water content in humid air discourages the evaporation of sweat from a person's skin.
When reading the graph below, keep in mind that the hottest part of the day tends to be the least humid, so the daily low (brown) traces are more relevant for understanding daytime comfort than the daily high (blue) traces, which typically occur during the night. Applying that observation, the least humid month of 1990 was December with an average daily low humidity of 23%, and the most humid month was August with an average daily low humidity of 52%.
But it is important to keep in mind that humidity does not tell the whole picture and the dew point is often a better measure of how comfortable a person will find a given set of weather conditions. Please see the next section for continued discussion of this point.
Dew point is the temperature below which water vapor will condense into liquid water. It is therefore also related to the rate of evaporation of liquid water. Since the evaporation of sweat is an important cooling mechanism for the human body, the dew point is an important measurement for understanding how dry, comfortable, or humid a given set of weather conditions will feel.
Generally speaking, dew points below 50°F will feel a bit dry to some people, but comfortable to people accustomed to dry conditions; dew points from 50°F to 68°F are fairly comfortable to most people, and dew points above 68°F are increasingly uncomfortable, becoming oppressive around 77°F.
To take some examples, and basing our categorization on the daily high dew point in 1990, January had 17 dry days, 14 comfortable days, and no humid days; April had no dry days, 30 comfortable days, and no humid days; July had no dry days, 27 comfortable days, and 4 humid days; and October had 1 dry day, 30 comfortable days, and no humid days.
The highest sustained wind speed was 30 mph, occurring on December 21; the highest daily mean wind speed was 18 mph (March 11); and the highest wind gust speed was 37 mph (December 19).
The windiest month was May, with an average wind speed of 9 mph. The least windy month was January, with an average wind speed of 6 mph.
Visibility is the maximum distance at which a given reference object or light can be clearly discerned. In the United States, visibilities that are greater than or equal to 10 miles are typically reported as 10 miles.
The day of 1990 with the lowest average visibility was January 9, with an average visibility of 2.2 mi. The month with the lowest average visibility was October, with an average visibility of 9.6 mi. With an average visibility of 16.7 mi, the month of December had the highest average visibility.
The cloud ceiling is the altitude of the lowest layer of clouds that are at categorized as broken (mostly cloudy) or overcast (cloudy). If no such cloud layer exists then the ceiling is unlimited and no value is reported.
The day of 1990 with the lowest average cloud ceiling was January 9, with an average cloud ceiling of 49'. The month with the lowest average cloud ceiling was August, with an average cloud ceiling of 2283'. The month of December has the highest average cloud ceiling, with an average cloud ceiling of 15627'.