Don't Forget The Weather When Choosing Your New Home

I guess most of us understand the broad picture of climate (what we expect) and weather (what we get), and we have a good idea of the conditions affecting where we live, or where we might move to.

But there's also microclimate, which covers all those little variables of slope, shade and breezeways that can make some parts of a garden warmer than others.

The same thing applies to towns and cities, and ignoring microclimate can make a big difference in the comfort of a new house.

And even worse are the effects of more extreme weather - heavy rain, strong winds, even fog.

Here is a short article which discusses many of the things to keep in mind, or check up on, when you come to buy a house.

If you want to use the article yourself, check first with ezinearticles.com - see the end of the article.

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Buying A Home - Rain, Sun, and Weather Issues

By Raynor James

When buying a home, it can be easy to overlook year-around weather issues. You may think you are purchasing a home in a sunny area, but come to find there is always a heavy cloud cover. This is just one of a number of weather issues to consider when selecting your dream home.

Clouds…Rain…Floods

If you must have a sun deck as part of your new home, you better make sure it is going to be sunny! Just because a general geographic area has a lot of sun doesn’t mean your home will. Things to look for include fog and heavy cloud cover for a home in a valley. If the home is located on the side of a hill or valley, make sure you know when it will get sun and shade. Temperatures can be radically different depending upon the amount of sun you get.

When it rains, it really pours! One potential nasty surprise for new homeowners can be the condition of a neighborhood after it rains. In San Diego, for instance, the total rainfall averages roughly 12 inches a year. Despite this low total, there are certain beach communities that grind to a halt because of flooding issues. Even an inch of rain can flood streets to the point that you can’t drive at all. Make sure you stop by a gas station or local store to ask about flooding problems in the area.

I have been known to enjoy a good boating trip and perhaps you have as well. I am pretty sure neither of us would enjoy it in our house. Still, millions of people a year buy homes in flood plains without even knowing it. Eventually, this can lead to a disaster when heavy rains come and you find out the reason they call it a flood plain.

Unlike streets with bad drainage, floods are much more damaging. When a river overflows, flood levels are typically measured in feet. Can you image the effect on your home of a flood that reaches five feet in depth? Well, you probably always wanted to renovate the first floor of your home.

Mother nature has a way of doing whatever she wants. Make sure you avoid her grumpy spells by looking into the effect of weather on your prospective dream home.

Raynor James is with http://www.fsboamerica.org - providing FSBO homes for sale by owner. Visit our "sell my home" page at to list and sell your home for free for one month. Visit our home page to see homes for sale by owner.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Raynor_James

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Well that covers most of the bad things that can happen. You may also like to consider the effect of air drainage.

This happens in the evenings, as the temperature cools, and cooler denser air from up the slope flows down into the valleys. Colder air temperatures can result in frosts and fogs in the lower areas, whereas the higher slopes remain clear and warmer.

Lower areas may not see the sun until later in the morning, and lose it earlier in the afternoon.

But enough of the home position nasties.

One way of making sure your new house is as comfortable as possible is to look at its aspect. If your area experiences cooling winds in the heat of summer, such as sea breezes, the most comfortable houses will have their living areas on the breeze side.

This works even better if that is the sunny side, and give yourself more points if the worst wind of winter come from the opposite direction. And you'll be really laughing if the friendly side of the house has a view.

You can find out all this information with a few well thought out questions before the serious house hunting begins.

Good luck!

This link will take you back to the Top, or, when you're ready, here's how to return to the Home page.

But just before you move on...

You may be interested to know that you can find out more about weather and home weather stations by receiving our newsletter ,"Watching Weather". It's published more or less weekly, and apart from tips on how to use your weather station and understand what it's telling you about the weather around you, it also covers many other weather related topics.

If this sounds interesting, just add your name and email address to the form below. When you join, you'll also receive, totally free, a 20 page guide to setting up and trouble shooting problems in home weather stations.

And I promise that you won't get spammed, and that your sign up details will remain totally confidential.

Sign up now and receive your first issue almost immediately.

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Last update 05/24/2011