Planning a vacation with data

• Which locations have the best weather in mid-October?
• Where can I stay?

Let's start at the top ... or the bottom ...

Northern Hemisphere or Southern Hemisphere?

How does latitude affect weather parameters such as temperature, humidity, cloudiness, and wind speed? I took a random sampling of 605 cities across the globe, and compared them in terms of latitude versus current weather data. Current weather data was collected on 10/28/2020 from the Open Weather API.

1. Scatter plot observation: City Latitude vs. Max Temperature (F)

The scatter plot above shows the relationship between latitude and the maximum temperature (F) of a city. Cities closer to the equator and in the southern hemisphere have a higher maximum temperature than those further north.

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2. Scatter plot observation: City Latitude vs. Humidity

The scatter plot above shows that there's a weak relationship between a city's latitude and humidity.

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3. Scatter plot observation: City Latitude vs. Cloudiness

The scatter plot above shows that there is no relationship between a city's latitude and cloudiness.

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4. Scatter plot observation: City Latitude vs. Wind Speed

The scatter plot above shows there is no relationship between wind speed and a city's latitude. A few outliers can be seen with high wind speeds, but as this data is a snapshot of weather events on a single date, this is not a reliable indication of a strong relationship between these variables.

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Comparing the Northern and Southern Hemispheres

Northern Hemisphere	Southern Hemisphere

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Defining parameters to find locations with ideal weather conditions:

1. Temperatures between 72-78 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Humidity below 80%
3. Cloudiness less than 25%
4. Wind Speed below 5 mph

Visualizing locations that meet our criteria on a humidity heatmap:

Finding a place to stay in ideal locations:

Google heatmap with hotel markers observation:

As shown in the map above, after narrowing down possible vacation locales, most are in areas with moderate humidity. On a personal note, I was pleased to see the city of Wilmington, NC included. It's a place I know well from my four years attending UNC-Wilmington. I can personally recommend Wilmington as a pleasant place to visit, which boosts my confidence that the other locations would have great weather for traveling as well.