Extremes of weather

One thing I've noticed living in Texas is the huge swings in temperature. Over the past two months, we've had a low of 15ºF and a high of 85ºF, making a swing of 70 degrees.

Looking at the same time period for Stockholm, the lowest temperature was a chilly -13ºF, with the warmest being 44º, making a swing of 57 degrees.

It's no surprise that London was the most temperate, with a high of 59º and a low of 26º, making a difference of only of 33 degrees.

I have to say, living in London all these years, I'm not used to overcoats on Tuesday and shorts on Thursday. I think the cycle of warm and cold (and this summer, just blazing hot) takes its toll on a building. I've actually run heat in our house at night and the air-conditioning in the afternoon! It seems to me the more gradual cycles of hot and cold are easier for a structure to deal with, and I haven't even mentioned hairstorms or tornadoes yet!