Preparing for Different Climates

February 17, 2018

11 hours and 710 miles away, our Field Experience locations are going to have very different climates than what we are used to experiencing here in Southern Arkansas during the month of May! Here is an outline of how we plan to approach this weather change with being prepared in our packing.

1. Inside Carlsbad Caverns National Park, the temperature stays a nice and cool 56F year-round. Longs pants and even a light jacket will probably be comfortable for this exploration. In fact, 56F is the average low temperature in May for Carlsbad, NM, so the jacket will come in handy for our evenings after the sun goes down.
2. Guadalupe Mountains National Park has a much wider climate range, even though it is only about 30 miles from Carlsbad Caverns. This is due to the fact that the temperature can vary greatly with elevation change. In May, evening lows can range from 40-60F and highs can range from 70-80F+.
3. Big Bend National Park is about four hours South of Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains, so it does have some warmer average temperatures than the other two. The average high in May is 89F. Higher elevations can experience 5-10F lower temperatures during the day, and lower desert elevations can have 5-10F warmer temperatures during the day, which can lead to very hot temperatures, especially if we are physically exploring and exerting our bodies.

Between our three very different locations, we will need to pack for quite a wide variety of weather. We will need to be layering clothes that can work for both heat and cool. We will also be keeping sufficient amounts of water available at all times.

86 days until May 14th!