Writing climate data in the form of a climatograph gives a visual jolt to the numbers in a data table, making them much easier for the reader to compare and contrast various sites, and see the patterns over a larger area.

This particular set of data has been chosen to illustrate the orographic rain that affects the climate patterns on the Olympic peninsula of Washington, particularly in relation to the Olympic peaks. It comes from the Internet , and the site address is on the data, which is available for many towns in Washington.

To make your graph:

1. Turn your graph paper horizontally. Indent 5 blocks on the graph paper, about 3 squares up from the bottom of the page. Mark off 12 sets of three blocks each, for a total of 24 blocks, representing the 12 months of the year. Label each pair with the name of the month, starting with January.
2. Mark off the left hand axis in degrees Fahrenheit, starting at -20 degrees (remembering that +32 degrees is the freezing point) , considering each block to represent 5 degrees, and numbering by 10's every other line.
3. Mark off the right hand axis in inches, having one square represent 1/2 inch, and numbering every other line in increments of 1 inch.

   Note: when entering data, it really helps to have two people, one to read the data, the other to enter it.

4. Enter the average high temperature for each month, by making a dot in the center of each monthly section. Connect the dots with a smoothly curved line. Maybe hot red for the high temperatures.
5. Enter the average low temperature for each month following the same method. Use another color, like brrr blue, for this data.
6. Make a line and create bars for the rainfall data, and then color in the bars.
7. Label each axis, and give your graph a title.
8. Decide which of the numbered areas on the map your graph represents, using what you know about prevailing maritime winds, high mountains, and orographic rain.