As I get ready to pack for my dream trip, a Caribbean vacation in Jamaica, in just one week, I need to better understand the weather that I will face. While I am looking forward to exotic fruits and drinks on the beach, I want to bring clothing appropriate for the temperature. I am also concerned about rainfall and whether I should pay the extra for a room with air conditioning. Central tendency related to the weather will be helpful as I can look for information regarding the mean, median and mode temperature and rainfall. By determining the mean, median and mode temperature and rainfall, both day and night, I can make better decision about where I will stay and what I will bring.

The mean temperature provides an average, however it incorporates the range of temperatures. The median provides the temperature which is very likely, as it represents the middle of probabilities. The mode provides the most likely temperature and rainfall, because it represents the actual temperature and rainfall which occurs the most often. These temperatures should be representative of the time of year when I am visiting, so I would check the mean, median and mode temperature and rainfall for that week or month. The average, median and mode temperature for the year would not be terrible helpful, as it would incorporate seasons and climates that are unlikely for the specific time of my vacation.

On the other hand, the mode for temperature and rainfall for that particular week given ten years of recent data would be very helpful to determining the most likely weather that I will encounter. A review of websites which provide travelers helpful weather information, such as holiday-weather.com, shows that averages are typically used and determined for each month. The average low temperature and average high temperature is also provided. Weather Underground provides average temperatures and record temperatures, but not median or mode temperatures and rainfall which would be more useful.