Cave Spelunking - Cave Weather

Cave Weather
By:  Cave Spelunking  

You probably wouldn't think of a cave as having "weather."  It obviously isn't going to rain inside a cave, is it?  Seasonal changes aren't going to affect the temperature, are they?  Caves don't have seasonal changes like the sunlit world that we live in, do they?  Not exactly, but that doesn't mean that caves don't have weather. Caves do have weather.

Weather changes don't occur nearly as quickly in the dark, dank underground world of a cave, but changes do occur.  The cycles are slower — a lot slower than they are up here on the surface of the earth.

All caves don't have identical weather patterns.  As a matter of fact, each cave has its own completely unique weather patterns.

The temperature inside a cave can vary slightly according to the movement of air near the mouth of the cave.  The temperature of the water entering the cave can also affect the air temperature in the cave.  The location of the cave (whether it is in a mountainous region or in a valley) also affects the air temperature inside the cave.
There is even a wind chill factor deep underground in a cave.  The difference in the temperature between the entrance temperature and the temperature of the inner passageways causes a kind of "chimney effect" and creates wind.

This chimney effect can also cause "rain" inside a cave.  It won't be rain as we know it here on the surface, of course, but there will still be water falling in drops when the chimney effect changes the dew point inside the cave.
Changes in the barometric pressure can also affect the weather in a cave.  Air movement, humidity levels, and dew points are all affected by barometric pressure, and an experienced spelunker can discern weather changes on the surface even if he's hundreds of feet below the surface.

Rock On & Keep Spelunking...
Cave Spelunking.