Vejret i Milos i maj

Regulars are honest that weather patterns here have shifted in recent years, late May traditionally bringing reliable sunshine and warmth but now just as likely to bring a cloudy, windy stretch with real rain or even thunderstorms. Our row backs that mild, genuinely dry read, 20.1C over 16.8C nights, with rain light at 7.8mm across 1.7 days and a real 28.5 kph wind. Regulars are consistent mixed weather across the wider Cyclades isn't unusual this month, conditions typically settling into something more reliable by the very last week. The sea itself stays genuinely cold regardless of how warm the air gets, not yet a comfortable swim for most visitors. The sea sits at 18.4C. The record: 12.5 hours of sun, humidity 75 percent and AQI 51.

Regulars are specific about the timing of this region's defining wind: the meltemi is the real problem from July through September, easing off notably by this point, with any remaining wind a lesser concern than winter weather that starts to matter from here on. Our row still shows a real breeze, 31.9 kph, alongside mild, still-pleasant temperatures, 21.1C over 18.5C nights, and 21.3mm of rain across 2.5 days. Regulars describe mid-to-late October as still great for the beach, short sleeves and swimming weather, with the sea holding its summer warmth well into the month at 23.4C. The record: humidity 72 percent, 9.9 hours of sun and AQI 48.

June here is settled enough that the only real planning question is the wind, and regulars answer it with a map rather than a forecast. Sarakiniko is in the north and catches it, so on a breezy day the sea there is rough and the south coast is the answer - Firiplaka, Provatas and Paliochori are the names they give as sheltered. The habit is to decide each morning and drive across if needed. Our row explains why it comes up at all: a 26.1 kph average in a month with 3.7mm of rain across 0.9 days and 13.2 hours of sun. Air and sea sit almost level at 24.3C and 22.5C, with nights barely cooler at 21C. The record: humidity 74 percent and AQI 59.

Late September is the month regulars push for Milos: crowds gone, room rates down, weather usually still good into mid-October, and the tavernas in Adamas and Pollonia still open even as other things start shutting. Our row gives 24.5C over a very mild 21.7C night with 8.4mm across 1.6 precipitation days. The one piece of planning advice they repeat is about wind, which our row puts at 31.1 kph: September can blow hard enough to cancel sailings, so do the boat trip in the first days of your stay rather than the last, and check the forecast the night before. Tickets can be bought the day before without trouble. They are also honest that the odd year turns rotten for five or six days. The record: humidity 71 percent, 11.2 hours of sun and a 24.5C sea.

The meltemi blows from the north across the Cyclades from about June to September and peaks in August, and on Milos that is a geography problem with a geography answer. Pollonia, on the north coast, takes the full force of it; Adamas faces south and is sheltered; and on a windy day the south-coast beaches - Palaiochori, Agia Kyriaki, Provatas - are the ones still worth going to. Sarakiniko is the island's picture and is frequently windy with rough water when the meltemi is up. The compensation regulars point out is that even in August Milos is not crowded the way Santorini is. The record: 26.5C days, 23.8C nights that barely cool, 0.4 precipitation days, 12.6 hours of sun, a 26.5C sea and a 30 kph wind.