Rodos hava durumu: ay ay

Forum posters describe late March as capable of swinging either way within the same week: warm, sunny days near 16-21C are entirely possible, but so are wild, wet, windy stretches with thunderstorms and torrential rain. Even Rhodes, often called one of Greece's mildest winter spots, only sees the sea reach around 17C in March, so swimming isn't realistic yet. Rhodes Town is consistently recommended as the base for this time of year - it stays open year-round with plenty of options, unlike the more seasonal resort areas elsewhere on the island - and posters stress checking that any accommodation has proper heating, since evenings and nights stay genuinely cold.

Regulars are consistent that weather here has more or less settled by mid-month, temperatures climbing past 30C by the end, with cloud or a little rain now the genuine exception rather than something to plan around. Our row backs that warm, genuinely dry read, 24.2C over 18.1C nights, with rain minimal at 13.4mm across just 3.1 days and humidity at 76 percent. Regulars are specific that the island's southeast side runs slightly warmer and drier than elsewhere, a real factor worth weighing when picking a base. The sea sits at a cool 19.6C, not yet warm enough for most to swim comfortably despite the reliably sunny days on land. The record: 12.5 hours of sun, a 21.8 kph wind and AQI 61.

June is the month Rhodes-forum regulars recommend before the island turns properly fierce: high 20s into the low 30s by the start of the month, effectively dry, and without the meltemi, which usually does not set in until July or August and even then hits the west coast rather than Lindos and the east. The one thing posters warn first-timers about is the sea - it lags well behind the air in early June and can feel cool for a swim, around 20C by their own reckoning, warming through the month. The record: 28C days feeling like 31C, 22C nights, 0.7 precipitation days, 13.6 hours of sun, a 23.2C sea and a 22 kph breeze.

July on Rhodes is two islands, and the dividing line is the meltemi. The wind blows from about mid-June to mid-September and is at its strongest in July and August, and it lands on the Aegean side: the west coast is windier and regulars put it near 28C in the shade, while the east, which the meltemi largely misses, can feel 35C - Lindos being the name they give for that. Our row's 30.8C and 22.5 kph is the island average between them. The practical reading is that the windy side is the tolerable side in this month, and higher ground is better again. Rain is effectively nil at 0.7mm. The record: 24.7C nights, humidity 73 percent, 13.3 hours of sun, a 26.1C sea and AQI 81.

Regulars quote an August average high of 30.7C and a discomfort that comes from the nights rather than the days, with minimums of 25 to 26C - our row reads 30.6C and 25.1C, which is as close as these things get. July and August are the meltemi's peak: it blows from between north-east and north-west, hardest in the afternoon, often dropping at night, and it is what tempers the heat. That makes the island two places. The west is windier with rougher beaches and runs mid to high thirties; the east is calmer, sandier and sheltered, and several degrees hotter for exactly that reason. The record: 0.8mm of rain, 12.4 hours of sun, a 27.7C sea and AQI 81.

Threads on the Rhodes forum about visiting in mid to late September read like a case for the shoulder season: returning regulars describe the weather as excellent and the island still busy enough that nightlife carries on, with September called possibly the most popular month on the island. The same threads flag the island's microclimate split - the west and north coasts are the windy side where the odd storm passes through, while the calmer east coast runs several degrees warmer. The September record backs the endorsement: 28.6-degree days against 23.2-degree nights (feeling like 31 at peak), with under one precipitation day across the whole month, 11.5 hours of sun and a sea holding at 27.6 degrees.

OMG I'm due in Lindos, Rhodes in September and I can't bloody wait. We were there this exact week last year and it was 45°!! How you have a great time!

October here has a deadline in it. The island winds down from the start of the month and the season closes with the last week of October - most bars and restaurants stay open until then, though some open only from mid-afternoon and a few run their stock down and shutter early. On weather the first half is the safer half: late October can give a week of full sun or a run of iffy days. The sea is the reason people come now, 25.6C in our column, and it does not drop properly until November, which reads 22.9C. Air is 25.1C over 19.5C nights, with 28.5mm of rain across 3.7 days under a 19.7 kph wind. The record: humidity 69 percent, 9.9 hours of sun and AQI 50.