Summer Weather in Neiafu Tonga

Daily high temperatures are around 84°F, rarely falling below 81°F or exceeding 87°F. The highest daily average high temperature is 85°F on February 22.

Daily low temperatures are around 77°F, rarely falling below 73°F or exceeding 79°F.

For reference, on February 15, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in Neiafu typically range from 77°F to 85°F, while on July 15, the coldest day of the year, they range from 71°F to 79°F.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the hourly average summer temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

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The summer in Neiafu experiences gradually increasing cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy increasing from 74% to 78%. The highest chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 80% on January 6.

The clearest day of the summer is December 6, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 26% of the time.

For reference, on January 6, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 80%, while on July 25, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 59%.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. In Neiafu, the chance of a wet day over the course of the summer is rapidly increasing, starting the season at 35% and ending it at 42%.

For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 43% on February 21, and its lowest chance is 13% on July 6.

Rainfall

To show variation within the season and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day.

The average sliding 31-day rainfall during the summer in Neiafu is rapidly increasing, starting the season at 4.6 inches, when it rarely exceeds 8.6 inches or falls below 1.5 inches, and ending the season at 6.5 inches, when it rarely exceeds 12.0 inches or falls below 1.9 inches.

Over the course of the summer in Neiafu, the length of the day is decreasing. From the start to the end of the season, the length of the day decreases by 43 minutes, implying an average daily decrease of 29 seconds, and weekly decrease of 3 minutes, 23 seconds.

The shortest day of the summer is February 28, with 12 hours, 28 minutes of daylight and the longest day is December 21, with 13 hours, 15 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise of the summer in Neiafu is 5:50 AM on December 1 and the latest sunrise is 44 minutes later at 6:34 AM on February 28.

The earliest sunset is 7:00 PM on December 1 and the latest sunset is 18 minutes later at 7:19 PM on January 17.

Daylight saving time is not observed in Neiafu during 2024.

For reference, on December 21, the longest day of the year, the Sun rises at 5:56 AM and sets 13 hours, 15 minutes later, at 7:12 PM, while on June 20, the shortest day of the year, it rises at 7:07 AM and sets 11 hours, 1 minute later, at 6:08 PM.

The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for the summer of 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases. The label associated with each bar indicates the date and time that the phase is obtained, and the companion time labels indicate the rise and set times of the Moon for the nearest time interval in which the moon is above the horizon.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The chance that a given day will be muggy in Neiafu is essentially constant during the summer, remaining within 1% of 99% throughout.

For reference, on January 30, the muggiest day of the year, there are muggy conditions 100% of the time, while on July 21, the least muggy day of the year, there are muggy conditions 68% of the time.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Neiafu is decreasing during the summer, decreasing from 14.0 miles per hour to 12.9 miles per hour over the course of the season.

For reference, on August 9, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 15.3 miles per hour, while on March 7, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 12.6 miles per hour.

The hourly average wind direction in Neiafu throughout the summer is predominantly from the east, with a peak proportion of 71% on December 12.

Neiafu is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average surface water temperature in Neiafu is gradually increasing during the summer, rising by 2°F, from 81°F to 83°F, over the course of the season.

The highest average surface water temperature during the summer is 83°F on February 25.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

Temperatures in Neiafu are sufficiently warm year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

The average accumulated growing degree days in Neiafu are very rapidly increasing during the summer, increasing by 2,693°F, from 3,949°F to 6,642°F, over the course of the season.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy in Neiafu is gradually decreasing during the summer, falling by 0.5 kWh, from 6.1 kWh to 5.6 kWh, over the course of the season.

The highest average daily incident shortwave solar energy during the summer is 6.2 kWh on December 28.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Neiafu are -18.651 deg latitude, -173.984 deg longitude, and 0 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Neiafu contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 423 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 15 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (725 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (1,634 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Neiafu is covered by water (81%) and trees (16%), within 10 miles by water (92%), and within 50 miles by water (100%).