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Spring Weather in Cape Town South Africa

Daily high temperatures increase by 9°F, from 64°F to 73°F, rarely falling below 58°F or exceeding 81°F.

Daily low temperatures increase by 10°F, from 50°F to 60°F, rarely falling below 44°F or exceeding 64°F.

For reference, on January 27, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in Cape Town typically range from 63°F to 76°F, while on July 10, the coldest day of the year, they range from 48°F to 62°F.

Average High and Low Temperature in the Spring in Cape Town

Average High and Low Temperature in the Spring in Cape TownSepOctNov40°F40°F45°F45°F50°F50°F55°F55°F60°F60°F65°F65°F70°F70°F75°F75°F80°F80°F85°F85°FWinterSummerSep 164°FSep 164°F50°F50°FNov 3073°FNov 3073°F60°F60°FOct 167°FOct 167°F52°F52°FNov 170°FNov 170°F56°F56°F
The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the hourly average spring 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.

Average Hourly Temperature in the Spring in Cape Town

Average Hourly Temperature in the Spring in Cape TownSepOctNov12 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMWinterSummercoldcoldcoolcomfortablecomfortable
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The average hourly temperature, color coded into bands. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

Milton, Australia (6,744 miles away) is the far-away foreign place with temperatures most similar to Cape Town (view comparison).

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The spring in Cape Town experiences decreasing cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy decreasing from 38% to 27%. The highest chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 40% on September 10.

The clearest day of the spring is November 30, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 73% of the time.

For reference, on May 18, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 44%, while on February 10, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 89%.

Cloud Cover Categories in the Spring in Cape Town

Cloud Cover Categories in the Spring in Cape TownSepOctNov0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%WinterSummerFeb 1089%Feb 1089%Sep 162%Sep 162%Nov 3073%Nov 3073%Oct 163%Oct 163%Nov 167%Nov 167%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercast
0% clear 20% mostly clear 40% partly cloudy 60% mostly cloudy 80% overcast 100%
The percentage of time spent in each cloud cover band, categorized by the percentage of the sky covered by clouds.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. In Cape Town, the chance of a wet day over the course of the spring is very rapidly decreasing, starting the season at 20% and ending it at 5%.

For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 27% on June 14, and its lowest chance is 4% on February 13.

Probability of Precipitation in the Spring in Cape Town

Probability of Precipitation in the Spring in Cape TownSepOctNov0%0%5%5%10%10%15%15%20%20%25%25%WinterSummerSep 120%Sep 120%Nov 305%Nov 305%Oct 114%Oct 114%Nov 110%Nov 110%rain
The percentage of days in which various types of precipitation are observed, excluding trace quantities: rain alone, snow alone, and mixed (both rain and snow fell in the same day).

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 spring in Cape Town is rapidly decreasing, starting the season at 1.8 inches, when it rarely exceeds 3.4 inches or falls below 0.4 inches, and ending the season at 0.5 inches, when it rarely exceeds 1.6 inches.

Average Monthly Rainfall in the Spring in Cape Town

Average Monthly Rainfall in the Spring in Cape TownSepOctNov0 in0 in1 in1 in2 in2 in3 in3 in4 in4 in5 in5 inWinterSummerSep 11.8 inSep 11.8 inNov 300.5 inNov 300.5 inOct 11.1 inOct 11.1 inNov 10.8 inNov 10.8 in
The average rainfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average snowfall.

Over the course of the spring in Cape Town, the length of the day is very rapidly increasing. From the start to the end of the season, the length of the day increases by 2 hours, 49 minutes, implying an average daily increase of 1 minute, 53 seconds, and weekly increase of 13 minutes, 10 seconds.

The shortest day of the spring is September 1, with 11 hours, 25 minutes of daylight and the longest day is November 30, with 14 hours, 14 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in the Spring in Cape Town

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in the Spring in Cape TownSepOctNov0 hr24 hr4 hr20 hr8 hr16 hr12 hr12 hr16 hr8 hr20 hr4 hr24 hr0 hrWinterSummerSep 2212 hr, 8 minSep 2212 hr, 8 mindaydaydaydaynightNov 3014 hr, 14 minNov 3014 hr, 14 minNov 113 hr, 29 minNov 113 hr, 29 min
The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line). From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray), the color bands indicate: full daylight, twilight (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and full night.

The latest sunrise of the spring in Cape Town is 7:04 AM on September 1 and the earliest sunrise is 1 hour, 36 minutes earlier at 5:28 AM on November 30.

The earliest sunset is 6:28 PM on September 1 and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 13 minutes later at 7:42 PM on November 30.

Daylight saving time is not observed in Cape Town during 2024.

For reference, on December 21, the longest day of the year, the Sun rises at 5:32 AM and sets 14 hours, 25 minutes later, at 7:57 PM, while on June 20, the shortest day of the year, it rises at 7:51 AM and sets 9 hours, 54 minutes later, at 5:44 PM.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight in the Spring in Cape Town

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight in the Spring in Cape TownSepOctNov2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AMWinterSummer5:28 AM5:28 AMNov 307:42 PMNov 307:42 PM7:04 AM7:04 AMSep 16:28 PMSep 16:28 PM6:22 AM6:22 AMOct 16:49 PMOct 16:49 PM5:45 AM5:45 AMNov 17:14 PMNov 17:14 PMSolarMidnightSolarMidnightSolarNoonSunriseSunset
The solar day in the spring. From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray.

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.

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in the Spring in Cape Town

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in the Spring in Cape TownSepOctNov12 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMWinterSummer001020203030405050600010102030304040506070
northeastsouthwest
Solar elevation and azimuth in the the spring of 2024. The black lines are lines of constant solar elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon, in degrees). The background color fills indicate the azimuth (the compass bearing) of the sun. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries of the cardinal compass points indicate the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for the spring 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.

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in the Spring in Cape Town

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in the Spring in Cape TownSepOctNov12 AM12 AM4 AM4 AM8 AM8 AM12 PM12 PM4 PM4 PM8 PM8 PM12 AM12 AMWinterSummerAug 41:14 PMAug 41:14 PMAug 198:26 PMAug 198:26 PMSep 33:56 AMSep 33:56 AMSep 184:35 AMSep 184:35 AMOct 28:50 PMOct 28:50 PMOct 171:27 PMOct 171:27 PMNov 12:48 PMNov 12:48 PMNov 1511:29 PMNov 1511:29 PMDec 18:22 AMDec 18:22 AMDec 1511:02 AMDec 1511:02 AMDec 3112:28 AMDec 3112:28 AM7:49 AM7:49 AM6:09 PM6:09 PM6:04 PM6:04 PM7:53 AM7:53 AM7:18 AM7:18 AM6:57 PM6:57 PM6:04 PM6:04 PM6:51 AM6:51 AM6:09 AM6:09 AM6:41 PM6:41 PM7:16 PM7:16 PM6:22 AM6:22 AM7:25 PM7:25 PM7:19 PM7:19 PM5:33 AM5:33 AM8:19 PM8:19 PM7:22 PM7:22 PM5:01 AM5:01 AM8:05 PM8:05 PM
The time in which the moon is above the horizon (light blue area), with new moons (dark gray lines) and full moons (blue lines) indicated. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

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 Cape Town is essentially constant during the spring, remaining around 0% throughout.

For reference, on February 11, the muggiest day of the year, there are muggy conditions 9% of the time, while on May 24, the least muggy day of the year, there are muggy conditions 0% of the time.

Humidity Comfort Levels in the Spring in Cape Town

Humidity Comfort Levels in the Spring in Cape TownSepOctNov0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%WinterSummerSep 10%Sep 10%Nov 301%Nov 301%Oct 10%Oct 10%Nov 10%Nov 10%humidhumidcomfortablecomfortabledrydrymuggymuggy
dry 55°F comfortable 60°F humid 65°F muggy 70°F oppressive 75°F miserable
The percentage of time spent at various humidity comfort levels, categorized by dew point.

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 Cape Town is increasing during the spring, increasing from 11.8 miles per hour to 13.5 miles per hour over the course of the season.

For reference, on January 22, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 13.9 miles per hour, while on May 2, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 10.5 miles per hour.

The highest daily average wind speed during the spring is 13.6 miles per hour on November 28.

Average Wind Speed in the Spring in Cape Town

Average Wind Speed in the Spring in Cape TownSepOctNov0 mph0 mph5 mph5 mph10 mph10 mph15 mph15 mph20 mph20 mphWinterSummerNov 2813.6 mphNov 2813.6 mphSep 111.8 mphSep 111.8 mphOct 112.0 mphOct 112.0 mphNov 113.1 mphNov 113.1 mph
The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

The hourly average wind direction in Cape Town throughout the spring is predominantly from the south, with a peak proportion of 61% on November 29.

Wind Direction in the Spring in Cape Town

Wind Direction in the Spring in Cape TownNWSSepOctNov0%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%WinterSummerwestsouthnortheast
northeastsouthwest
The percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the mean wind speed is less than 1.0 mph. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries are the percentage of hours spent in the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

Cape Town 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 Cape Town is increasing during the spring, rising by 4°F, from 59°F to 63°F, over the course of the season.

Average Water Temperature in the Spring in Cape Town

Average Water Temperature in the Spring in Cape TownSepOctNov56°F56°F58°F58°F60°F60°F62°F62°F64°F64°F66°F66°F68°F68°FWinterSummerSep 159°FSep 159°FNov 3063°FNov 3063°FOct 159°FOct 159°FNov 161°FNov 161°F
The daily average water temperature (purple line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

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 Cape Town 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.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in the Spring in Cape Town

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in the Spring in Cape TownSepOctNov0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%WinterSummer100%Oct 16100%Oct 16coldcoolcomfortablewarmvery cold
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The percentage of time spent in various temperature bands. The black line is the percentage chance that a given day is within the growing season.

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 Cape Town are very rapidly increasing during the spring, increasing by 1,026°F, from 380°F to 1,406°F, over the course of the season.

Growing Degree Days in the Spring in Cape Town

Growing Degree Days in the Spring in Cape TownSepOctNov400°F400°F600°F600°F800°F800°F1,000°F1,000°F1,200°F1,200°F1,400°F1,400°FWinterSummerSep 1380°FSep 1380°FNov 301,406°FNov 301,406°FOct 1630°FOct 1630°FNov 1987°FNov 1987°F
The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of the spring, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

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 Cape Town is very rapidly increasing during the spring, rising by 4.1 kWh, from 4.2 kWh to 8.3 kWh, over the course of the season.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in the Spring in Cape Town

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in the Spring in Cape TownSepOctNov0 kWh0 kWh1 kWh1 kWh2 kWh2 kWh3 kWh3 kWh4 kWh4 kWh5 kWh5 kWh6 kWh6 kWh7 kWh7 kWh8 kWh8 kWh9 kWh9 kWh10 kWh10 kWhWinterSummerSep 14.2 kWhSep 14.2 kWhNov 308.3 kWhNov 308.3 kWhOct 15.8 kWhOct 15.8 kWhNov 17.3 kWhNov 17.3 kWh
The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter (orange line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Cape Town are -33.926 deg latitude, 18.423 deg longitude, and 82 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Cape Town contains large variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 2,405 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 318 feet. Within 10 miles contains large variations in elevation (3,596 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (6,568 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Cape Town is covered by artificial surfaces (69%) and shrubs (20%), within 10 miles by water (46%) and artificial surfaces (39%), and within 50 miles by water (62%) and cropland (22%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Cape Town, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There are 2 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Cape Town.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Cape Town according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

The estimated value at Cape Town is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Cape Town and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are:

To get a sense of how much these sources agree with each other, you can view a comparison of Cape Town and the stations that contribute to our estimates of its temperature history and climate. Please note that each source's contribution is adjusted for elevation and the relative change present in the MERRA-2 data.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.

We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.

We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.

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