Average Weather in Sokoni Tanzania

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3. Zanzibar Central/South
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5. Sokoni

In Sokoni, the wet season is hot and mostly cloudy, the dry season is warm and mostly clear, and it is oppressive and windy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 71°F to 87°F and is rarely below 68°F or above 90°F.

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

In Sokoni, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Sokoni begins around May 10 and lasts for 6.1 months, ending around November 14. On September 1, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 80% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 20% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 14 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around May 10. On February 28, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 74% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 26% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Sokoni varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 2.4 months, from March 11 to May 22, with a greater than 33% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 63% on April 20.

The drier season lasts 9.6 months, from May 22 to March 11. The smallest chance of a wet day is 2% on September 11.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 63% on April 20.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Sokoni experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 8.8 months, from October 6 to June 30, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around April 24, with an average total accumulation of 6.5 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from June 30 to October 6. The least rain falls around August 30, with an average total accumulation of 0.2 inches.

The length of the day in Sokoni does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 30 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2017, the shortest day is June 21, with 11 hours, 45 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 12 hours, 30 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:54 AM on November 13, and the latest sunrise is 40 minutes later at 6:34 AM on July 16. The earliest sunset is at 6:12 PM on May 24, and the latest sunset is 34 minutes later at 6:46 PM on January 31.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Sokoni during 2017.

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 perceived humidity level in Sokoni, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, staying within 2% of 98% throughout.

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 Sokoni experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.5 months, from April 22 to October 7, with average wind speeds of more than 6.9 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is July 4, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.1 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.5 months, from October 7 to April 22. The calmest day of the year is March 24, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.8 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Sokoni varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the east for 1.4 months, from February 25 to April 8 and for 3.6 months, from August 29 to December 18, with a peak percentage of 92% on November 2. The wind is most often from the south for 4.7 months, from April 8 to August 29, with a peak percentage of 95% on June 17. The wind is most often from the north for 2.2 months, from December 18 to February 25, with a peak percentage of 67% on January 1.

Sokoni 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 water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 2.5 months, from February 12 to April 28, with an average temperature above 83°F. The day of the year with the warmest water is March 24, with an average temperature of 85°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.1 months, from July 4 to October 8, with an average temperature below 79°F. The day of the year with the coolest water is August 16, with an average temperature of 78°F.

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 experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.4 months, from September 1 to November 12, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.8 kWh. The brightest day of the year is October 9, with an average of 7.2 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 1.9 months, from March 10 to May 8, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.6 kWh. The darkest day of the year is April 6, with an average of 5.2 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Sokoni are -6.433 deg latitude, 39.550 deg longitude, and 66 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Sokoni contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 125 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 66 feet. Within 10 miles also contains only modest variations in elevation (194 feet). Within 50 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,030 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Sokoni is covered by cropland (54%), water (23%), and trees (23%), within 10 miles by water (71%) and trees (19%), and within 50 miles by water (77%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Sokoni, 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 Sokoni.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Sokoni 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 Sokoni is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Sokoni and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are: Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (64%, 43 kilometers, northwest) and Julius Nyerere International Airport (36%, 63 kilometers, southwest).

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets , 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 aiports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © Esri, with data from National Geographic, Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, UNEP-WCMC, USGS, NASA, ESA, METI, NRCAN, GEBCO, NOAA, and iPC.