Average Weather in Assab Eritrea

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In Assab, the summers are long, sweltering, and overcast; the winters are warm, dry, extremely windy, and mostly clear; and it is oppressive year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 72°F to 98°F and is rarely below 69°F or above 101°F.

The hot season lasts for 4.9 months, from May 8 to October 4, with an average daily high temperature above 95°F. The hottest day of the year is June 18, with an average high of 98°F and low of 86°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.1 months, from December 1 to March 4, with an average daily high temperature below 88°F. The coldest day of the year is December 30, with an average low of 72°F and high of 86°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 Assab, 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 Assab begins around October 3 and lasts for 7.0 months, ending around May 3. On November 26, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 78% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 22% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around May 3 and lasts for 5.0 months, ending around October 3. On July 17, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 78% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 22% 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 Assab varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 2.0 months, from July 7 to September 7, with a greater than 21% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 40% on August 3.

The drier season lasts 10 months, from September 7 to July 7. The smallest chance of a wet day is 1% on December 26.

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 40% on August 3.

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. Assab experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 6.5 months, from March 31 to October 16, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around August 2, with an average total accumulation of 2.4 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.5 months, from October 16 to March 31. The least rain falls around January 6, with an average total accumulation of 0.1 inches.

The length of the day in Assab does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 53 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2017, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 22 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 12 hours, 54 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:41 AM on June 1, and the latest sunrise is 54 minutes later at 6:35 AM on January 24. The earliest sunset is at 5:39 PM on November 19, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 1 minute later at 6:39 PM on July 9.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Assab 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.

Assab experiences some seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 9.4 months, from March 6 to December 18, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 88% of the time. The muggiest day of the year is August 30, with muggy conditions 100% of the time.

The least muggy day of the year is January 13, with muggy conditions 83% 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 Assab experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.7 months, from October 12 to May 3, with average wind speeds of more than 7.2 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is January 1, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.9 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.3 months, from May 3 to October 12. The calmest day of the year is September 11, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.5 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the north for 1.8 months, from May 27 to July 22 and for 1.1 months, from August 15 to September 19, with a peak percentage of 51% on June 27. The wind is most often from the west for 3.4 weeks, from July 22 to August 15, with a peak percentage of 49% on August 2. The wind is most often from the south for 8.3 months, from September 19 to May 27, with a peak percentage of 78% on January 1.

Assab 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 4.1 months, from June 3 to October 7, with an average temperature above 86°F. The day of the year with the warmest water is September 9, with an average temperature of 89°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.9 months, from November 30 to March 28, with an average temperature below 80°F. The day of the year with the coolest water is January 30, 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 2.6 months, from February 24 to May 12, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.6 kWh. The brightest day of the year is April 3, with an average of 7.0 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.4 months, from July 2 to September 14, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.5 kWh. The darkest day of the year is July 24, with an average of 5.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Assab are 13.009 deg latitude, 42.739 deg longitude, and 10 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Assab contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 528 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 56 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (1,362 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (6,667 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Assab is covered by water (44%), bare soil (29%), artificial surfaces (15%), and sparse vegetation (11%), within 10 miles by water (57%) and bare soil (33%), and within 50 miles by water (46%) and bare soil (36%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Assab, 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 is only a single weather station, Hodeidah Airport, in our network suitable to be used as a proxy for the historical temperature and dew point records of Assab.

At a distance of 196 kilometers from Assab, further than our threshold of 150 kilometers, this station is deemed insufficiently nearby to be relied upon as our primary source for temperature and dew point records. Consequently, the station records are blended with interpolated values from NASA's MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis , and both are corrected for elevation differences according to the International Standard Atmosphere .

The weight assigned to the MERRA-2 value depends on the distance from Assab to the nearest station, increasing from 0% at 150 kilometers to 100% at 200 kilometers. In this case, the MERRA-2 weight is 48%, making the weight assigned to the weather station 52%.

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.