Average Weather in Qal‘at Bīshah Saudi Arabia

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In Qal‘at Bīshah, the summers are long, sweltering, arid, and partly cloudy and the winters are short, cool, dry, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 48°F to 102°F and is rarely below 42°F or above 105°F.

The hot season lasts for 4.2 months, from May 15 to September 21, with an average daily high temperature above 97°F. The hottest day of the year is July 30, with an average high of 102°F and low of 79°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.8 months, from November 24 to February 18, with an average daily high temperature below 82°F. The coldest day of the year is January 4, with an average low of 48°F and high of 77°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 Qal‘at Bīshah, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Qal‘at Bīshah begins around October 20 and lasts for 6.8 months, ending around May 13. On November 26, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 84% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 16% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around May 13 and lasts for 5.2 months, ending around October 20. On July 24, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 47% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 53% of the time.

Qal‘at Bīshah does not experience significant seasonal variation in the frequency of wet days (i.e., those with greater than 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation). The frequency ranges from 1% to 6%, with an average value of 2%.

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 6% on April 27.

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. Qal‘at Bīshah experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Qal‘at Bīshah. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around April 27, with an average total accumulation of 0.4 inches.

The least rain falls around September 21, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Qal‘at Bīshah varies over the course of the year. In 2017, the shortest day is December 21, with 10 hours, 55 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 13 hours, 21 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:29 AM on June 6, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 18 minutes later at 6:47 AM on January 17. The earliest sunset is at 5:28 PM on November 26, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 25 minutes later at 6:53 PM on July 5.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Qal‘at Bīshah 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 Qal‘at Bīshah, 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, remaining a virtually constant 0% 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 Qal‘at Bīshah experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 1.8 months, from June 25 to August 19, with average wind speeds of more than 5.2 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is July 23, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.2 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 10 months, from August 19 to June 25. The calmest day of the year is December 22, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.3 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Qal‘at Bīshah varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the east for 4.1 weeks, from May 17 to June 15 and for 4.0 months, from August 21 to December 20, with a peak percentage of 69% on October 5. The wind is most often from the west for 2.2 months, from June 15 to August 21 and for 4.9 months, from December 20 to May 17, with a peak percentage of 52% on July 21.

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 3.0 months, from May 17 to August 17, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.5 kWh. The brightest day of the year is June 16, with an average of 8.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.7 months, from November 8 to January 30, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.8 kWh. The darkest day of the year is December 14, with an average of 5.2 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Qal‘at Bīshah are 20.001 deg latitude, 42.605 deg longitude, and 3,822 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Qal‘at Bīshah contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 151 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3,818 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (909 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (4,239 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Qal‘at Bīshah is covered by bare soil (88%), within 10 miles by bare soil (95%), and within 50 miles by bare soil (98%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Qal‘at Bīshah, 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 Qal‘at Bīshah.

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

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are: Bisha (98%, 7 kilometers, southeast) and Al-Baha Domestic Airport (1.6%, 107 kilometers, west).

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.