Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Port-aux-Français French Southern Territories

In Port-aux-Français, the summers are short, cold, and mostly cloudy; the winters are long, very cold, and partly cloudy; and it is extremely windy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 32°F to 47°F and is rarely below 29°F or above 51°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Port-aux-Français for warm-weather activities is from late January to late February.

The warm season lasts for 3.0 months, from December 27 to March 27, with an average daily high temperature above 45°F. The hottest month of the year in Port-aux-Français is February, with an average high of 46°F and low of 40°F.

The cool season lasts for 4.3 months, from June 4 to October 15, with an average daily high temperature below 39°F. The coldest month of the year in Port-aux-Français is August, with an average low of 32°F and high of 37°F.

In Port-aux-Français, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Port-aux-Français begins around August 30 and lasts for 5.6 months, ending around February 17.

The clearest month of the year in Port-aux-Français is November, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 50% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around February 17 and lasts for 6.4 months, ending around August 30.

The cloudiest month of the year in Port-aux-Français is April, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 59% 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 Port-aux-Français varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 8.2 months, from December 7 to August 12, with a greater than 31% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Port-aux-Français is May, with an average of 11.0 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 3.8 months, from August 12 to December 7. The month with the fewest wet days in Port-aux-Français is October, with an average of 8.4 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Port-aux-Français is May, with an average of 10.9 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 36% on May 21.

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. Port-aux-Français experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Port-aux-Français. The month with the most rain in Port-aux-Français is March, with an average rainfall of 2.2 inches.

The month with the least rain in Port-aux-Français is September, with an average rainfall of 1.5 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Port-aux-Français experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 2.4 months, from June 25 to September 6, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Port-aux-Français is July, with an average snowfall of 1.3 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 9.6 months, from September 6 to June 25. The least snow falls around December 19, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Port-aux-Français varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 21, with 8 hours, 10 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 16 hours, 16 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 4:07 AM on December 12, and the latest sunrise is 4 hours, 9 minutes later at 8:16 AM on June 26. The earliest sunset is at 4:25 PM on June 16, and the latest sunset is 4 hours, 2 minutes later at 8:27 PM on December 30.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Port-aux-Français during 2024.

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

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 Port-aux-Français, 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 Port-aux-Français experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.4 months, from June 28 to November 9, with average wind speeds of more than 23.9 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Port-aux-Français is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 25.4 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.6 months, from November 9 to June 28. The calmest month of the year in Port-aux-Français is February, with an average hourly wind speed of 22.4 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Port-aux-Français is from the west throughout the year.

Port-aux-Français 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 3.5 months, from January 13 to April 29, with an average temperature above 41°F. The month of the year in Port-aux-Français with the warmest water is March, with an average temperature of 42°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.0 months, from July 8 to November 7, with an average temperature below 37°F. The month of the year in Port-aux-Français with the coolest water is September, with an average temperature of 36°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Port-aux-Français throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Port-aux-Français for general outdoor tourist activities is from late January to late February, with a peak score in the third week of February.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

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).

The growing season in Port-aux-Français typically lasts for 6.9 months (210 days), from around October 29 to around May 27, rarely starting before October 6 or after November 19, and rarely ending before May 3 or after June 20.

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.

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 extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from November 8 to February 13, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.1 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Port-aux-Français is December, with an average of 6.2 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 4.2 months, from April 19 to August 24, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.8 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Port-aux-Français is June, with an average of 0.7 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Port-aux-Français are -49.350 deg latitude, 70.217 deg longitude, and 23 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Port-aux-Français contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 220 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 62 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (2,815 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (6,050 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Port-aux-Français is covered by water (41%), shrubs (24%), trees (16%), and grassland (12%), within 10 miles by water (45%) and bare soil (26%), and within 50 miles by water (79%) and bare soil (11%).