Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Dongke China

In Dongke, the summers are comfortable and partly cloudy and the winters are freezing, dry, windy, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 2°F to 71°F and is rarely below -5°F or above 78°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Dongke for warm-weather activities is from mid July to mid August.

The warm season lasts for 3.4 months, from May 30 to September 11, with an average daily high temperature above 62°F. The hottest month of the year in Dongke is July, with an average high of 69°F and low of 47°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.1 months, from November 23 to February 28, with an average daily high temperature below 35°F. The coldest month of the year in Dongke is January, with an average low of 3°F and high of 27°F.

In Dongke, 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 Dongke begins around July 14 and lasts for 6.9 months, ending around February 11.

The clearest month of the year in Dongke is December, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 75% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around February 11 and lasts for 5.1 months, ending around July 14.

The cloudiest month of the year in Dongke is May, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 50% 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 Dongke varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.2 months, from May 12 to September 19, with a greater than 16% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Dongke is June, with an average of 8.9 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.8 months, from September 19 to May 12. The month with the fewest wet days in Dongke is January, with an average of 0.0 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 Dongke is June, with an average of 8.9 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 33% on June 26.

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. Dongke experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 5.0 months, from April 29 to September 29, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Dongke is July, with an average rainfall of 1.7 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 7.0 months, from September 29 to April 29. The month with the least rain in Dongke is December, with an average rainfall of -0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Dongke varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 41 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 38 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:03 AM on June 13, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 30 minutes later at 8:33 AM on January 7. The earliest sunset is at 6:06 PM on December 5, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 37 minutes later at 8:43 PM on June 28.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Dongke 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 Dongke, 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 Dongke experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.3 months, from November 4 to May 15, with average wind speeds of more than 9.1 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Dongke is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.7 months, from May 15 to November 4. The calmest month of the year in Dongke is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.5 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the east for 1.8 months, from June 22 to August 17, with a peak percentage of 38% on July 26. The wind is most often from the west for 10 months, from August 17 to June 22, with a peak percentage of 87% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Dongke 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 Dongke for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid July to mid August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Dongke for hot-weather activities is from mid July to early August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

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 Dongke typically lasts for 4.3 months (132 days), from around May 17 to around September 26, rarely starting before April 29 or after June 7, and rarely ending before September 6 or after October 13.

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.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Dongke should appear around May 22, only rarely appearing before May 15 or after May 30.

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 significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 4.5 months, from April 6 to August 23, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.8 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Dongke is June, with an average of 7.6 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.9 months, from November 7 to February 3, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.2 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Dongke is December, with an average of 3.4 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Dongke are 36.335 deg latitude, 99.667 deg longitude, and 10,003 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Dongke contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 348 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 10,055 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (4,147 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (8,041 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Dongke is covered by grassland (86%), within 10 miles by grassland (86%), and within 50 miles by grassland (72%) and water (13%).