Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Shiyuan China

In Shiyuan, the summers are comfortable and partly cloudy and the winters are freezing, dry, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 7°F to 74°F and is rarely below 0°F or above 83°F.

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

The warm season lasts for 3.6 months, from May 19 to September 8, with an average daily high temperature above 65°F. The hottest month of the year in Shiyuan is July, with an average high of 73°F and low of 53°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.0 months, from November 25 to February 24, with an average daily high temperature below 40°F. The coldest month of the year in Shiyuan is January, with an average low of 8°F and high of 32°F.

In Shiyuan, 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 Shiyuan begins around October 7 and lasts for 4.0 months, ending around February 8.

The clearest month of the year in Shiyuan is December, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 74% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around February 8 and lasts for 8.0 months, ending around October 7.

The cloudiest month of the year in Shiyuan is May, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 49% 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 Shiyuan varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.4 months, from April 29 to October 8, with a greater than 18% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Shiyuan is July, with an average of 10.6 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.7 months, from October 8 to April 29. The month with the fewest wet days in Shiyuan is December, with an average of 0.1 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. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation in Shiyuan changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 8.2 months, from March 5 to November 11. The month with the most days of rain alone in Shiyuan is July, with an average of 10.6 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 3.7 months, from November 11 to March 5. The month with the most days of snow alone in Shiyuan is March, with an average of 0.3 days.

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. Shiyuan experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 6.2 months, from April 11 to October 18, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Shiyuan is July, with an average rainfall of 2.4 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.8 months, from October 18 to April 11. The month with the least rain in Shiyuan is December, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Shiyuan varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 44 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 35 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:52 AM on June 12, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 27 minutes later at 8:19 AM on January 7. The earliest sunset is at 5:54 PM on December 5, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 34 minutes later at 8:28 PM on June 28.

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

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.0 months, from February 17 to June 17, with average wind speeds of more than 6.0 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Shiyuan is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.8 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 8.0 months, from June 17 to February 17. The calmest month of the year in Shiyuan is October, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.2 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the east for 8.5 months, from February 8 to October 22, with a peak percentage of 52% on August 16. The wind is most often from the west for 3.5 months, from October 22 to February 8, with a peak percentage of 52% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Shiyuan 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 Shiyuan for general outdoor tourist activities is from early 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 Shiyuan 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 Shiyuan typically lasts for 5.5 months (168 days), from around April 27 to around October 12, rarely starting before April 10 or after May 16, and rarely ending before September 27 or after October 27.

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 Shiyuan should appear around April 25, only rarely appearing before April 18 or after May 6.

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 4.3 months, from April 7 to August 17, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.4 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Shiyuan is May, with an average of 7.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.9 months, from November 6 to February 3, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.0 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Shiyuan is December, with an average of 3.3 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Shiyuan are 35.753 deg latitude, 102.807 deg longitude, and 7,717 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Shiyuan contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,650 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 7,453 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (8,212 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (10,125 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Shiyuan is covered by cropland (60%), grassland (27%), and trees (13%), within 10 miles by grassland (51%) and cropland (27%), and within 50 miles by grassland (61%) and trees (17%).