Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Qiaobian China

In Qiaobian, the summers are long, hot, muggy, wet, and mostly cloudy and the winters are cold, dry, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 34°F to 93°F and is rarely below 28°F or above 100°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best times of year to visit Qiaobian for warm-weather activities are from mid May to early June and from early September to mid October.

The hot season lasts for 3.9 months, from May 19 to September 16, with an average daily high temperature above 85°F. The hottest month of the year in Qiaobian is July, with an average high of 92°F and low of 76°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.1 months, from November 30 to March 1, with an average daily high temperature below 60°F. The coldest month of the year in Qiaobian is January, with an average low of 34°F and high of 52°F.

In Qiaobian, 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 Qiaobian begins around September 10 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around March 7.

The clearest month of the year in Qiaobian 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 March 7 and lasts for 6.1 months, ending around September 10.

The cloudiest month of the year in Qiaobian is July, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 61% 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 Qiaobian varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.5 months, from March 25 to September 11, with a greater than 25% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Qiaobian is July, with an average of 12.4 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.5 months, from September 11 to March 25. The month with the fewest wet days in Qiaobian is December, with an average of 2.6 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 Qiaobian is July, with an average of 12.4 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 43% on July 8.

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. Qiaobian experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Qiaobian. The month with the most rain in Qiaobian is July, with an average rainfall of 6.7 inches.

The month with the least rain in Qiaobian is January, with an average rainfall of 0.5 inches.

The length of the day in Qiaobian varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 10 hours, 10 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 8 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:31 AM on June 11, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 2 minutes later at 7:33 AM on January 10. The earliest sunset is at 5:33 PM on December 2, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 9 minutes later at 7:42 PM on June 30.

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

Qiaobian experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 3.9 months, from May 22 to September 19, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 24% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Qiaobian is July, with 29.4 days that are muggy or worse.

The least muggy day of the year is February 6, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

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 Qiaobian experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from February 1 to May 20, with average wind speeds of more than 4.6 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Qiaobian is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.1 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 8.4 months, from May 20 to February 1. The calmest month of the year in Qiaobian is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.2 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the east for 1.1 months, from March 19 to April 23; for 1.1 months, from May 10 to June 12; and for 1.1 months, from August 4 to September 8, with a peak percentage of 37% on August 30. The wind is most often from the south for 2.4 weeks, from April 23 to May 10 and for 1.7 months, from June 12 to August 4, with a peak percentage of 44% on July 12. The wind is most often from the north for 6.4 months, from September 8 to March 19, with a peak percentage of 35% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Qiaobian 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 times of year to visit Qiaobian for general outdoor tourist activities are from mid May to early June and from early September to mid October, with a peak score in the last week of September.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Qiaobian for hot-weather activities are for the entire month of June and from mid July to mid September, with a peak score in the third week of August.

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 Qiaobian typically lasts for 9.7 months (295 days), from around February 21 to around December 12, rarely starting before January 25 or after March 13, and rarely ending before November 20 or after December 31.

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 Qiaobian should appear around February 26, only rarely appearing before February 12 or after March 15.

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 4.2 months, from April 23 to August 31, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.3 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Qiaobian is June, with an average of 5.8 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from November 1 to February 8, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.5 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Qiaobian is December, with an average of 3.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Qiaobian are 30.682 deg latitude, 111.187 deg longitude, and 223 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Qiaobian contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 614 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 345 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (2,930 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (7,480 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Qiaobian is covered by trees (77%) and cropland (19%), within 10 miles by trees (79%), and within 50 miles by trees (66%) and cropland (16%).