Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Dongkengkou China

In Dongkengkou, the summers are warm, oppressive, and mostly cloudy; the winters are short, very cold, and mostly clear; and it is wet year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 31°F to 87°F and is rarely below 22°F or above 90°F.

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

The hot season lasts for 3.8 months, from May 27 to September 21, with an average daily high temperature above 79°F. The hottest month of the year in Dongkengkou is July, with an average high of 86°F and low of 73°F.

The cold season lasts for 2.9 months, from December 3 to February 28, with an average daily high temperature below 57°F. The coldest month of the year in Dongkengkou is January, with an average low of 31°F and high of 50°F.

In Dongkengkou, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Dongkengkou begins around September 3 and lasts for 6.4 months, ending around March 15.

The clearest month of the year in Dongkengkou is December, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 71% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around March 15 and lasts for 5.6 months, ending around September 3.

The cloudiest month of the year in Dongkengkou is July, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 72% 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 Dongkengkou varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.6 months, from February 10 to August 29, with a greater than 35% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Dongkengkou is June, with an average of 15.3 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 5.4 months, from August 29 to February 10. The month with the fewest wet days in Dongkengkou is December, with an average of 5.4 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 Dongkengkou is June, with an average of 15.3 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 54% on June 20.

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. Dongkengkou experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Dongkengkou. The month with the most rain in Dongkengkou is June, with an average rainfall of 11.7 inches.

The month with the least rain in Dongkengkou is December, 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. Dongkengkou experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 2.7 months, from December 14 to March 4, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Dongkengkou is January, with an average snowfall of 2.7 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 9.3 months, from March 4 to December 14. The least snow falls around July 18, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Dongkengkou varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 10 hours, 17 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 0 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:07 AM on June 11, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 54 minutes later at 7:02 AM on January 12. The earliest sunset is at 5:09 PM on December 2, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 1 minute later at 7:10 PM on June 30.

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

Dongkengkou experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 5.2 months, from April 29 to October 5, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 25% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Dongkengkou is July, with 30.7 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in Dongkengkou is January, with 0.0 days that are muggy or worse.

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

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.0 months, from January 3 to May 4, with average wind speeds of more than 6.8 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Dongkengkou is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.6 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 8.0 months, from May 4 to January 3. The calmest month of the year in Dongkengkou is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.0 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the south for 4.0 weeks, from June 26 to July 24, with a peak percentage of 37% on July 9. The wind is most often from the east for 11 months, from July 24 to June 26, with a peak percentage of 51% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Dongkengkou 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 Dongkengkou for general outdoor tourist activities is from late August to mid October, with a peak score in the third 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 time of year to visit Dongkengkou for hot-weather activities is from mid July to early September, with a peak score in the first 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 Dongkengkou typically lasts for 8.2 months (252 days), from around March 13 to around November 21, rarely starting before February 24 or after March 31, and rarely ending before November 1 or after December 10.

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 Dongkengkou should appear around March 3, only rarely appearing before February 17 or after March 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 4.9 months, from April 26 to September 21, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.1 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Dongkengkou is May, with an average of 5.5 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.0 months, from November 11 to February 10, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.6 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Dongkengkou is December, with an average of 3.2 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Dongkengkou are 29.056 deg latitude, 118.143 deg longitude, and 719 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Dongkengkou contains large variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,998 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 1,048 feet. Within 10 miles contains large variations in elevation (3,615 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (5,732 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Dongkengkou is covered by trees (75%) and cropland (18%), within 10 miles by trees (87%), and within 50 miles by trees (75%) and cropland (14%).