Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Zheng’an China

In Zheng’an, the summers are long, warm, humid, and partly cloudy and the winters are freezing, snowy, windy, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 2°F to 86°F and is rarely below -9°F or above 93°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Zheng’an for warm-weather activities is from late May to mid September.

The hot season lasts for 4.4 months, from May 10 to September 22, with an average daily high temperature above 74°F. The hottest month of the year in Zheng’an is July, with an average high of 86°F and low of 69°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.0 months, from November 25 to February 24, with an average daily high temperature below 36°F. The coldest month of the year in Zheng’an is January, with an average low of 3°F and high of 24°F.

In Zheng’an, 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 Zheng’an begins around August 31 and lasts for 6.2 months, ending around March 7.

The clearest month of the year in Zheng’an is January, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 77% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around March 7 and lasts for 5.8 months, ending around August 31.

The cloudiest month of the year in Zheng’an is June, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 43% 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 Zheng’an varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 3.8 months, from May 15 to September 7, with a greater than 18% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Zheng’an is July, with an average of 10.7 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 8.2 months, from September 7 to May 15. The month with the fewest wet days in Zheng’an is January, with an average of 0.3 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 Zheng’an changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 8.7 months, from February 29 to November 19. The month with the most days of rain alone in Zheng’an is July, with an average of 10.7 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 3.3 months, from November 19 to February 28. The month with the most days of snow alone in Zheng’an is December, with an average of 0.5 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. Zheng’an experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 6.8 months, from April 3 to October 28, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Zheng’an is July, with an average rainfall of 4.2 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.2 months, from October 28 to April 3. The month with the least rain in Zheng’an is January, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Zheng’an varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 9 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 15 hours, 13 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 4:17 AM on June 14, and the latest sunrise is 3 hours, 2 minutes later at 7:19 AM on January 4. The earliest sunset is at 4:21 PM on December 8, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 9 minutes later at 7:30 PM on June 27.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Zheng’an 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.

Zheng’an experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 2.5 months, from June 18 to September 3, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 19% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Zheng’an is July, with 21.3 days that are muggy or worse.

The least muggy day of the year is February 28, 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 Zheng’an experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 3.8 months, from February 12 to June 6, with average wind speeds of more than 10.4 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Zheng’an is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 12.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 8.2 months, from June 6 to February 12. The calmest month of the year in Zheng’an is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.2 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Zheng’an varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 4.7 months, from April 14 to September 5, with a peak percentage of 61% on July 7. The wind is most often from the north for 7.3 months, from September 5 to April 14, with a peak percentage of 61% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Zheng’an 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 Zheng’an for general outdoor tourist activities is from late May to mid September, with a peak score in the third week of August.

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 Zheng’an for hot-weather activities is from early July to mid 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 Zheng’an typically lasts for 6.1 months (188 days), from around April 12 to around October 17, rarely starting before March 27 or after April 28, and rarely ending before October 1 or after November 1.

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 Zheng’an should appear around April 18, only rarely appearing before April 10 or after April 27.

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 3.5 months, from April 14 to July 29, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.8 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Zheng’an is June, with an average of 6.5 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.0 months, from November 1 to February 2, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Zheng’an is December, with an average of 2.2 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Zheng’an are 41.704 deg latitude, 121.930 deg longitude, and 148 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Zheng’an contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 515 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 161 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (2,149 feet). Within 50 miles also contains large variations in elevation (3,182 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Zheng’an is covered by cropland (75%) and artificial surfaces (14%), within 10 miles by cropland (61%) and trees (23%), and within 50 miles by cropland (61%) and trees (14%).