Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Coober Pedy AustraliaIn Coober Pedy, the summers are sweltering; the winters are cool; and it is dry, windy, and mostly clear year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 42°F to 100°F and is rarely below 36°F or above 110°F. Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Coober Pedy for warm-weather activities is from early November to early April. Average Temperature in Coober PedyThe hot season lasts for 3.8 months, from November 18 to March 11, with an average daily high temperature above 93°F. The hottest month of the year in Coober Pedy is January, with an average high of 99°F and low of 70°F. The cool season lasts for 3.0 months, from May 19 to August 20, with an average daily high temperature below 72°F. The coldest month of the year in Coober Pedy is July, with an average low of 42°F and high of 66°F.
The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day. Upington, South Africa (6,525 miles away) is the far-away foreign place with temperatures most similar to Coober Pedy (view comparison). CloudsIn Coober Pedy, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year. The clearer part of the year in Coober Pedy begins around June 22 and lasts for 3.8 months, ending around October 15. The clearest month of the year in Coober Pedy is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 90% of the time. The cloudier part of the year begins around October 15 and lasts for 8.2 months, ending around June 22. The cloudiest month of the year in Coober Pedy is April, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 27% of the time.
PrecipitationCoober Pedy does not experience significant seasonal variation in the frequency of wet days (i.e., those with greater than 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation). The frequency ranges from 2% to 8%, with an average value of 5%. 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 Coober Pedy is December, with an average of 2.2 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 8% on December 13.
RainfallTo 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. Coober Pedy experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall. The rainy period of the year lasts for 3.9 months, from November 27 to March 24, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Coober Pedy is February, with an average rainfall of 0.7 inches. The rainless period of the year lasts for 8.1 months, from March 24 to November 27. The month with the least rain in Coober Pedy is July, with an average rainfall of 0.2 inches.
SunThe length of the day in Coober Pedy varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 21, with 10 hours, 17 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 14 hours, 0 minutes of daylight.
The earliest sunrise is at 6:04 AM on October 5, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 39 minutes later at 7:44 AM on April 6. The earliest sunset is at 5:40 PM on June 9, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 54 minutes later at 8:34 PM on January 11. Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Coober Pedy during 2024, starting in the spring on October 6 and ending in the fall on April 7. The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation. MoonThe 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. HumidityWe 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 Coober Pedy, 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, staying within 2% of 2% throughout.
WindThis 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 Coober Pedy experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year. The windier part of the year lasts for 6.8 months, from August 22 to March 14, with average wind speeds of more than 10.5 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Coober Pedy is October, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.9 miles per hour. The calmer time of year lasts for 5.2 months, from March 14 to August 22. The calmest month of the year in Coober Pedy is May, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.0 miles per hour.
The predominant average hourly wind direction in Coober Pedy varies throughout the year. The wind is most often from the east for 4.3 months, from February 16 to June 24, with a peak percentage of 45% on March 7. The wind is most often from the north for 1.2 months, from June 24 to July 30, with a peak percentage of 29% on July 23. The wind is most often from the south for 6.6 months, from July 30 to February 16, with a peak percentage of 44% on January 1. Best Time of Year to VisitTo characterize how pleasant the weather is in Coober Pedy 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 Coober Pedy for general outdoor tourist activities is from early November to early April, with a peak score in the first week of March. Tourism Score in Coober PedyThe 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 Coober Pedy for hot-weather activities is from late December to early March, with a peak score in the second week of January. Beach/Pool Score in Coober PedyMethodologyFor 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. Growing SeasonDefinitions 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). Temperatures in Coober Pedy are sufficiently warm year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year. 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. Solar EnergyThis 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 3.8 months, from October 25 to February 19, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.5 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Coober Pedy is December, with an average of 8.3 kWh. The darker period of the year lasts for 3.1 months, from May 1 to August 5, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.5 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Coober Pedy is June, with an average of 3.5 kWh.
TopographyFor the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Coober Pedy are -29.014 deg latitude, 134.755 deg longitude, and 745 ft elevation. The topography within 2 miles of Coober Pedy contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 190 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 696 feet. Within 10 miles also contains only modest variations in elevation (341 feet). Within 50 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (646 feet). The area within 2 miles of Coober Pedy is covered by sparse vegetation (88%), within 10 miles by sparse vegetation (70%) and grassland (29%), and within 50 miles by sparse vegetation (85%) and grassland (13%). Data SourcesThis report illustrates the typical weather in Coober Pedy, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016. Coober Pedy is further than 200 kilometers from the nearest reliable weather station, so the weather-related data on this page were taken entirely from NASA's MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid. The temperature and dew point estimates are corrected for the difference between the reference elevation of the MERRA-2 grid cell and the elevation of Coober Pedy, according to the International Standard Atmosphere . All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus. Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database . Time zones for airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com . Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors. DisclaimerThe information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site. We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands. We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader. Please review our full terms contained on our Terms of Service page. |