Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport United States

At Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport, the summers are long, hot, oppressive, wet, and mostly cloudy and the winters are short, cool, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 52°F to 91°F and is rarely below 38°F or above 95°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best times of year to visit Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport for warm-weather activities are from early March to mid May and from mid October to early December.

The hot season lasts for 4.6 months, from May 10 to September 29, with an average daily high temperature above 87°F. The hottest month of the year at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport is July, with an average high of 91°F and low of 75°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.6 months, from December 5 to February 23, with an average daily high temperature below 75°F. The coldest month of the year at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport is January, with an average low of 52°F and high of 72°F.

At Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport, 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 at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport begins around October 2 and lasts for 8.1 months, ending around June 4.

The clearest month of the year at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport is April, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 63% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around June 4 and lasts for 3.9 months, ending around October 2.

The cloudiest month of the year at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport is July, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 65% 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 at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 3.9 months, from May 29 to September 26, with a greater than 43% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport is July, with an average of 21.9 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 8.1 months, from September 26 to May 29. The month with the fewest wet days at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport is November, with an average of 4.6 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 at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport is July, with an average of 21.9 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 73% on July 29.

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. Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport. The month with the most rain at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport is June, with an average rainfall of 6.1 inches.

The month with the least rain at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport is November, with an average rainfall of 1.7 inches.

The length of the day at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 10 hours, 22 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 13 hours, 55 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:29 AM on June 10, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 12 minutes later at 7:41 AM on March 10. The earliest sunset is at 5:30 PM on December 1, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 57 minutes later at 8:27 PM on July 1.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport during 2024, starting in the spring on March 10, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 3.

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.

Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 6.8 months, from April 22 to November 14, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 31% of the time. The month with the most muggy days at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport is August, with 30.8 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport is February, with 3.1 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 at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 8.0 months, from September 29 to May 28, with average wind speeds of more than 7.3 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.1 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.0 months, from May 28 to September 29. The calmest month of the year at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.4 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the east for 4.2 months, from February 28 to July 3 and for 3.0 months, from July 31 to November 1, with a peak percentage of 52% on September 10. The wind is most often from the west for 4.0 weeks, from July 3 to July 31, with a peak percentage of 32% on July 5. The wind is most often from the north for 4.0 months, from November 1 to February 28, with a peak percentage of 37% on January 1.

Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 4.0 months, from June 5 to October 7, with an average temperature above 81°F. The month of the year at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 85°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.2 months, from December 17 to March 24, with an average temperature below 69°F. The month of the year at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport with the coolest water is February, with an average temperature of 65°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport 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 Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport for general outdoor tourist activities are from early March to mid May and from mid October to early December, with a peak score in the second week of April.

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 Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport for hot-weather activities are from late April to early June and from mid September to late October, with a peak score in the third week of May.

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).

While it does not do so every year, freezing temperatures are seen at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport over some winters. The day least likely to be in the growing season is January 12, with a 71% chance.

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 at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport should appear around January 9, only rarely appearing before January 6 or after January 14.

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 2.0 months, from April 1 to June 1, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.1 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport is May, with an average of 6.6 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.6 months, from November 10 to January 30, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport is December, with an average of 3.5 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport are 28.061 deg latitude, -81.753 deg longitude, and 141 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 46 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 138 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (131 feet). Within 50 miles also contains only modest variations in elevation (302 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport is covered by artificial surfaces (77%) and water (21%), within 10 miles by artificial surfaces (46%) and cropland (20%), and within 50 miles by cropland (31%) and artificial surfaces (28%).