Average Weather at Kotoka International Airport Ghana

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2. Ghana
3. Kotoka International Airport

At Kotoka International Airport, the wet season is mostly cloudy, the dry season is partly cloudy, and it is hot and oppressive year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 74°F to 91°F and is rarely below 72°F or above 93°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.

At Kotoka International 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 Kotoka International Airport begins around June 27 and lasts for 7.5 months, ending around February 12. On December 25, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 59% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 41% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around February 12 and lasts for 4.5 months, ending around June 27. On April 27, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 85% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 15% 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 Kotoka International Airport varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.8 months, from April 4 to October 29, with a greater than 38% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 72% on June 9.

The drier season lasts 5.2 months, from October 29 to April 4. The smallest chance of a wet day is 2% on January 22.

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 throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 72% on June 9.

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. Kotoka International Airport experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.7 months, from February 11 to December 2, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around June 6, with an average total accumulation of 6.5 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.3 months, from December 2 to February 11. The least rain falls around January 14, with an average total accumulation of 0.2 inches.

The length of the day at Kotoka International Airport does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 26 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2017, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 48 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 12 hours, 27 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:45 AM on May 23, and the latest sunrise is 32 minutes later at 6:17 AM on February 3. The earliest sunset is at 5:41 PM on November 10, and the latest sunset is 38 minutes later at 6:19 PM on July 17.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed at Kotoka International Airport during 2017.

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.

Kotoka International Airport experiences some seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 11 months, from January 26 to December 29, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 92% of the time. The muggiest day of the year is September 19, with muggy conditions 100% of the time.

The least muggy day of the year is January 16, with muggy conditions 89% of the time.

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 Kotoka International Airport experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.3 months, from June 1 to October 11, with average wind speeds of more than 3.8 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is July 30, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.7 months, from October 11 to June 1. The calmest day of the year is December 5, with an average hourly wind speed of 3.1 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Kotoka International Airport is from the south throughout the year.

Kotoka International 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 some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 3.8 months, from February 15 to June 8, with an average temperature above 81°F. The day of the year with the warmest water is May 9, with an average temperature of 83°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 1.9 months, from July 16 to September 14, with an average temperature below 76°F. The day of the year with the coolest water is August 10, with an average temperature of 74°F.

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 2.5 months, from July 21 to October 5, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.2 kWh. The brightest day of the year is August 21, with an average of 5.5 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.1 months, from April 9 to June 11, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.4 kWh. The darkest day of the year is May 13, with an average of 4.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Kotoka International Airport are 5.605 deg latitude, -0.167 deg longitude, and 141 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Kotoka International Airport contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 184 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 156 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,047 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (2,772 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Kotoka International Airport is covered by artificial surfaces (96%), within 10 miles by artificial surfaces (47%) and water (30%), and within 50 miles by water (48%) and cropland (21%).

This report illustrates the typical weather at Kotoka International Airport, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

Kotoka International Airport has a weather station that reported reliably enough during the analysis period that we have included it in our network. When available, historical temperature and dew point measurements are taken directly from this weather station. These records are obtained from NOAA's Integrated Surface Hourly data set, falling back on ICAO METAR records as required.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . 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.

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 aiports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © Esri, with data from National Geographic, Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, UNEP-WCMC, USGS, NASA, ESA, METI, NRCAN, GEBCO, NOAA, and iPC.