Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Springbok Airport South Africa

At Springbok Airport, the summers are long, warm, arid, and clear and the winters are cold, dry, windy, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 46°F to 83°F and is rarely below 37°F or above 92°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Springbok Airport for warm-weather activities is from late November to early April.

The warm season lasts for 4.0 months, from November 30 to March 31, with an average daily high temperature above 78°F. The hottest month of the year at Springbok Airport is February, with an average high of 83°F and low of 62°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.1 months, from May 26 to August 29, with an average daily high temperature below 65°F. The coldest month of the year at Springbok Airport is July, with an average low of 46°F and high of 60°F.

At Springbok 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 Springbok Airport begins around November 18 and lasts for 4.5 months, ending around April 3.

The clearest month of the year at Springbok Airport is February, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 92% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 3 and lasts for 7.5 months, ending around November 18.

The cloudiest month of the year at Springbok Airport is May, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 28% of the time.

Springbok Airport 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 11%, with an average value of 6%.

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 Springbok Airport is June, with an average of 3.1 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 11% 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. Springbok Airport experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 4.6 months, from April 4 to August 22, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain at Springbok Airport is June, with an average rainfall of 0.8 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 7.4 months, from August 22 to April 4. The month with the least rain at Springbok Airport is December, with an average rainfall of 0.1 inches.

The length of the day at Springbok Airport varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 10 hours, 14 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 14 hours, 3 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:40 AM on December 2, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 4 minutes later at 7:44 AM on July 1. The earliest sunset is at 5:55 PM on June 9, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 57 minutes later at 7:53 PM on January 10.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed at Springbok Airport 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.

The perceived humidity level at Springbok Airport, 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, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

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 Springbok Airport experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.6 months, from September 18 to February 8, with average wind speeds of more than 10.1 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Springbok Airport is December, with an average hourly wind speed of 10.9 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.3 months, from February 8 to September 18. The calmest month of the year at Springbok Airport is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.3 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Springbok Airport varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the east for 5.6 months, from March 30 to September 18, with a peak percentage of 38% on June 19. The wind is most often from the south for 6.4 months, from September 18 to March 30, with a peak percentage of 57% on January 1.

Springbok 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 3.0 months, from December 7 to March 7, with an average temperature above 61°F. The month of the year at Springbok Airport with the warmest water is January, with an average temperature of 62°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.5 months, from May 30 to September 16, with an average temperature below 57°F. The month of the year at Springbok Airport with the coolest water is July, with an average temperature of 55°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Springbok 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 time of year to visit Springbok Airport for general outdoor tourist activities is from late November to early April, with a peak score in the last week of February.

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 Springbok Airport for hot-weather activities is from early January to mid March, with a peak score in the third week of February.

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).

Temperatures at Springbok Airport 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.

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 extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from October 31 to February 15, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 8.1 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Springbok Airport is December, with an average of 9.2 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from April 30 to August 12, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.7 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Springbok Airport is June, with an average of 3.6 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Springbok Airport are -29.689 deg latitude, 17.940 deg longitude, and 2,677 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Springbok Airport contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,194 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 2,880 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (2,421 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (5,344 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Springbok Airport is covered by shrubs (100%), within 10 miles by shrubs (100%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (77%) and grassland (20%).