Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Tshabong Airport Botswana

At Tshabong Airport, the summers are long, hot, and mostly clear and the winters are short, cool, dry, and clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 36°F to 95°F and is rarely below 29°F or above 101°F.

Based on the beach/pool score, the best time of year to visit Tshabong Airport for hot-weather activities is from early October to early April.

The hot season lasts for 4.5 months, from October 29 to March 12, with an average daily high temperature above 90°F. The hottest month of the year at Tshabong Airport is January, with an average high of 94°F and low of 70°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.6 months, from May 23 to August 11, with an average daily high temperature below 76°F. The coldest month of the year at Tshabong Airport is July, with an average low of 37°F and high of 72°F.

At Tshabong Airport, 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 at Tshabong Airport begins around April 19 and lasts for 5.1 months, ending around September 23.

The clearest month of the year at Tshabong Airport is July, 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 September 23 and lasts for 6.9 months, ending around April 19.

The cloudiest month of the year at Tshabong Airport is November, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 26% 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 Tshabong Airport varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.5 months, from October 29 to April 13, with a greater than 12% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Tshabong Airport is February, with an average of 6.3 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.5 months, from April 13 to October 29. The month with the fewest wet days at Tshabong Airport is July, with an average of 0.2 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 Tshabong Airport is February, with an average of 6.3 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 23% on February 2.

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. Tshabong Airport experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 6.9 months, from October 3 to May 1, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain at Tshabong Airport is February, with an average rainfall of 1.7 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.1 months, from May 1 to October 3. The month with the least rain at Tshabong Airport is July, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day at Tshabong Airport varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 10 hours, 31 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 13 hours, 46 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:30 AM on November 30, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 48 minutes later at 7:18 AM on July 2. The earliest sunset is at 5:46 PM on June 8, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 41 minutes later at 7:27 PM on January 12.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed at Tshabong 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.

Tshabong Airport experiences some seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 4.7 months, from November 18 to April 8, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 6% of the time. The month with the most muggy days at Tshabong Airport is February, with 6.8 days that are muggy or worse.

The least muggy day of the year is July 10, 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 at Tshabong Airport experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.3 months, from July 8 to December 18, with average wind speeds of more than 9.1 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Tshabong Airport is October, with an average hourly wind speed of 10.2 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.7 months, from December 18 to July 8. The calmest month of the year at Tshabong Airport is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.0 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Tshabong Airport is from the north throughout the year.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Tshabong 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 Tshabong Airport for general outdoor tourist activities are from late March to late May and from early August to early October, with a peak score in the last 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 time of year to visit Tshabong Airport for hot-weather activities is from early October to early April, with a peak score in the first week of March.

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 at Tshabong Airport typically lasts for 9.9 months (300 days), from around August 10 to around June 5, rarely starting before July 9 or after September 3, and rarely ending before May 17 or after June 28.

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 Tshabong Airport should appear around July 14, only rarely appearing before July 12 or after July 16.

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 3.3 months, from October 28 to February 8, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.7 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Tshabong Airport is December, with an average of 8.5 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.1 months, from May 1 to August 6, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Tshabong Airport is June, with an average of 4.3 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Tshabong Airport are -26.034 deg latitude, 22.402 deg longitude, and 3,150 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Tshabong Airport contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 171 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3,182 feet. Within 10 miles also contains only modest variations in elevation (282 feet). Within 50 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,083 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Tshabong Airport is covered by bare soil (94%), within 10 miles by grassland (66%) and bare soil (34%), and within 50 miles by grassland (64%) and shrubs (20%).