Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Mbeya Airport Tanzania

At Mbeya Airport, the wet season is overcast, the dry season is mostly clear, and it is comfortable year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 45°F to 79°F and is rarely below 40°F or above 83°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Mbeya Airport for warm-weather activities is from late July to late October.

The warm season lasts for 2.1 months, from September 19 to November 22, with an average daily high temperature above 77°F. The hottest month of the year at Mbeya Airport is November, with an average high of 78°F and low of 59°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.9 months, from May 9 to August 6, with an average daily high temperature below 72°F. The coldest month of the year at Mbeya Airport is July, with an average low of 46°F and high of 71°F.

At Mbeya Airport, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year at Mbeya Airport begins around April 24 and lasts for 6.0 months, ending around October 23.

The clearest month of the year at Mbeya Airport is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 80% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 23 and lasts for 6.0 months, ending around April 24.

The cloudiest month of the year at Mbeya Airport is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 90% 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 Mbeya Airport varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.7 months, from November 26 to April 18, with a greater than 35% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Mbeya Airport is January, with an average of 21.5 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.3 months, from April 18 to November 26. The month with the fewest wet days at Mbeya Airport is August, 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 Mbeya Airport is January, with an average of 21.5 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 70% on January 13.

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. Mbeya Airport experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.1 months, from October 15 to May 19, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain at Mbeya Airport is January, with an average rainfall of 8.6 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.9 months, from May 19 to October 15. The month with the least rain at Mbeya Airport is August, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day at Mbeya Airport does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 38 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 11 hours, 36 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 12 hours, 39 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:15 AM on November 15, and the latest sunrise is 48 minutes later at 7:02 AM on July 14. The earliest sunset is at 6:32 PM on May 26, and the latest sunset is 42 minutes later at 7:14 PM on January 29.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed at Mbeya 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 Mbeya 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 Mbeya Airport experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.3 months, from April 17 to November 28, with average wind speeds of more than 6.0 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Mbeya Airport is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.0 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.7 months, from November 28 to April 17. The calmest month of the year at Mbeya Airport is February, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.1 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the south for 2.0 months, from May 21 to July 20, with a peak percentage of 59% on June 17. The wind is most often from the east for 10 months, from July 20 to May 21, with a peak percentage of 44% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Mbeya 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 Mbeya Airport for general outdoor tourist activities is from late July to late October, with a peak score in the second week of September.

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 Mbeya Airport for hot-weather activities is from mid September to mid November, with a peak score in the second week of October.

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 Mbeya 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 some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.5 months, from August 21 to November 6, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.9 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Mbeya Airport is September, with an average of 7.3 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.6 months, from December 18 to March 4, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.4 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Mbeya Airport is January, with an average of 4.9 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Mbeya Airport are -8.919 deg latitude, 33.463 deg longitude, and 5,614 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Mbeya Airport contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 696 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 5,627 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (4,800 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (8,130 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Mbeya Airport is covered by cropland (51%), artificial surfaces (31%), and grassland (11%), within 10 miles by trees (35%) and cropland (35%), and within 50 miles by cropland (28%) and trees (27%).