Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Khamis Mushait Air Base Saudi Arabia

At Khamis Mushait Air Base, the summers are long, hot, arid, and partly cloudy and the winters are cool, dry, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 48°F to 87°F and is rarely below 43°F or above 90°F.

Based on the beach/pool score, the best times of year to visit Khamis Mushait Air Base for hot-weather activities are from late May to mid July and from early August to late September.

The hot season lasts for 4.2 months, from May 14 to September 20, with an average daily high temperature above 83°F. The hottest month of the year at Khamis Mushait Air Base is June, with an average high of 87°F and low of 65°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.0 months, from November 26 to February 24, with an average daily high temperature below 72°F. The coldest month of the year at Khamis Mushait Air Base is January, with an average low of 49°F and high of 69°F.

At Khamis Mushait Air Base, 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 Khamis Mushait Air Base begins around October 20 and lasts for 6.5 months, ending around May 5.

The clearest month of the year at Khamis Mushait Air Base is November, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 83% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around May 5 and lasts for 5.5 months, ending around October 20.

The cloudiest month of the year at Khamis Mushait Air Base is July, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 48% of the time.

Khamis Mushait Air Base 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 1% to 7%, with an average value of 3%.

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 Khamis Mushait Air Base is April, with an average of 1.8 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 7% on April 19.

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. Khamis Mushait Air Base experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 1.5 months, from March 22 to May 5, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain at Khamis Mushait Air Base is April, with an average rainfall of 0.6 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 11 months, from May 5 to March 22. The month with the least rain at Khamis Mushait Air Base is September, with an average rainfall of 0.1 inches.

The length of the day at Khamis Mushait Air Base varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 2 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 13 hours, 14 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:31 AM on June 5, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 12 minutes later at 6:43 AM on January 20. The earliest sunset is at 5:30 PM on November 24, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 18 minutes later at 6:49 PM on July 5.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed at Khamis Mushait Air Base 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 Khamis Mushait Air Base, 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 Khamis Mushait Air Base experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from January 4 to April 16, with average wind speeds of more than 7.2 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Khamis Mushait Air Base is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.7 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 8.6 months, from April 16 to January 4. The calmest month of the year at Khamis Mushait Air Base is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.8 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Khamis Mushait Air Base varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the east for 1.4 months, from May 5 to June 18 and for 3.0 months, from August 21 to November 20, with a peak percentage of 80% on September 29. The wind is most often from the west for 2.1 months, from June 18 to August 21, with a peak percentage of 53% on July 31. The wind is most often from the south for 5.5 months, from November 20 to May 5, with a peak percentage of 45% on January 1.

Khamis Mushait Air Base 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 2.3 months, from August 28 to November 6, with an average temperature above 88°F. The month of the year at Khamis Mushait Air Base with the warmest water is October, with an average temperature of 89°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 2.5 months, from January 5 to March 21, with an average temperature below 82°F. The month of the year at Khamis Mushait Air Base with the coolest water is February, with an average temperature of 81°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Khamis Mushait Air Base 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 Khamis Mushait Air Base for general outdoor tourist activities are from late February to mid May and from mid August to late November, 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 times of year to visit Khamis Mushait Air Base for hot-weather activities are from late May to mid July and from early August to late September, with a peak score in the first week of September.

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 Khamis Mushait Air Base 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 1.6 months, from May 26 to July 13, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.3 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Khamis Mushait Air Base is June, with an average of 7.7 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.5 months, from November 10 to January 28, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 6.0 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Khamis Mushait Air Base is December, with an average of 5.5 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Khamis Mushait Air Base are 18.297 deg latitude, 42.804 deg longitude, and 6,732 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Khamis Mushait Air Base contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 187 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 6,736 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,276 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (9,518 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Khamis Mushait Air Base is covered by bare soil (87%) and sparse vegetation (12%), within 10 miles by bare soil (82%) and sparse vegetation (13%), and within 50 miles by bare soil (83%) and sparse vegetation (12%).