Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Wangaratta Airport Australia

At Wangaratta Airport, the summers are hot and mostly clear and the winters are cold, wet, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 38°F to 89°F and is rarely below 30°F or above 100°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Wangaratta Airport for warm-weather activities is from late December to early March.

The hot season lasts for 3.1 months, from December 9 to March 11, with an average daily high temperature above 82°F. The hottest month of the year at Wangaratta Airport is January, with an average high of 88°F and low of 58°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.5 months, from May 21 to September 6, with an average daily high temperature below 61°F. The coldest month of the year at Wangaratta Airport is July, with an average low of 38°F and high of 54°F.

At Wangaratta 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 Wangaratta Airport begins around August 24 and lasts for 8.5 months, ending around May 9.

The clearest month of the year at Wangaratta Airport is February, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 74% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around May 9 and lasts for 3.5 months, ending around August 24.

The cloudiest month of the year at Wangaratta Airport is June, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 51% 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 Wangaratta Airport varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.3 months, from May 19 to October 29, with a greater than 22% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Wangaratta Airport is July, with an average of 9.5 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.7 months, from October 29 to May 19. The month with the fewest wet days at Wangaratta Airport is February, with an average of 3.9 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 Wangaratta Airport is July, with an average of 9.5 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 32% on July 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. Wangaratta Airport experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year at Wangaratta Airport. The month with the most rain at Wangaratta Airport is July, with an average rainfall of 2.8 inches.

The month with the least rain at Wangaratta Airport is March, with an average rainfall of 1.6 inches.

The length of the day at Wangaratta Airport varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 21, with 9 hours, 40 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 14 hours, 39 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:44 AM on October 5, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 47 minutes later at 7:32 AM on April 6. The earliest sunset is at 5:05 PM on June 13, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 31 minutes later at 8:36 PM on January 6.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Wangaratta Airport during 2024, starting in the spring on October 6 and ending in the fall on April 7.

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 Wangaratta 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, staying within 2% of 2% 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 Wangaratta Airport experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.4 months, from September 13 to February 25, with average wind speeds of more than 5.1 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Wangaratta Airport is December, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.7 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.6 months, from February 25 to September 13. The calmest month of the year at Wangaratta Airport is May, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.5 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the south for 4.0 months, from January 1 to May 1; for 3.0 days, from May 5 to May 8; and for 1.1 months, from October 31 to December 2, with a peak percentage of 32% on November 21. The wind is most often from the west for 4.0 days, from May 1 to May 5; for 3.3 weeks, from June 11 to July 4; for 3.3 months, from July 23 to October 31; and for 4.1 weeks, from December 2 to December 31, with a peak percentage of 36% on September 13. The wind is most often from the east for 1.1 months, from May 8 to June 11, with a peak percentage of 28% on May 24.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Wangaratta 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 Wangaratta Airport for general outdoor tourist activities is from late December to early March, with a peak score in the first 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 Wangaratta Airport for hot-weather activities is from mid January to mid February, with a peak score in the last week of January.

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 Wangaratta Airport typically lasts for 7.8 months (236 days), from around September 21 to around May 15, rarely starting before July 28 or after October 26, and rarely ending before April 16 or after June 23.

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 Wangaratta Airport should appear around August 31, only rarely appearing before August 19 or after September 13.

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 3.7 months, from November 1 to February 21, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.0 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Wangaratta Airport is December, with an average of 8.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from May 5 to August 18, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.2 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Wangaratta Airport is June, with an average of 2.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Wangaratta Airport are -36.416 deg latitude, 146.307 deg longitude, and 499 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Wangaratta Airport is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 72 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 502 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (1,220 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (5,207 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Wangaratta Airport is covered by cropland (59%) and sparse vegetation (35%), within 10 miles by cropland (58%) and sparse vegetation (21%), and within 50 miles by cropland (53%) and trees (27%).