Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Mtwara Airport Tanzania

At Mtwara Airport, the wet season is hot and mostly cloudy, the dry season is warm and mostly clear, and it is oppressive year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 67°F to 88°F and is rarely below 65°F or above 90°F.

Based on the beach/pool score, the best time of year to visit Mtwara Airport for hot-weather activities is from mid May to early November.

The temperature at Mtwara Airport varies so little throughout the year that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss hot and cold seasons.

At Mtwara 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 Mtwara Airport begins around April 12 and lasts for 7.5 months, ending around November 27.

The clearest month of the year at Mtwara Airport is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 85% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 27 and lasts for 4.5 months, ending around April 12.

The cloudiest month of the year at Mtwara Airport is February, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 84% 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 Mtwara Airport varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.9 months, from November 29 to April 24, with a greater than 33% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Mtwara Airport is March, with an average of 18.7 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.1 months, from April 24 to November 29. The month with the fewest wet days at Mtwara Airport is August, with an average of 1.2 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 Mtwara Airport is March, with an average of 18.7 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 62% on March 20.

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. Mtwara Airport experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 8.4 months, from October 4 to June 18, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain at Mtwara Airport is March, with an average rainfall of 6.8 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from June 18 to October 4. The month with the least rain at Mtwara Airport is August, with an average rainfall of 0.2 inches.

The length of the day at Mtwara Airport does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 43 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 11 hours, 31 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 12 hours, 44 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:46 AM on November 17, and the latest sunrise is 52 minutes later at 6:38 AM on July 13. The earliest sunset is at 6:03 PM on May 27, and the latest sunset is 46 minutes later at 6:49 PM on January 27.

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

Mtwara Airport experiences significant seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 9.9 months, from August 22 to June 18, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 73% of the time. The month with the most muggy days at Mtwara Airport is January, with 31.0 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days at Mtwara Airport is July, with 20.2 days that are muggy or worse.

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 Mtwara Airport experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.1 months, from April 17 to November 21, with average wind speeds of more than 7.2 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Mtwara Airport is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.0 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.9 months, from November 21 to April 17. The calmest month of the year at Mtwara Airport is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.6 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the east for 3.9 weeks, from March 10 to April 6 and for 3.8 months, from August 16 to December 10, with a peak percentage of 93% on October 23. The wind is most often from the south for 4.3 months, from April 6 to August 16, with a peak percentage of 86% on June 15. The wind is most often from the north for 3.0 months, from December 10 to March 10, with a peak percentage of 81% on January 1.

Mtwara 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 4.6 months, from December 12 to April 30, with an average temperature above 83°F. The month of the year at Mtwara Airport with the warmest water is March, with an average temperature of 85°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.2 months, from July 3 to October 9, with an average temperature below 79°F. The month of the year at Mtwara Airport with the coolest water is August, with an average temperature of 78°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Mtwara 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 Mtwara Airport for general outdoor tourist activities is from early June to mid September, with a peak score in the third week of July.

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 Mtwara Airport for hot-weather activities is from mid May to early November, with a peak score in the last week of August.

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 Mtwara 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 September 11 to November 27, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.9 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Mtwara Airport is October, with an average of 7.3 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from December 31 to April 4, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.4 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Mtwara Airport is February, with an average of 4.9 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Mtwara Airport are -10.339 deg latitude, 40.182 deg longitude, and 384 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Mtwara Airport contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 427 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 301 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (600 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (1,611 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Mtwara Airport is covered by cropland (50%), shrubs (23%), trees (16%), and artificial surfaces (11%), within 10 miles by cropland (35%) and trees (21%), and within 50 miles by water (52%) and shrubs (16%).