Average Weather in Saint Simons Island Georgia, United States

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2. United States
3. Georgia
4. Glynn County
5. Saint Simons Island

In Saint Simons Island, the summers are hot, oppressive, and mostly cloudy; the winters are cold and partly cloudy; and it is wet year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 44°F to 89°F and is rarely below 32°F or above 94°F.

The hot season lasts for 3.7 months, from May 27 to September 19, with an average daily high temperature above 83°F. The hottest day of the year is July 23, with an average high of 89°F and low of 76°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.1 months, from December 1 to March 3, with an average daily high temperature below 66°F. The coldest day of the year is January 17, with an average low of 44°F and high of 60°F.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

In Saint Simons Island, 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 in Saint Simons Island begins around September 16 and lasts for 8.7 months, ending around June 7. On October 27, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 66% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 34% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around June 7 and lasts for 3.3 months, ending around September 16. On July 12, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 60% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 40% 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 in Saint Simons Island varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 3.9 months, from May 31 to September 26, with a greater than 34% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 52% on July 31.

The drier season lasts 8.2 months, from September 26 to May 31. The smallest chance of a wet day is 16% on October 31.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 52% on July 31.

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. Saint Simons Island experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Saint Simons Island. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around August 29, with an average total accumulation of 5.2 inches.

The least rain falls around May 6, with an average total accumulation of 2.1 inches.

The length of the day in Saint Simons Island varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2017, the shortest day is December 21, with 10 hours, 7 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 10 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:20 AM on June 11, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 23 minutes later at 7:43 AM on November 4. The earliest sunset is at 5:22 PM on December 3, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 11 minutes later at 8:33 PM on June 30.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Saint Simons Island during 2017, starting in the spring on March 12, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 5.

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.

Saint Simons Island experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 6.4 months, from April 22 to November 4, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 25% of the time. The muggiest day of the year is August 9, with muggy conditions 99% of the time.

The least muggy day of the year is January 24, 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 in Saint Simons Island experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.7 months, from September 11 to May 2, with average wind speeds of more than 4.4 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is January 18, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.0 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.3 months, from May 2 to September 11. The calmest day of the year is August 5, with an average hourly wind speed of 3.8 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Saint Simons Island varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the west for 2.5 months, from January 5 to March 22, with a peak percentage of 35% on January 12. The wind is most often from the south for 4.9 months, from March 22 to August 18, with a peak percentage of 47% on July 19. The wind is most often from the north for 2.6 months, from October 18 to January 5, with a peak percentage of 33% on January 1.

Saint Simons Island 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 significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 3.9 months, from June 7 to October 5, with an average temperature above 79°F. The day of the year with the warmest water is August 18, with an average temperature of 83°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.8 months, from December 12 to April 6, with an average temperature below 65°F. The day of the year with the coolest water is February 20, with an average temperature of 61°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 significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.8 months, from April 5 to June 28, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.0 kWh. The brightest day of the year is May 14, with an average of 6.8 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.9 months, from November 9 to February 5, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.8 kWh. The darkest day of the year is December 21, with an average of 3.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Saint Simons Island are 31.151 deg latitude, -81.370 deg longitude, and 0 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Saint Simons Island is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 16 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3 feet. Within 10 miles is also essentially flat (30 feet). Within 50 miles is essentially flat (154 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Saint Simons Island is covered by water (63%), herbaceous vegetation (16%), and artificial surfaces (15%), within 10 miles by water (55%) and herbaceous vegetation (31%), and within 50 miles by water (49%) and trees (29%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Saint Simons Island, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There is only a single weather station, Malcolm Mc Kinnon Airport, in our network suitable to be used as a proxy for the historical temperature and dew point records of Saint Simons Island.

At a distance of 2 kilometers from Saint Simons Island, closer than our threshold of 150 kilometers, this station is deemed sufficiently nearby to be relied upon as our primary source for temperature and dew point records.

The station records are corrected for the elevation difference between the station and Saint Simons Island according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

Please note that the station records themselves may additionally have been back-filled using other nearby stations or the MERRA-2 reanalysis.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for aiports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © Esri, with data from National Geographic, Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, UNEP-WCMC, USGS, NASA, ESA, METI, NRCAN, GEBCO, NOAA, and iPC.