Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Tocopilla Chile

In Tocopilla, the summers are warm, arid, and partly cloudy and the winters are long, cool, dry, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 58°F to 79°F and is rarely below 54°F or above 82°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Tocopilla for warm-weather activities is from early August to early June.

The warm season lasts for 3.1 months, from December 20 to March 24, with an average daily high temperature above 77°F. The hottest month of the year in Tocopilla is February, with an average high of 79°F and low of 67°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.9 months, from May 28 to September 24, with an average daily high temperature below 70°F. The coldest month of the year in Tocopilla is July, with an average low of 58°F and high of 68°F.

In Tocopilla, 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 Tocopilla begins around July 6 and lasts for 4.3 months, ending around November 16.

The clearest month of the year in Tocopilla is September, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 82% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 16 and lasts for 7.7 months, ending around July 6.

The cloudiest month of the year in Tocopilla is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 36% of the time.

Tocopilla 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 0% to 1%, with an average value of 0%.

The length of the day in Tocopilla varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 10 hours, 47 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 13 hours, 29 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:44 AM on September 7, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 6 minutes later at 7:50 AM on April 6. The earliest sunset is at 6:04 PM on June 6, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 26 minutes later at 8:30 PM on January 14.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Tocopilla during 2024, starting in the spring on September 8 and ending in the fall on April 6.

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 in Tocopilla, 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 in Tocopilla experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.7 months, from September 18 to April 9, with average wind speeds of more than 5.8 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Tocopilla is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.7 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.3 months, from April 9 to September 18. The calmest month of the year in Tocopilla is June, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.9 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Tocopilla varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 4.4 months, from April 17 to August 29, with a peak percentage of 48% on April 30. The wind is most often from the west for 7.6 months, from August 29 to April 17, with a peak percentage of 67% on January 1.

Tocopilla 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 2.9 months, from December 28 to March 24, with an average temperature above 70°F. The month of the year in Tocopilla with the warmest water is February, with an average temperature of 72°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.8 months, from June 22 to October 16, with an average temperature below 63°F. The month of the year in Tocopilla with the coolest water is August, with an average temperature of 61°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Tocopilla 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 Tocopilla for general outdoor tourist activities is from early August to early June, with a peak score in the second week of March.

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 Tocopilla for hot-weather activities is from mid December to late March, 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).

Temperatures in Tocopilla 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 significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 4.5 months, from October 10 to February 24, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.8 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Tocopilla is December, with an average of 8.6 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.0 months, from May 4 to August 3, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.4 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Tocopilla is June, with an average of 4.7 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Tocopilla are -22.092 deg latitude, -70.198 deg longitude, and 121 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Tocopilla contains large variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 2,900 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 625 feet. Within 10 miles contains large variations in elevation (6,529 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (7,572 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Tocopilla is covered by water (40%), grassland (21%), trees (18%), and shrubs (14%), within 10 miles by water (48%) and bare soil (33%), and within 50 miles by water (50%) and bare soil (45%).