Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Potosí BoliviaIn Potosí, the summers are short, cool, and mostly cloudy and the winters are short, very cold, snowy, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 25°F to 65°F and is rarely below 21°F or above 70°F. Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Potosí for warm-weather activities is from mid September to mid December. Average Temperature in PotosíThe warm season lasts for 2.9 months, from September 30 to December 27, with an average daily high temperature above 63°F. The hottest month of the year in Potosí is December, with an average high of 64°F and low of 38°F. The cold season lasts for 2.1 months, from May 31 to August 1, with an average daily high temperature below 57°F. The coldest month of the year in Potosí is July, with an average low of 25°F and high of 56°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. Cerro La Calera, Mexico (3,539 miles away) is the far-away foreign place with temperatures most similar to Potosí (view comparison). CloudsIn Potosí, 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 in Potosí begins around April 7 and lasts for 6.3 months, ending around October 16. The clearest month of the year in Potosí is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 73% of the time. The cloudier part of the year begins around October 16 and lasts for 5.7 months, ending around April 7. The cloudiest month of the year in Potosí is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 75% of the time.
PrecipitationA wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Potosí varies significantly throughout the year. The wetter season lasts 3.5 months, from December 4 to March 22, with a greater than 24% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Potosí is January, with an average of 13.4 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation. The drier season lasts 8.5 months, from March 22 to December 4. The month with the fewest wet days in Potosí is July, with an average of 0.9 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. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation in Potosí changes throughout the year. Rain alone is the most common for 9.0 months, from August 13 to May 13. The month with the most days of rain alone in Potosí is January, with an average of 13.4 days. Snow alone is the most common for 3.0 months, from May 13 to August 13. The month with the most days of snow alone in Potosí is June, with an average of 0.6 days.
RainfallTo 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. Potosí experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall. The rainy period of the year lasts for 6.8 months, from September 24 to April 17, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Potosí is January, with an average rainfall of 3.0 inches. The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.2 months, from April 17 to September 24. The month with the least rain in Potosí is June, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.
SunThe length of the day in Potosí varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 10 hours, 57 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 13 hours, 19 minutes of daylight.
The earliest sunrise is at 5:35 AM on November 26, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 23 minutes later at 6:58 AM on July 6. The earliest sunset is at 5:51 PM on June 4, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 16 minutes later at 7:07 PM on January 17. Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Potosí during 2024. The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation. MoonThe 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. HumidityWe 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 Potosí, 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.
WindThis 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 Potosí experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year. The windier part of the year lasts for 7.4 months, from May 24 to January 5, with average wind speeds of more than 7.8 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Potosí is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.8 miles per hour. The calmer time of year lasts for 4.6 months, from January 5 to May 24. The calmest month of the year in Potosí is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.8 miles per hour.
The predominant average hourly wind direction in Potosí varies throughout the year. The wind is most often from the north for 3.4 months, from January 21 to May 3 and for 3.5 months, from September 7 to December 24, with a peak percentage of 55% on April 8. The wind is most often from the west for 4.1 months, from May 3 to September 7, with a peak percentage of 66% on June 27. The wind is most often from the east for 4.0 weeks, from December 24 to January 21, with a peak percentage of 43% on January 1. Best Time of Year to VisitTo characterize how pleasant the weather is in Potosí 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 Potosí for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid September to mid December, with a peak score in the third week of November. Tourism Score in PotosíThe 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 Potosí for hot-weather activities is from early November to early December, with a peak score in the third week of November. Beach/Pool Score in PotosíMethodologyFor 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. Growing SeasonDefinitions 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 in Potosí typically lasts for 2.1 months (65 days), from around December 7 to around February 9, rarely starting before November 8, or ending after March 27. 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 in Potosí should appear around August 26, only rarely appearing before August 16 or after September 11. Solar EnergyThis 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 2.8 months, from October 4 to December 29, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.4 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Potosí is November, with an average of 7.9 kWh. The darker period of the year lasts for 2.3 months, from May 15 to July 24, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.8 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Potosí is June, with an average of 5.4 kWh.
TopographyFor the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Potosí are -19.584 deg latitude, -65.753 deg longitude, and 13,015 ft elevation. The topography within 2 miles of Potosí contains large variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 2,119 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 13,150 feet. Within 10 miles contains large variations in elevation (5,610 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (10,892 feet). The area within 2 miles of Potosí is covered by artificial surfaces (76%) and bare soil (10%), within 10 miles by grassland (24%) and shrubs (23%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (23%) and sparse vegetation (22%). Data SourcesThis report illustrates the typical weather in Potosí, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016. Potosí is further than 200 kilometers from the nearest reliable weather station, so the weather-related data on this page were taken entirely from NASA's MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis . 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. The temperature and dew point estimates are corrected for the difference between the reference elevation of the MERRA-2 grid cell and the elevation of Potosí, according to the International Standard Atmosphere . All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus. 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 airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com . Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors. DisclaimerThe information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site. We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands. We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader. Please review our full terms contained on our Terms of Service page. |