Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Lapa BrazilIn Lapa, the summers are long, warm, humid, and mostly cloudy; the winters are short, cool, and partly cloudy; and it is wet year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 48°F to 81°F and is rarely below 38°F or above 88°F. Based on the tourism score, the best times of year to visit Lapa for warm-weather activities are from early March to early May and from early November to mid December. Average Temperature in LapaThe warm season lasts for 4.0 months, from November 28 to March 27, with an average daily high temperature above 79°F. The hottest month of the year in Lapa is February, with an average high of 81°F and low of 64°F. The cool season lasts for 2.8 months, from May 16 to August 9, with an average daily high temperature below 70°F. The coldest month of the year in Lapa is July, with an average low of 48°F and high of 67°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. Port Elizabeth, South Africa (4,453 miles away) is the far-away foreign place with temperatures most similar to Lapa (view comparison). CloudsIn Lapa, 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 Lapa begins around March 6 and lasts for 6.6 months, ending around September 25. The clearest month of the year in Lapa is April, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 59% of the time. The cloudier part of the year begins around September 25 and lasts for 5.4 months, ending around March 6. The cloudiest month of the year in Lapa is February, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 59% 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 Lapa varies significantly throughout the year. The wetter season lasts 5.6 months, from October 1 to March 21, with a greater than 43% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Lapa is February, with an average of 18.3 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation. The drier season lasts 6.4 months, from March 21 to October 1. The month with the fewest wet days in Lapa is August, with an average of 7.2 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 in Lapa is February, with an average of 18.3 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 65% on February 10.
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. Lapa experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall. Rain falls throughout the year in Lapa. The month with the most rain in Lapa is January, with an average rainfall of 6.8 inches. The month with the least rain in Lapa is August, with an average rainfall of 3.1 inches.
SunThe length of the day in Lapa varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 10 hours, 32 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 13 hours, 45 minutes of daylight.
The earliest sunrise is at 5:19 AM on November 30, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 47 minutes later at 7:06 AM on July 2. The earliest sunset is at 5:35 PM on June 8, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 40 minutes later at 7:15 PM on January 12. Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Lapa 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. Lapa experiences significant seasonal variation in the perceived humidity. The muggier period of the year lasts for 5.3 months, from November 7 to April 16, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 11% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Lapa is February, with 12.7 days that are muggy or worse. The month with the fewest muggy days in Lapa is July, with 0.0 days that are muggy or worse.
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 Lapa does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining within 0.4 miles per hour of 3.8 miles per hour throughout.
The predominant average hourly wind direction in Lapa varies throughout the year. The wind is most often from the north for 1.8 months, from June 4 to July 29, with a peak percentage of 39% on June 30. The wind is most often from the east for 10 months, from July 29 to June 4, with a peak percentage of 52% on January 1. Best Time of Year to VisitTo characterize how pleasant the weather is in Lapa 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 times of year to visit Lapa for general outdoor tourist activities are from early March to early May and from early November to mid December, with a peak score in the last week of March. Tourism Score in LapaThe 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 Lapa for hot-weather activities is from late November to early April, with a peak score in the second week of March. Beach/Pool Score in LapaMethodologyFor 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). While it does not do so every year, freezing temperatures are seen in Lapa over some winters. The day least likely to be in the growing season is July 11, with a 51% chance. 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 Lapa should appear around July 13, only rarely appearing before July 10 or after July 18. 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 significant seasonal variation over the course of the year. The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from October 25 to February 7, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.2 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Lapa is December, with an average of 6.9 kWh. The darker period of the year lasts for 2.7 months, from May 10 to August 2, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Lapa is June, with an average of 3.4 kWh.
TopographyFor the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Lapa are -25.770 deg latitude, -49.716 deg longitude, and 3,048 ft elevation. The topography within 2 miles of Lapa contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 640 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 2,996 feet. Within 10 miles also contains significant variations in elevation (778 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (5,016 feet). The area within 2 miles of Lapa is covered by trees (41%), cropland (28%), grassland (16%), and shrubs (15%), within 10 miles by trees (44%) and cropland (33%), and within 50 miles by trees (61%) and cropland (20%). Data SourcesThis report illustrates the typical weather in Lapa, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016. Temperature and Dew PointThere are 2 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Lapa. For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Lapa according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations. The estimated value at Lapa is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Lapa and a given station. The stations contributing to this reconstruction are:
To get a sense of how much these sources agree with each other, you can view a comparison of Lapa and the stations that contribute to our estimates of its temperature history and climate. Please note that each source's contribution is adjusted for elevation and the relative change present in the MERRA-2 data. Other DataAll 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. 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 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. |