Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Riddle United States

In Riddle, the summers are short, warm, dry, and mostly clear and the winters are very cold, wet, and mostly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 36°F to 88°F and is rarely below 28°F or above 98°F.

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

The hot season lasts for 2.8 months, from June 23 to September 18, with an average daily high temperature above 80°F. The hottest month of the year in Riddle is July, with an average high of 86°F and low of 58°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.5 months, from November 11 to February 25, with an average daily high temperature below 55°F. The coldest month of the year in Riddle is December, with an average low of 37°F and high of 48°F.

In Riddle, 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 Riddle begins around June 14 and lasts for 3.9 months, ending around October 10.

The clearest month of the year in Riddle is August, 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 October 10 and lasts for 8.1 months, ending around June 14.

The cloudiest month of the year in Riddle is December, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 74% 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 Riddle varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.5 months, from October 19 to May 1, with a greater than 28% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Riddle is November, with an average of 14.9 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 5.5 months, from May 1 to October 19. The month with the fewest wet days in Riddle is August, with an average of 1.3 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 Riddle is November, with an average of 14.8 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 53% on November 29.

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. Riddle experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 10 months, from August 28 to June 30, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Riddle is December, with an average rainfall of 7.7 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.0 months, from June 30 to August 28. The month with the least rain in Riddle is July, with an average rainfall of 0.3 inches.

The length of the day in Riddle varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 1 minute of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 15 hours, 21 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:33 AM on June 14, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 16 minutes later at 7:50 AM on November 2. The earliest sunset is at 4:38 PM on December 8, and the latest sunset is 4 hours, 18 minutes later at 8:56 PM on June 25.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Riddle during 2024, starting in the spring on March 10, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 3.

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 Riddle, 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.

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 Riddle does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining within 0.4 miles per hour of 4.1 miles per hour throughout.

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

The wind is most often from the north for 6.1 months, from April 12 to October 16, with a peak percentage of 74% on July 21. The wind is most often from the south for 5.9 months, from October 16 to April 12, with a peak percentage of 44% on January 1.

Riddle 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 does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining within 2°F of 52°F throughout.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Riddle 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 Riddle for general outdoor tourist activities is from early July to late August, with a peak score in the last 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 Riddle for hot-weather activities is from mid July to mid August, with a peak score in the first 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).

The growing season in Riddle typically lasts for 8.4 months (256 days), from around March 13 to around November 24, rarely starting before February 10 or after April 8, and rarely ending before October 26 or after December 16.

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 Riddle should appear around March 24, only rarely appearing before March 5 or after April 14.

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 extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.9 months, from May 29 to August 25, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.5 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Riddle is July, with an average of 7.7 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.8 months, from October 27 to February 22, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 2.6 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Riddle is December, with an average of 1.3 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Riddle are 42.951 deg latitude, -123.364 deg longitude, and 689 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Riddle contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,447 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 882 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (3,406 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (6,749 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Riddle is covered by cropland (43%), shrubs (22%), and trees (20%), within 10 miles by shrubs (43%) and trees (42%), and within 50 miles by trees (60%) and shrubs (31%).