Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Tafawa Balewa Nigeria

In Tafawa Balewa, the wet season is oppressive and overcast, the dry season is partly cloudy, and it is hot year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 59°F to 98°F and is rarely below 54°F or above 102°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Tafawa Balewa for warm-weather activities is from late November to late January.

The hot season lasts for 2.4 months, from February 17 to April 29, with an average daily high temperature above 95°F. The hottest month of the year in Tafawa Balewa is April, with an average high of 97°F and low of 73°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.9 months, from July 9 to October 7, with an average daily high temperature below 85°F. The coldest month of the year in Tafawa Balewa is December, with an average low of 60°F and high of 89°F.

In Tafawa Balewa, 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 Tafawa Balewa begins around November 5 and lasts for 3.8 months, ending around February 29.

The clearest month of the year in Tafawa Balewa is January, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 56% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around February 29 and lasts for 8.2 months, ending around November 5.

The cloudiest month of the year in Tafawa Balewa is May, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 79% 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 Tafawa Balewa varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.5 months, from April 22 to October 8, with a greater than 38% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Tafawa Balewa is August, with an average of 23.2 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.5 months, from October 8 to April 22. The month with the fewest wet days in Tafawa Balewa is December, with an average of 0.0 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 Tafawa Balewa is August, with an average of 23.2 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 76% on August 17.

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. Tafawa Balewa experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.2 months, from March 26 to October 31, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Tafawa Balewa is August, with an average rainfall of 6.8 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.8 months, from October 31 to March 26. The month with the least rain in Tafawa Balewa is January, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Tafawa Balewa does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 41 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 33 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 12 hours, 42 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:59 AM on May 28, and the latest sunrise is 44 minutes later at 6:44 AM on January 28. The earliest sunset is at 5:56 PM on November 15, and the latest sunset is 50 minutes later at 6:47 PM on July 11.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Tafawa Balewa during 2024.

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.

Tafawa Balewa experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 7.0 months, from April 3 to November 2, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 24% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Tafawa Balewa is August, with 29.1 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in Tafawa Balewa is January, with 0.0 days that are muggy or worse.

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 Tafawa Balewa experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.6 months, from November 16 to May 4, with average wind speeds of more than 7.3 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Tafawa Balewa is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.6 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.4 months, from May 4 to November 16. The calmest month of the year in Tafawa Balewa is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.9 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the east for 2.3 weeks, from March 12 to March 28 and for 2.1 months, from September 23 to November 27, with a peak percentage of 46% on November 14. The wind is most often from the west for 4.8 months, from March 28 to August 23, with a peak percentage of 50% on July 30. The wind is most often from the north for 3.5 months, from November 27 to March 12, with a peak percentage of 61% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Tafawa Balewa 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 Tafawa Balewa for general outdoor tourist activities is from late November to late January, with a peak score in the last week of December.

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 Tafawa Balewa for hot-weather activities is from mid October to late March, with a peak score in the second week of February.

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 Tafawa Balewa 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 some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.5 months, from January 21 to April 7, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.0 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Tafawa Balewa is February, with an average of 6.3 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.2 months, from June 30 to September 5, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Tafawa Balewa is August, with an average of 4.9 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Tafawa Balewa are 9.760 deg latitude, 9.552 deg longitude, and 2,149 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Tafawa Balewa contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 354 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 2,126 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,076 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (4,987 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Tafawa Balewa is covered by cropland (68%) and grassland (13%), within 10 miles by cropland (65%) and grassland (13%), and within 50 miles by cropland (58%) and shrubs (18%).