Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Kakamas South Africa

In Kakamas, the summers are sweltering, the winters are short and cool, and it is dry and mostly clear year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 40°F to 98°F and is rarely below 32°F or above 105°F.

Based on the beach/pool score, the best time of year to visit Kakamas for hot-weather activities is from early November to early April.

The hot season lasts for 3.9 months, from November 20 to March 15, with an average daily high temperature above 92°F. The hottest month of the year in Kakamas is January, with an average high of 97°F and low of 69°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.8 months, from May 23 to August 17, with an average daily high temperature below 75°F. The coldest month of the year in Kakamas is July, with an average low of 40°F and high of 71°F.

In Kakamas, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Kakamas begins around November 29 and lasts for 4.0 months, ending around March 30.

The clearest month of the year in Kakamas is January, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 87% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around March 30 and lasts for 8.0 months, ending around November 29.

The cloudiest month of the year in Kakamas is October, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 23% 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 Kakamas varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.0 months, from November 19 to April 20, with a greater than 7% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Kakamas is February, with an average of 3.6 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.0 months, from April 20 to November 19. The month with the fewest wet days in Kakamas is July, with an average of 0.4 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 Kakamas is February, with an average of 3.6 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 13% on February 20.

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. Kakamas experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 3.8 months, from December 27 to April 20, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Kakamas is March, with an average rainfall of 0.9 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 8.2 months, from April 20 to December 27. The month with the least rain in Kakamas is August, with an average rainfall of 0.1 inches.

The length of the day in Kakamas varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 10 hours, 18 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 13 hours, 59 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:31 AM on December 2, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 0 minutes later at 7:31 AM on July 2. The earliest sunset is at 5:47 PM on June 9, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 53 minutes later at 7:40 PM on January 10.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Kakamas 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.

The perceived humidity level in Kakamas, 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 3% of 3% 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 Kakamas experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.5 months, from July 8 to January 23, with average wind speeds of more than 9.2 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Kakamas is November, with an average hourly wind speed of 10.1 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.5 months, from January 23 to July 8. The calmest month of the year in Kakamas is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.2 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the north for 5.4 months, from March 22 to September 3, with a peak percentage of 47% on July 4. The wind is most often from the south for 6.6 months, from September 3 to March 22, with a peak percentage of 48% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Kakamas 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 Kakamas for general outdoor tourist activities are from late March to late May and from mid August to mid November, with a peak score in the last week of April.

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 Kakamas for hot-weather activities is from early November to early April, with a peak score in the third week of December.

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 Kakamas typically lasts for 11 months (320 days), from around July 31 to around June 16, rarely starting after August 28, or ending before May 23.

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 Kakamas should appear around July 14, only rarely appearing before July 11 or after July 17.

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 3.5 months, from October 30 to February 13, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 8.1 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Kakamas is December, with an average of 9.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from April 30 to August 10, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.9 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Kakamas is June, with an average of 3.9 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Kakamas are -28.773 deg latitude, 20.615 deg longitude, and 2,178 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Kakamas contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 233 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 2,194 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,106 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (2,080 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Kakamas is covered by cropland (60%) and shrubs (40%), within 10 miles by shrubs (88%) and cropland (12%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (94%).