Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Skopje Macedonia

In Skopje, the summers are warm and mostly clear and the winters are very cold, snowy, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 26°F to 88°F and is rarely below 13°F or above 97°F.

Based on the beach/pool score, the best time of year to visit Skopje for hot-weather activities is from late June to late August.

The hot season lasts for 3.4 months, from June 2 to September 14, with an average daily high temperature above 79°F. The hottest month of the year in Skopje is July, with an average high of 87°F and low of 61°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.1 months, from November 23 to February 27, with an average daily high temperature below 50°F. The coldest month of the year in Skopje is January, with an average low of 26°F and high of 41°F.

In Skopje, 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 Skopje begins around June 6 and lasts for 3.4 months, ending around September 18.

The clearest month of the year in Skopje is July, 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 September 18 and lasts for 8.6 months, ending around June 6.

The cloudiest month of the year in Skopje is December, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 49% 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 Skopje varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 8.8 months, from September 28 to June 20, with a greater than 22% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Skopje is April, with an average of 8.1 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 3.2 months, from June 20 to September 28. The month with the fewest wet days in Skopje is August, with an average of 5.5 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 Skopje is April, with an average of 8.0 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 29% on June 4.

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. Skopje experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Skopje. The month with the most rain in Skopje is November, with an average rainfall of 2.4 inches.

The month with the least rain in Skopje is January, with an average rainfall of 1.1 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Skopje experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 4.0 months, from November 12 to March 14, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Skopje is January, with an average snowfall of 3.8 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 8.0 months, from March 14 to November 12. The least snow falls around July 22, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Skopje varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 7 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 15 hours, 15 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 4:58 AM on June 14, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 4 minutes later at 7:02 AM on January 4. The earliest sunset is at 4:02 PM on December 8, and the latest sunset is 4 hours, 11 minutes later at 8:13 PM on June 26.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Skopje during 2024, starting in the spring on March 31, lasting 6.9 months, and ending in the fall on October 27.

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 Skopje, 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 1% of 1% 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 Skopje experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from January 7 to April 26, with average wind speeds of more than 5.8 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Skopje is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.4 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 8.4 months, from April 26 to January 7. The calmest month of the year in Skopje is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.1 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the south for 1.7 months, from October 17 to December 9, with a peak percentage of 41% on November 16. The wind is most often from the north for 10 months, from December 9 to October 17, with a peak percentage of 37% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Skopje 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 Skopje for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid May to late September, with a peak score in the first week of September.

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 Skopje for hot-weather activities is from late June to late August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

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 Skopje typically lasts for 6.9 months (210 days), from around March 31 to around October 27, rarely starting before March 10 or after April 20, and rarely ending before October 8 or after November 14.

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 Skopje should appear around March 30, only rarely appearing before March 16 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 3.1 months, from May 16 to August 20, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.5 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Skopje is July, with an average of 7.5 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from October 29 to February 15, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 2.9 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Skopje is December, with an average of 1.8 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Skopje are 41.996 deg latitude, 21.431 deg longitude, and 810 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Skopje contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,286 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 925 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (4,606 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (8,583 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Skopje is covered by artificial surfaces (80%), within 10 miles by cropland (46%) and trees (31%), and within 50 miles by trees (50%) and cropland (30%).