Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Prince Albert South Africa

In Prince Albert, the summers are hot, the winters are cold, and it is dry and mostly clear year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 37°F to 87°F and is rarely below 30°F or above 97°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Prince Albert for warm-weather activities is from early November to early April.

The hot season lasts for 3.3 months, from December 5 to March 14, with an average daily high temperature above 83°F. The hottest month of the year in Prince Albert is January, with an average high of 87°F and low of 57°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.4 months, from May 24 to September 5, with an average daily high temperature below 69°F. The coldest month of the year in Prince Albert is July, with an average low of 37°F and high of 65°F.

In Prince Albert, 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 Prince Albert begins around December 9 and lasts for 3.5 months, ending around March 26.

The clearest month of the year in Prince Albert is February, 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 26 and lasts for 8.5 months, ending around December 9.

The cloudiest month of the year in Prince Albert is May, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 36% of the time.

Prince Albert does not experience significant seasonal variation in the frequency of wet days (i.e., those with greater than 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation). The frequency ranges from 8% to 17%, with an average value of 12%.

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 Prince Albert is February, with an average of 4.6 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 17% on February 25.

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. Prince Albert experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Prince Albert. The month with the most rain in Prince Albert is November, with an average rainfall of 1.3 inches.

The month with the least rain in Prince Albert is June, with an average rainfall of 0.6 inches.

The length of the day in Prince Albert varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 9 hours, 57 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 14 hours, 21 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:15 AM on December 5, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 21 minutes later at 7:36 AM on June 30. The earliest sunset is at 5:31 PM on June 10, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 14 minutes later at 7:45 PM on January 8.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Prince Albert 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 Prince Albert, 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 Prince Albert experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.0 months, from September 7 to March 5, with average wind speeds of more than 8.3 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Prince Albert is December, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.4 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.0 months, from March 5 to September 7. The calmest month of the year in Prince Albert is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.4 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the west for 1.0 weeks, from April 21 to April 28 and for 1.1 months, from August 12 to September 14, with a peak percentage of 33% on September 4. The wind is most often from the north for 3.5 months, from April 28 to August 12, with a peak percentage of 45% on June 29. The wind is most often from the south for 7.2 months, from September 14 to April 21, with a peak percentage of 54% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Prince Albert 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 Prince Albert for general outdoor tourist activities is from early November to early April, with a peak score in the second week of February.

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 Prince Albert for hot-weather activities is from mid December to early March, with a peak score in the last week of January.

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 Prince Albert typically lasts for 9.0 months (272 days), from around September 6 to around June 5, rarely starting before July 31 or after October 1, and rarely ending before May 15 or after June 26.

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 Prince Albert should appear around July 23, only rarely appearing before July 17 or after July 30.

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 November 3 to February 17, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.7 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Prince Albert is December, with an average of 8.7 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from April 27 to August 14, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Prince Albert is June, with an average of 3.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Prince Albert are -33.225 deg latitude, 22.027 deg longitude, and 2,077 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Prince Albert contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,693 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 2,094 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (5,089 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (7,306 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Prince Albert is covered by shrubs (76%) and bare soil (16%), within 10 miles by shrubs (90%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (92%).