Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Plettenberg Bay Western Cape, South Africa

In Plettenberg Bay, the summers are warm and dry, the winters are long and cool, and it is mostly clear year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 53°F to 77°F and is rarely below 48°F or above 86°F.

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

The warm season lasts for 3.2 months, from December 18 to March 25, with an average daily high temperature above 75°F. The hottest month of the year in Plettenberg Bay is February, with an average high of 77°F and low of 65°F.

The cool season lasts for 4.0 months, from June 2 to October 4, with an average daily high temperature below 69°F. The coldest month of the year in Plettenberg Bay is July, with an average low of 53°F and high of 67°F.

In Plettenberg Bay, 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 Plettenberg Bay begins around December 13 and lasts for 3.5 months, ending around March 27.

The clearest month of the year in Plettenberg Bay is February, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 84% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around March 27 and lasts for 8.5 months, ending around December 13.

The cloudiest month of the year in Plettenberg Bay is May, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 40% of the time.

Plettenberg Bay 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 10% to 17%, with an average value of 13%.

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 Plettenberg Bay is April, with an average of 4.7 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 17% on April 8.

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. Plettenberg Bay experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Plettenberg Bay. The month with the most rain in Plettenberg Bay is October, with an average rainfall of 1.5 inches.

The month with the least rain in Plettenberg Bay is January, with an average rainfall of 0.9 inches.

The length of the day in Plettenberg Bay varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2025, the shortest day is June 21, with 9 hours, 53 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 14 hours, 26 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:07 AM on December 5, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 25 minutes later at 7:32 AM on June 29. The earliest sunset is at 5:23 PM on June 11, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 18 minutes later at 7:41 PM on January 7.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Plettenberg Bay during 2025.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2025. 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.

Plettenberg Bay experiences some seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 3.7 months, from December 6 to March 28, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 7% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Plettenberg Bay is February, with 6.8 days that are muggy or worse.

The least muggy day of the year is July 1, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

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 Plettenberg Bay experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 8.4 months, from May 25 to February 9, with average wind speeds of more than 7.9 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Plettenberg Bay is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.6 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 3.5 months, from February 9 to May 25. The calmest month of the year in Plettenberg Bay is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.2 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the east for 2.3 months, from January 22 to March 31 and for 1.0 months, from November 19 to December 20, with a peak percentage of 37% on February 19. The wind is most often from the west for 7.6 months, from March 31 to November 19, with a peak percentage of 50% on June 13. The wind is most often from the south for 1.1 months, from December 20 to January 22, with a peak percentage of 34% on January 1.

Plettenberg Bay 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 experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 2.6 months, from December 23 to March 11, with an average temperature above 68°F. The month of the year in Plettenberg Bay with the warmest water is January, with an average temperature of 70°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.5 months, from June 9 to October 25, with an average temperature below 64°F. The month of the year in Plettenberg Bay with the coolest water is August, with an average temperature of 62°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Plettenberg Bay 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 Plettenberg Bay for general outdoor tourist activities is from late November to early April, with a peak score in the last week of January.

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 Plettenberg Bay for hot-weather activities is from early January to early 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 Plettenberg Bay 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 extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from November 6 to February 18, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.1 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Plettenberg Bay is January, with an average of 8.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from April 28 to August 16, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.8 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Plettenberg Bay is June, with an average of 2.7 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Plettenberg Bay are -34.053 deg latitude, 23.372 deg longitude, and 253 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Plettenberg Bay contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 577 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 131 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (1,742 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (6,375 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Plettenberg Bay is covered by water (48%), shrubs (28%), and artificial surfaces (13%), within 10 miles by water (56%) and cropland (19%), and within 50 miles by water (61%) and shrubs (26%).