Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Middelburg South Africa

In Middelburg, the summers are warm; the winters are short, cold, dry, and windy; and it is mostly clear year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 35°F to 86°F and is rarely below 29°F or above 94°F.

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

The hot season lasts for 3.7 months, from November 20 to March 10, with an average daily high temperature above 81°F. The hottest month of the year in Middelburg is January, with an average high of 86°F and low of 58°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.8 months, from May 22 to August 14, with an average daily high temperature below 65°F. The coldest month of the year in Middelburg is July, with an average low of 36°F and high of 61°F.

In Middelburg, 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 Middelburg begins around December 3 and lasts for 3.8 months, ending around March 28.

The clearest month of the year in Middelburg is January, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 81% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around March 28 and lasts for 8.2 months, ending around December 3.

The cloudiest month of the year in Middelburg is October, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 34% 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 Middelburg varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.1 months, from November 10 to April 13, with a greater than 16% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Middelburg is February, with an average of 8.0 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.9 months, from April 13 to November 10. The month with the fewest wet days in Middelburg is July, with an average of 1.3 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 Middelburg is February, 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 February 21.

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. Middelburg experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 8.0 months, from September 9 to May 11, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Middelburg is February, with an average rainfall of 1.9 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.0 months, from May 11 to September 9. The month with the least rain in Middelburg is July, with an average rainfall of 0.3 inches.

The length of the day in Middelburg varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 10 hours, 6 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 14 hours, 12 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:07 AM on December 4, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 12 minutes later at 7:20 AM on June 30. The earliest sunset is at 5:23 PM on June 10, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 6 minutes later at 7:28 PM on January 9.

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

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.6 months, from May 22 to January 9, with average wind speeds of more than 10.2 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Middelburg is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.4 months, from January 9 to May 22. The calmest month of the year in Middelburg is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.8 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the west for 3.2 months, from March 1 to June 8 and for 3.0 months, from July 29 to October 29, with a peak percentage of 43% on May 16. The wind is most often from the north for 1.7 months, from June 8 to July 29, with a peak percentage of 44% on June 30. The wind is most often from the south for 4.1 months, from October 29 to March 1, with a peak percentage of 37% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Middelburg 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 Middelburg for general outdoor tourist activities is from late October to early April, with a peak score in the first week of March.

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 Middelburg for hot-weather activities is from mid December to late February, with a peak score in the second 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 Middelburg typically lasts for 9.0 months (272 days), from around August 29 to around May 29, rarely starting before August 7 or after September 26, and rarely ending before May 4 or after June 20.

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 Middelburg should appear around July 29, only rarely appearing before July 23 or after August 4.

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 3.2 months, from November 2 to February 10, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.7 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Middelburg is December, with an average of 8.7 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from April 28 to August 9, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.5 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Middelburg is June, with an average of 3.5 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Middelburg are -31.493 deg latitude, 25.006 deg longitude, and 4,111 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Middelburg contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 466 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 4,156 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (2,241 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (5,102 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Middelburg is covered by artificial surfaces (38%), shrubs (37%), and cropland (25%), within 10 miles by shrubs (83%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (75%) and grassland (21%).