Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Victoria Falls Zimbabwe

In Victoria Falls, the wet season is hot, humid, and mostly cloudy and the dry season is warm and clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 47°F to 94°F and is rarely below 42°F or above 100°F.

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

The hot season lasts for 2.2 months, from September 13 to November 21, with an average daily high temperature above 90°F. The hottest month of the year in Victoria Falls is October, with an average high of 93°F and low of 68°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.1 months, from May 28 to August 1, with an average daily high temperature below 80°F. The coldest month of the year in Victoria Falls is July, with an average low of 48°F and high of 77°F.

In Victoria Falls, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Victoria Falls begins around March 28 and lasts for 7.1 months, ending around November 1.

The clearest month of the year in Victoria Falls is June, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 94% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 1 and lasts for 4.8 months, ending around March 28.

The cloudiest month of the year in Victoria Falls is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 74% 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 Victoria Falls varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.3 months, from November 15 to March 23, with a greater than 28% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Victoria Falls is January, with an average of 16.5 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.7 months, from March 23 to November 15. The month with the fewest wet days in Victoria Falls is July, with an average of 0.0 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 Victoria Falls is January, with an average of 16.5 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 56% on January 30.

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. Victoria Falls experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 6.3 months, from October 13 to April 23, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Victoria Falls is January, with an average rainfall of 4.5 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.7 months, from April 23 to October 13. The month with the least rain in Victoria Falls is August, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Victoria Falls varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 11 hours, 3 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 13 hours, 13 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:31 AM on November 24, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 17 minutes later at 6:48 AM on July 7. The earliest sunset is at 5:48 PM on June 3, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 11 minutes later at 6:58 PM on January 18.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Victoria Falls 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.

Victoria Falls experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 4.8 months, from November 16 to April 9, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 17% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Victoria Falls is January, with 20.2 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in Victoria Falls is July, with 0.0 days that are muggy or worse.

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 Victoria Falls experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 3.1 months, from August 11 to November 16, with average wind speeds of more than 8.9 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Victoria Falls is October, with an average hourly wind speed of 10.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 8.9 months, from November 16 to August 11. The calmest month of the year in Victoria Falls is February, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.2 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Victoria Falls is from the east throughout the year.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Victoria Falls 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 Victoria Falls for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid April to mid September, with a peak score in the second week of August.

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 Victoria Falls for hot-weather activities is from late August to late October, with a peak score in the last week of September.

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 Victoria Falls 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 some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.0 months, from September 13 to November 13, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.9 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Victoria Falls is October, with an average of 7.2 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.2 months, from May 17 to July 24, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.6 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Victoria Falls is June, with an average of 5.2 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Victoria Falls are -17.933 deg latitude, 25.831 deg longitude, and 3,153 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Victoria Falls contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 833 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3,049 feet. Within 10 miles also contains very significant variations in elevation (1,316 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (2,549 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Victoria Falls is covered by trees (53%) and artificial surfaces (39%), within 10 miles by trees (41%) and grassland (30%), and within 50 miles by grassland (34%) and trees (32%).