Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Whittlesea South Africa

In Whittlesea, the summers are warm and wet; 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 40°F to 82°F and is rarely below 33°F or above 92°F.

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

The warm season lasts for 3.5 months, from December 1 to March 15, with an average daily high temperature above 78°F. The hottest month of the year in Whittlesea is January, with an average high of 82°F and low of 58°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.8 months, from May 26 to August 18, with an average daily high temperature below 66°F. The coldest month of the year in Whittlesea is July, with an average low of 40°F and high of 63°F.

In Whittlesea, 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 Whittlesea begins around December 11 and lasts for 3.8 months, ending around April 4.

The clearest month of the year in Whittlesea is February, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 78% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 4 and lasts for 8.2 months, ending around December 11.

The cloudiest month of the year in Whittlesea is October, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 42% 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 Whittlesea varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.6 months, from October 16 to April 5, with a greater than 26% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Whittlesea is February, with an average of 13.1 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.4 months, from April 5 to October 16. The month with the fewest wet days in Whittlesea is July, with an average of 2.2 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 Whittlesea is February, with an average of 13.1 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 47% on February 22.

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. Whittlesea experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Whittlesea. The month with the most rain in Whittlesea is February, with an average rainfall of 4.0 inches.

The month with the least rain in Whittlesea is July, with an average rainfall of 0.7 inches.

The length of the day in Whittlesea varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 10 hours, 2 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 14 hours, 16 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 4:58 AM on December 4, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 16 minutes later at 7:14 AM on June 30. The earliest sunset is at 5:14 PM on June 10, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 9 minutes later at 7:23 PM on January 8.

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

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.3 months, from May 15 to November 24, with average wind speeds of more than 9.5 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Whittlesea is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.1 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.7 months, from November 24 to May 15. The calmest month of the year in Whittlesea is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.9 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the west for 6.9 months, from March 20 to October 18, with a peak percentage of 48% on June 3. The wind is most often from the east for 3.4 weeks, from October 18 to November 11 and for 4.2 months, from November 15 to March 20, with a peak percentage of 29% on November 3. The wind is most often from the south for 4.0 days, from November 11 to November 15, with a peak percentage of 29% on November 14.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Whittlesea 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 Whittlesea 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 Whittlesea for hot-weather activities is from mid December to late February, 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 Whittlesea typically lasts for 11 months (330 days), from around July 30 to around June 25, rarely starting after August 30, or ending before June 1.

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 Whittlesea should appear around July 25, only rarely appearing before July 19 or after August 1.

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 3.3 months, from November 4 to February 13, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.3 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Whittlesea is December, with an average of 8.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from April 29 to August 10, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.2 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Whittlesea is June, with an average of 3.3 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Whittlesea are -32.176 deg latitude, 26.824 deg longitude, and 3,484 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Whittlesea contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 669 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3,555 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (2,119 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (6,726 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Whittlesea is covered by grassland (34%), cropland (19%), shrubs (17%), and artificial surfaces (16%), within 10 miles by grassland (51%) and bare soil (23%), and within 50 miles by grassland (54%) and shrubs (20%).