Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Quthing Lesotho

In Quthing, the summers are warm; the winters are short, very cold, and dry; and it is mostly clear year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 29°F to 80°F and is rarely below 23°F or above 87°F.

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

The warm season lasts for 3.6 months, from November 20 to March 9, with an average daily high temperature above 75°F. The hottest month of the year in Quthing is January, with an average high of 79°F and low of 55°F.

The cold season lasts for 2.5 months, from May 24 to August 10, with an average daily high temperature below 62°F. The coldest month of the year in Quthing is June, with an average low of 30°F and high of 58°F.

In Quthing, 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 Quthing begins around May 17 and lasts for 3.8 months, ending around September 10.

The clearest month of the year in Quthing is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 85% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 10 and lasts for 8.2 months, ending around May 17.

The cloudiest month of the year in Quthing is October, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 31% 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 Quthing varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.5 months, from October 14 to March 31, with a greater than 24% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Quthing is February, with an average of 12.5 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.5 months, from March 31 to October 14. The month with the fewest wet days in Quthing is July, with an average of 1.7 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 Quthing is February, with an average of 12.5 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 44% on February 2.

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. Quthing experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Quthing. The month with the most rain in Quthing is February, with an average rainfall of 3.3 inches.

The month with the least rain in Quthing is June, with an average rainfall of 0.5 inches.

The length of the day in Quthing varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 10 hours, 11 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 14 hours, 7 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 4:59 AM on December 3, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 7 minutes later at 7:06 AM on June 30. The earliest sunset is at 5:15 PM on June 10, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 0 minutes later at 7:15 PM on January 10.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Quthing 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 Quthing, 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, remaining a virtually constant 0% 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 Quthing experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.5 months, from July 20 to January 6, with average wind speeds of more than 8.1 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Quthing is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.5 months, from January 6 to July 20. The calmest month of the year in Quthing is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.7 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the north for 3.0 months, from May 22 to August 22, with a peak percentage of 45% on June 24. The wind is most often from the west for 9.0 months, from August 22 to May 22, with a peak percentage of 40% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Quthing 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 Quthing for general outdoor tourist activities is from late November to late March, with a peak score in the first 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 Quthing for hot-weather activities is from mid December to mid February, with a peak score in the first 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 Quthing typically lasts for 7.5 months (225 days), from around September 21 to around May 4, rarely starting before August 23 or after October 22, and rarely ending before April 13 or after May 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 Quthing should appear around August 9, only rarely appearing before August 2 or after August 17.

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 significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from November 1 to February 7, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.5 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Quthing is December, with an average of 8.3 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.3 months, from April 30 to August 8, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.6 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Quthing is June, with an average of 3.7 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Quthing are -30.400 deg latitude, 27.700 deg longitude, and 4,970 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Quthing contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,237 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 5,277 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (4,259 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (5,869 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Quthing is covered by bare soil (42%), cropland (25%), and grassland (14%), within 10 miles by bare soil (42%) and grassland (33%), and within 50 miles by grassland (62%) and bare soil (21%).