Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Thaba-Tseka Lesotho

In Thaba-Tseka, the summers are long, comfortable, and wet; the winters are short, very cold, and snowy; and it is mostly clear year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 26°F to 70°F and is rarely below 20°F or above 76°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Thaba-Tseka for warm-weather activities is from mid December to mid March.

The warm season lasts for 4.3 months, from October 29 to March 8, with an average daily high temperature above 66°F. The hottest month of the year in Thaba-Tseka is January, with an average high of 69°F and low of 50°F.

The cold season lasts for 2.4 months, from May 25 to August 6, with an average daily high temperature below 56°F. The coldest month of the year in Thaba-Tseka is July, with an average low of 26°F and high of 53°F.

In Thaba-Tseka, 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 Thaba-Tseka begins around April 20 and lasts for 5.0 months, ending around September 22.

The clearest month of the year in Thaba-Tseka is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 87% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 22 and lasts for 7.0 months, ending around April 20.

The cloudiest month of the year in Thaba-Tseka is November, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 33% 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 Thaba-Tseka varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.3 months, from October 17 to March 28, with a greater than 34% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Thaba-Tseka is January, with an average of 19.8 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.7 months, from March 28 to October 17. The month with the fewest wet days in Thaba-Tseka 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. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation in Thaba-Tseka changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 12 months, from July 19 to July 7. The month with the most days of rain alone in Thaba-Tseka is January, with an average of 19.8 days.

Mixed snow and rain is the most common for 1.7 weeks, from July 7 to July 19. The month with the most days of mixed snow and rain in Thaba-Tseka is June, with an average of 0.6 days.

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. Thaba-Tseka experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.3 months, from August 6 to May 16, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Thaba-Tseka is January, with an average rainfall of 5.8 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.7 months, from May 16 to August 6. The month with the least rain in Thaba-Tseka is July, with an average rainfall of 0.3 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Thaba-Tseka experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 1.5 months, from June 26 to August 10, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Thaba-Tseka is July, with an average snowfall of 1.4 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 10 months, from August 10 to June 26. The least snow falls around December 10, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Thaba-Tseka varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 10 hours, 15 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 14 hours, 3 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 4:57 AM on December 2, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 3 minutes later at 7:01 AM on July 1. The earliest sunset is at 5:13 PM on June 10, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 56 minutes later at 7:10 PM on January 10.

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

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.8 months, from July 28 to December 20, with average wind speeds of more than 7.3 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Thaba-Tseka is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.0 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.2 months, from December 20 to July 28. The calmest month of the year in Thaba-Tseka is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.5 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Thaba-Tseka is from the west throughout the year.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Thaba-Tseka 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 Thaba-Tseka for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid December to mid March, with a peak score in the third 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 Thaba-Tseka for hot-weather activities is from late December to late January, 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 Thaba-Tseka typically lasts for 5.7 months (172 days), from around October 23 to around April 13, rarely starting before September 21 or after November 30, and rarely ending before March 22 or after May 2.

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 Thaba-Tseka should appear around August 30, only rarely appearing before August 21 or after September 11.

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 3.3 months, from October 25 to February 5, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.3 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Thaba-Tseka is December, with an average of 8.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.1 months, from May 2 to August 5, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.8 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Thaba-Tseka is June, with an average of 4.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Thaba-Tseka are -29.522 deg latitude, 28.608 deg longitude, and 7,316 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Thaba-Tseka contains large variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 2,146 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 7,227 feet. Within 10 miles contains large variations in elevation (4,357 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (6,736 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Thaba-Tseka is covered by cropland (70%) and bare soil (26%), within 10 miles by bare soil (44%) and grassland (43%), and within 50 miles by grassland (50%) and bare soil (32%).