Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Butha-Buthe Lesotho

In Butha-Buthe, the summers are warm; the winters are short, cold, and dry; and it is mostly clear year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 31°F to 77°F and is rarely below 26°F or above 84°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Butha-Buthe for warm-weather activities is from early December to early April.

The warm season lasts for 3.9 months, from November 15 to March 12, with an average daily high temperature above 74°F. The hottest month of the year in Butha-Buthe is January, with an average high of 77°F and low of 57°F.

The cold season lasts for 2.4 months, from May 25 to August 7, with an average daily high temperature below 62°F. The coldest month of the year in Butha-Buthe is July, with an average low of 32°F and high of 60°F.

In Butha-Buthe, 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 Butha-Buthe begins around March 27 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around September 22.

The clearest month of the year in Butha-Buthe is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 88% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 22 and lasts for 6.1 months, ending around March 27.

The cloudiest month of the year in Butha-Buthe is November, 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 Butha-Buthe varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.6 months, from October 12 to March 30, with a greater than 26% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Butha-Buthe is January, with an average of 14.7 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.4 months, from March 30 to October 12. The month with the fewest wet days in Butha-Buthe is July, with an average of 1.1 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 Butha-Buthe is January, with an average of 14.7 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 48% on January 31.

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. Butha-Buthe experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.5 months, from August 2 to May 17, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Butha-Buthe is January, with an average rainfall of 3.5 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.5 months, from May 17 to August 2. The month with the least rain in Butha-Buthe is July, with an average rainfall of 0.3 inches.

The length of the day in Butha-Buthe varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 10 hours, 18 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 13 hours, 59 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:00 AM on December 2, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 0 minutes later at 7:00 AM on July 2. The earliest sunset is at 5:16 PM on June 9, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 53 minutes later at 7:09 PM on January 10.

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

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.6 months, from August 5 to December 26, with average wind speeds of more than 7.3 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Butha-Buthe is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.4 months, from December 26 to August 5. The calmest month of the year in Butha-Buthe is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.0 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Butha-Buthe varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the east for 2.0 months, from January 21 to March 20, with a peak percentage of 39% on February 19. The wind is most often from the west for 10 months, from March 20 to January 21, with a peak percentage of 39% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Butha-Buthe 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 Butha-Buthe for general outdoor tourist activities is from early December to early April, with a peak score in the last week of February.

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 Butha-Buthe for hot-weather activities is from mid December to late February, with a peak score in the third 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 Butha-Buthe typically lasts for 8.4 months (254 days), from around September 3 to around May 15, rarely starting before August 13 or after September 26, and rarely ending before April 19 or after June 6.

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 Butha-Buthe should appear around August 4, only rarely appearing before July 29 or after August 10.

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 3.6 months, from October 29 to February 15, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.2 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Butha-Buthe is December, with an average of 8.0 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 Butha-Buthe is June, with an average of 4.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Butha-Buthe are -28.767 deg latitude, 28.249 deg longitude, and 5,630 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Butha-Buthe contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 938 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 5,648 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (3,491 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (7,044 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Butha-Buthe is covered by cropland (88%), within 10 miles by cropland (43%) and bare soil (29%), and within 50 miles by grassland (51%) and cropland (33%).