Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Phuthaditjhaba South Africa

In Phuthaditjhaba, the wet season is comfortable and partly cloudy and the dry season is cool and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 31°F to 76°F and is rarely below 25°F or above 83°F.

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

The warm season lasts for 4.2 months, from November 3 to March 10, with an average daily high temperature above 73°F. The hottest month of the year in Phuthaditjhaba is January, with an average high of 75°F and low of 56°F.

The cold season lasts for 2.3 months, from May 26 to August 4, with an average daily high temperature below 63°F. The coldest month of the year in Phuthaditjhaba is July, with an average low of 32°F and high of 60°F.

In Phuthaditjhaba, 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 Phuthaditjhaba begins around March 25 and lasts for 6.0 months, ending around September 24.

The clearest month of the year in Phuthaditjhaba 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 24 and lasts for 6.0 months, ending around March 25.

The cloudiest month of the year in Phuthaditjhaba is November, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 38% 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 Phuthaditjhaba varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.5 months, from October 13 to March 30, with a greater than 30% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Phuthaditjhaba is January, with an average of 17.2 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.5 months, from March 30 to October 13. The month with the fewest wet days in Phuthaditjhaba 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. The month with the most days of rain alone in Phuthaditjhaba is January, with an average of 17.2 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 57% on January 16.

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. Phuthaditjhaba experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.6 months, from July 25 to May 13, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Phuthaditjhaba is January, with an average rainfall of 4.7 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.4 months, from May 13 to July 25. The month with the least rain in Phuthaditjhaba is June, with an average rainfall of 0.4 inches.

The length of the day in Phuthaditjhaba varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 10 hours, 20 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 13 hours, 58 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 4:59 AM on December 2, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 59 minutes later at 6:57 AM on July 1. The earliest sunset is at 5:14 PM on June 9, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 52 minutes later at 7:06 PM on January 10.

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

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.2 months, from May 31 to December 4, with average wind speeds of more than 8.4 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Phuthaditjhaba is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 10.1 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.8 months, from December 4 to May 31. The calmest month of the year in Phuthaditjhaba is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.7 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the east for 2.4 months, from January 8 to March 20, with a peak percentage of 47% on February 19. The wind is most often from the west for 9.6 months, from March 20 to January 8, with a peak percentage of 43% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Phuthaditjhaba 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 Phuthaditjhaba 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 Phuthaditjhaba for hot-weather activities is from mid December to late 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 Phuthaditjhaba typically lasts for 8.3 months (251 days), from around September 3 to around May 13, rarely starting before August 12 or after October 2, and rarely ending before April 20 or after June 3.

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 Phuthaditjhaba should appear around August 2, only rarely appearing before July 28 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 3.8 months, from October 26 to February 18, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.1 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Phuthaditjhaba is December, with an average of 7.7 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.0 months, from May 4 to August 4, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.8 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Phuthaditjhaba is June, with an average of 4.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Phuthaditjhaba are -28.524 deg latitude, 28.816 deg longitude, and 5,482 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Phuthaditjhaba contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,627 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 5,579 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (3,238 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (7,756 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Phuthaditjhaba is covered by artificial surfaces (64%) and bare soil (36%), within 10 miles by grassland (57%) and bare soil (19%), and within 50 miles by grassland (56%) and cropland (29%).