Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Piggs Peak Swaziland

In Piggs Peak, the wet season is partly cloudy, the dry season is mostly clear, and it is comfortable year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 46°F to 77°F and is rarely below 41°F or above 86°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best times of year to visit Piggs Peak for warm-weather activities are from early February to late May and from mid August to early October.

The warm season lasts for 3.4 months, from December 13 to March 26, with an average daily high temperature above 75°F. The hottest month of the year in Piggs Peak is January, with an average high of 77°F and low of 63°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.0 months, from June 1 to August 3, with an average daily high temperature below 69°F. The coldest month of the year in Piggs Peak is July, with an average low of 47°F and high of 68°F.

In Piggs Peak, 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 Piggs Peak begins around February 24 and lasts for 7.5 months, ending around October 7.

The clearest month of the year in Piggs Peak is June, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 90% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 7 and lasts for 4.6 months, ending around February 24.

The cloudiest month of the year in Piggs Peak is November, 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 Piggs Peak varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.5 months, from October 14 to March 29, with a greater than 26% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Piggs Peak is December, with an average of 15.0 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.5 months, from March 29 to October 14. The month with the fewest wet days in Piggs Peak is July, with an average of 0.9 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 Piggs Peak is December, with an average of 15.0 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 50% on December 17.

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. Piggs Peak experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 8.8 months, from August 25 to May 17, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Piggs Peak is January, with an average rainfall of 4.6 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from May 17 to August 25. The month with the least rain in Piggs Peak is June, with an average rainfall of 0.3 inches.

The length of the day in Piggs Peak varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 10 hours, 31 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 13 hours, 46 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 4:54 AM on November 30, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 48 minutes later at 6:42 AM on July 3. The earliest sunset is at 5:10 PM on June 9, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 41 minutes later at 6:51 PM on January 12.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Piggs Peak 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.

Piggs Peak experiences some seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 4.8 months, from November 10 to April 5, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 6% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Piggs Peak is February, with 6.6 days that are muggy or worse.

The least muggy day of the year is July 3, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

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 Piggs Peak experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 3.7 months, from August 2 to November 23, with average wind speeds of more than 6.0 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Piggs Peak is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.0 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 8.4 months, from November 23 to August 2. The calmest month of the year in Piggs Peak is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.9 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the west for 3.9 months, from April 20 to August 16, with a peak percentage of 41% on June 13. The wind is most often from the north for 1.7 months, from August 16 to October 7, with a peak percentage of 34% on September 23. The wind is most often from the east for 6.4 months, from October 7 to April 20, with a peak percentage of 40% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Piggs Peak 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 times of year to visit Piggs Peak for general outdoor tourist activities are from early February to late May and from mid August to early October, with a peak score in the second week of April.

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 Piggs Peak for hot-weather activities is from late December to mid March, with a peak score in the third week of February.

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).

Temperatures in Piggs Peak are sufficiently warm year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year.

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.

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 4.0 months, from November 1 to March 2, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.7 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Piggs Peak is January, with an average of 7.3 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.8 months, from May 8 to August 2, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.7 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Piggs Peak is June, with an average of 4.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Piggs Peak are -25.961 deg latitude, 31.247 deg longitude, and 3,340 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Piggs Peak contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 981 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3,227 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (4,610 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (6,102 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Piggs Peak is covered by cropland (90%), within 10 miles by cropland (42%) and grassland (35%), and within 50 miles by cropland (34%) and grassland (28%).