Average Weather in Sumbawanga Tanzania

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2. Tanzania
3. Rukwa
4. Sumbawanga Urban
5. Sumbawanga

In Sumbawanga, the wet season is comfortable and overcast and the dry season is warm, windy, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 50°F to 79°F and is rarely below 47°F or above 83°F.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

In Sumbawanga, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Sumbawanga begins around May 1 and lasts for 5.2 months, ending around October 8. On July 16, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 81% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 19% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 8 and lasts for 6.8 months, ending around May 1. On January 13, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 86% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 14% 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 Sumbawanga varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.1 months, from November 12 to April 15, with a greater than 38% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 74% on January 1.

The drier season lasts 6.9 months, from April 15 to November 12. The smallest chance of a wet day is 0% on June 22.

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 throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 74% on January 1.

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. Sumbawanga experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.0 months, from October 9 to May 10, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around December 21, with an average total accumulation of 7.7 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.0 months, from May 10 to October 9. The least rain falls around July 7, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Sumbawanga does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 35 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2017, the shortest day is June 21, with 11 hours, 40 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 12 hours, 35 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:23 AM on November 15, and the latest sunrise is 45 minutes later at 7:08 AM on July 15. The earliest sunset is at 6:41 PM on May 25, and the latest sunset is 39 minutes later at 7:20 PM on January 29.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Sumbawanga during 2017.

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 Sumbawanga, 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 Sumbawanga experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.2 months, from April 9 to November 14, with average wind speeds of more than 3.9 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is August 31, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.3 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.8 months, from November 14 to April 9. The calmest day of the year is February 13, with an average hourly wind speed of 2.6 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the west for 1.2 months, from January 7 to February 14, with a peak percentage of 36% on January 29. The wind is most often from the east for 3.2 months, from February 14 to May 19 and for 5.6 months, from July 20 to January 7, with a peak percentage of 66% on April 13. The wind is most often from the south for 2.0 months, from May 19 to July 20, with a peak percentage of 59% on June 18.

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 some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.6 months, from August 15 to November 2, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.8 kWh. The brightest day of the year is September 25, with an average of 7.3 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.4 months, from December 15 to February 25, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.4 kWh. The darkest day of the year is January 12, with an average of 4.8 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Sumbawanga are -7.967 deg latitude, 31.617 deg longitude, and 6,109 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Sumbawanga contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 394 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 6,027 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (3,776 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (5,561 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Sumbawanga is covered by trees (46%), cropland (29%), and artificial surfaces (15%), within 10 miles by trees (37%) and shrubs (29%), and within 50 miles by trees (29%) and shrubs (26%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Sumbawanga, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There is only a single weather station, Sumbawanga Airport, in our network suitable to be used as a proxy for the historical temperature and dew point records of Sumbawanga.

At a distance of 1 kilometer from Sumbawanga, closer than our threshold of 150 kilometers, this station is deemed sufficiently nearby to be relied upon as our primary source for temperature and dew point records.

The station records are corrected for the elevation difference between the station and Sumbawanga according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

Please note that the station records themselves may additionally have been back-filled using other nearby stations or the MERRA-2 reanalysis.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for aiports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © Esri, with data from National Geographic, Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, UNEP-WCMC, USGS, NASA, ESA, METI, NRCAN, GEBCO, NOAA, and iPC.