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Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Rakai Uganda

The climate in Rakai is warm, humid, and overcast. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 59°F to 82°F and is rarely below 57°F or above 87°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Rakai for warm-weather activities is from early June to mid September.

Climate in Rakai

warmJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNowNow57%57%17%17%overcastclearprecipitation: 5.4 inprecipitation: 5.4 in0.8 in0.8 inmuggy: 58%muggy: 58%6%6%tourism score: 7.2tourism score: 7.24.94.9
Rakai weather by month. Click on each chart for more information.

The temperature in Rakai varies so little throughout the year that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss hot and cold seasons.

Average High and Low Temperature in Rakai

Average High and Low Temperature in RakaiJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0°F0°F10°F10°F20°F20°F30°F30°F40°F40°F50°F50°F60°F60°F70°F70°F80°F80°F90°F90°F100°F100°FJul 1680°FJul 1680°FFeb 1782°FFeb 1782°F59°F59°F61°F61°FApr 1079°FApr 1079°FMay 2579°FMay 2579°F62°F62°F61°F61°FNowNow
The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.
AverageJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
High 80°F81°F80°F79°F78°F79°F80°F80°F79°F79°F78°F79°F
Temp. 69°F71°F70°F70°F69°F69°F69°F69°F69°F69°F69°F69°F
Low 60°F61°F62°F62°F62°F60°F59°F60°F60°F61°F61°F61°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.

Average Hourly Temperature in Rakai

Average Hourly Temperature in RakaiJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMNowNowcoolcoolcomfortablecomfortablewarm
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The average hourly temperature, color coded into bands. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

Arbeláez, Colombia (7,326 miles away) is the far-away foreign place with temperatures most similar to Rakai (view comparison).

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In Rakai, 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 Rakai begins around June 3 and lasts for 3.7 months, ending around September 24.

The clearest month of the year in Rakai is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 56% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 24 and lasts for 8.3 months, ending around June 3.

The cloudiest month of the year in Rakai is April, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 82% of the time.

Cloud Cover Categories in Rakai

Cloud Cover Categories in RakaiclearercloudiercloudierJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%Aug 1457%Aug 1457%Apr 317%Apr 317%Jun 337%Jun 337%Sep 2437%Sep 2437%NowNowclearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercast
0% clear 20% mostly clear 40% partly cloudy 60% mostly cloudy 80% overcast 100%
The percentage of time spent in each cloud cover band, categorized by the percentage of the sky covered by clouds.
FractionJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Cloudier 74%75%80%82%70%58%47%44%56%74%76%73%
Clearer 26%25%20%18%30%42%53%56%44%26%24%27%

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Rakai varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 8.8 months, from August 27 to May 22, with a greater than 42% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Rakai is April, with an average of 20.9 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 3.2 months, from May 22 to August 27. The month with the fewest wet days in Rakai is July, with an average of 5.0 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 Rakai is April, with an average of 20.9 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 71% on April 11.

Daily Chance of Precipitation in Rakai

Daily Chance of Precipitation in RakaiwetwetdryJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%Apr 1171%Apr 1171%Jul 313%Jul 313%Aug 2742%Aug 2742%May 2242%May 2242%NowNowrain
The percentage of days in which various types of precipitation are observed, excluding trace quantities: rain alone, snow alone, and mixed (both rain and snow fell in the same day).
Days ofJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Rain 11.7d11.4d18.2d20.9d15.1d5.1d5.0d10.4d15.4d18.8d19.8d16.0d

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. Rakai experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Rakai. The month with the most rain in Rakai is April, with an average rainfall of 5.4 inches.

The month with the least rain in Rakai is July, with an average rainfall of 1.0 inches.

Average Monthly Rainfall in Rakai

The average rainfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average snowfall.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Rainfall 2.3″2.5″4.2″5.4″3.8″1.1″1.0″2.2″3.0″4.0″4.3″3.4″

The length of the day in Rakai does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 10 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 12 hours, 5 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 12 hours, 10 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in Rakai

The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line). From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray), the color bands indicate: full daylight, twilight (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and full night.
Hours ofJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight 12.2h12.1h12.1h12.1h12.1h12.1h12.1h12.1h12.1h12.1h12.2h12.2h

The earliest sunrise is at 6:33 AM on November 4, and the latest sunrise is 31 minutes later at 7:04 AM on February 14. The earliest sunset is at 6:41 PM on November 1, and the latest sunset is 31 minutes later at 7:12 PM on February 9.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Rakai during 2024.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight in Rakai

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight in RakaiJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AMNov 46:33 AMNov 46:33 AM7:12 PMFeb 97:12 PMFeb 9Nov 16:41 PMNov 16:41 PM7:04 AMFeb 147:04 AMFeb 14daynightnightSolarMidnightSolarMidnightSolarNoonSunriseSunsetNowNow
The solar day over the course of the year 2024. From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray.

The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation.

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in Rakai

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in RakaiJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AM0000101010102020202030303030404040405050505060606060707080800000101010102020202030303030404040405050505060606060707070708066NowNow
northeastsouthwest
Solar elevation and azimuth over the course of the year 2024. The black lines are lines of constant solar elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon, in degrees). The background color fills indicate the azimuth (the compass bearing) of the sun. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries of the cardinal compass points indicate the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

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.

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in Rakai

The time in which the moon is above the horizon (light blue area), with new moons (dark gray lines) and full moons (blue lines) indicated. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

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.

Rakai experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 9.2 months, from September 7 to June 14, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 19% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Rakai is April, with 16.4 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in Rakai is July, with 2.3 days that are muggy or worse.

Humidity Comfort Levels in Rakai

Humidity Comfort Levels in RakaimuggymuggyJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%Jul 166%Jul 166%May 158%May 158%Sep 719%Sep 719%Jun 1419%Jun 1419%NowNowmuggymuggyhumidhumidcomfortablecomfortabledrydry
dry 55°F comfortable 60°F humid 65°F muggy 70°F oppressive 75°F miserable
The percentage of time spent at various humidity comfort levels, categorized by dew point.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Muggy days 10.9d10.0d12.6d16.4d15.4d5.6d2.3d4.2d6.3d8.7d10.4d10.2d

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 Rakai experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.1 months, from May 3 to September 5, with average wind speeds of more than 6.5 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Rakai is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.1 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.9 months, from September 5 to May 3. The calmest month of the year in Rakai is November, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.8 miles per hour.

Average Wind Speed in Rakai

Average Wind Speed in RakaiwindyJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 mph0 mph2 mph2 mph4 mph4 mph6 mph6 mph8 mph8 mph10 mph10 mph12 mph12 mph14 mph14 mphJul 38.2 mphJul 38.2 mphNov 174.7 mphNov 174.7 mphMay 36.5 mphMay 36.5 mphSep 56.5 mphSep 56.5 mphNowNow
The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Wind Speed (mph) 5.35.45.35.87.07.88.17.26.15.44.84.9

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

The wind is most often from the south for 5.7 months, from February 22 to August 12, with a peak percentage of 65% on June 23. The wind is most often from the east for 6.4 months, from August 12 to February 22, with a peak percentage of 34% on January 1.

Wind Direction in Rakai

Wind Direction in RakaiESEJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%NowNowwestsoutheastnorth
northeastsouthwest
The percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the mean wind speed is less than 1.0 mph. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries are the percentage of hours spent in the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Rakai 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 Rakai for general outdoor tourist activities is from early June to mid September, with a peak score in the third week of July.

Tourism Score in Rakai

Tourism Score in Rakaibest timeJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec002244668810107.27.24.94.95.45.4NowNowtemperaturetemperature cloudscloudsprecipitationprecipitationtourism score
The tourism score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Rakai for hot-weather activities are from late January to late February and from late May to late September, with a peak score in the second week of August.

Beach/Pool Score in Rakai

Beach/Pool Score in Rakaibest timeJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec002244668810105.05.03.73.74.64.6NowNow precipitationprecipitationbeach/pool score
The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

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 Rakai 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.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in Rakai

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in RakaiJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%100%Jan 1100%Jan 1100%Jul 2100%Jul 2NowNowcoolcomfortablewarmhot
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The percentage of time spent in various temperature bands. The black line is the percentage chance that a given day is within the growing season.

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.

Growing Degree Days in Rakai

Growing Degree Days in RakaiJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0°F0°F1,000°F1,000°F2,000°F2,000°F3,000°F3,000°F4,000°F4,000°F5,000°F5,000°F6,000°F6,000°F7,000°F7,000°FJul 690°FJul 690°FAug 18900°FAug 18900°FOct 41,800°FOct 41,800°FJun 307,038°FJun 307,038°FNowNow
The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of the year, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

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 2.7 months, from June 21 to September 10, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.9 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Rakai is July, with an average of 6.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 1.3 months, from April 2 to May 12, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.9 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Rakai is April, with an average of 4.7 kWh.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in Rakai

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in RakaibrightdarkJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 kWh0 kWh1 kWh1 kWh2 kWh2 kWh3 kWh3 kWh4 kWh4 kWh5 kWh5 kWh6 kWh6 kWh7 kWh7 kWh8 kWh8 kWhJul 196.2 kWhJul 196.2 kWhApr 304.6 kWhApr 304.6 kWhSep 105.9 kWhSep 105.9 kWhNowNow
The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter (orange line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Solar Energy (kWh) 5.75.95.44.75.15.86.16.15.85.24.85.3

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Rakai are -0.720 deg latitude, 31.484 deg longitude, and 4,268 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Rakai contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 958 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 4,095 feet. Within 10 miles also contains very significant variations in elevation (1,083 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (2,014 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Rakai is covered by cropland (51%) and grassland (46%), within 10 miles by cropland (41%) and herbaceous vegetation (32%), and within 50 miles by grassland (21%) and cropland (21%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Rakai, 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 are 2 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Rakai.

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

The estimated value at Rakai is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Rakai and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are:

To get a sense of how much these sources agree with each other, you can view a comparison of Rakai and the stations that contribute to our estimates of its temperature history and climate. Please note that each source's contribution is adjusted for elevation and the relative change present in the MERRA-2 data.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , 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 airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.

We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.

We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.

Please review our full terms contained on our Terms of Service page.