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Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Kahama Tanzania

In Kahama, the wet season is warm, humid, and overcast and the dry season is hot, windy, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 57°F to 89°F and is rarely below 53°F or above 93°F.

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

Climate in Kahama

warmhotwarmhotwarmJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNowNow67%67%20%20%overcastclearprecipitation: 5.5 inprecipitation: 5.5 in0.0 in0.0 inmuggy: 46%muggy: 46%0%0%drydrytourism score: 7.6tourism score: 7.64.84.8
Kahama weather by month. Click on each chart for more information.

The hot season lasts for 1.7 months, from September 6 to October 28, with an average daily high temperature above 88°F. The hottest month of the year in Kahama is October, with an average high of 89°F and low of 63°F.

The cool season lasts for 4.4 months, from December 7 to April 20, with an average daily high temperature below 83°F. The coldest month of the year in Kahama is July, with an average low of 57°F and high of 85°F.

Average High and Low Temperature in Kahama

Average High and Low Temperature in KahamahotcoolcoolJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0°F0°F10°F10°F20°F20°F30°F30°F40°F40°F50°F50°F60°F60°F70°F70°F80°F80°F90°F90°F100°F100°FJul 1584°FJul 1584°FOct 189°FOct 189°F57°F57°F63°F63°FDec 783°FDec 783°FApr 2083°FApr 2083°F61°F61°F63°F63°F62°F62°F62°F62°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 81°F82°F83°F83°F85°F85°F85°F86°F88°F89°F85°F82°F
Temp. 71°F71°F72°F71°F72°F71°F69°F72°F75°F76°F74°F71°F
Low 61°F61°F62°F62°F61°F58°F57°F59°F62°F63°F63°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 Kahama

Average Hourly Temperature in KahamaJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 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 AMNowNowcoolcomfortablecomfortablecomfortablecomfortablewarmhotcool
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.

San Cristóbal Honduras, Mexico (8,925 miles away) and San José de Cusmapa, Nicaragua (8,254 miles) are the far-away foreign places with temperatures most similar to Kahama (view comparison).

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In Kahama, 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 Kahama begins around May 21 and lasts for 4.1 months, ending around September 24.

The clearest month of the year in Kahama is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 65% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 24 and lasts for 7.9 months, ending around May 21.

The cloudiest month of the year in Kahama is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 79% of the time.

Cloud Cover Categories in Kahama

Cloud Cover Categories in KahamaclearercloudiercloudierJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%Jul 2767%Jul 2767%Jan 320%Jan 320%May 2144%May 2144%Sep 2445%Sep 2445%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 79%78%75%73%59%47%35%35%50%69%74%77%
Clearer 21%22%25%27%41%53%65%65%50%31%26%23%

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

The wetter season lasts 6.3 months, from October 26 to May 4, with a greater than 32% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Kahama is March, with an average of 19.0 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 5.7 months, from May 4 to October 26. The month with the fewest wet days in Kahama is July, with an average of 0.2 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 Kahama is March, with an average of 19.0 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 64% on March 25.

Daily Chance of Precipitation in Kahama

Daily Chance of Precipitation in KahamawetwetdryJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%Mar 2564%Mar 2564%Jun 290%Jun 290%Oct 2632%Oct 2632%May 432%May 432%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 17.6d16.3d19.0d15.6d5.8d0.5d0.2d0.6d1.6d6.8d16.0d19.0d

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. Kahama experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 8.0 months, from September 26 to May 27, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Kahama is December, with an average rainfall of 5.3 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.0 months, from May 27 to September 26. The month with the least rain in Kahama is July, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

Average Monthly Rainfall in Kahama

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 4.1″4.0″4.9″3.9″1.1″0.1″0.0″0.1″0.3″1.6″4.4″5.3″

The length of the day in Kahama does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 20 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 11 hours, 54 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 12 hours, 21 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in Kahama

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 12.3h12.2h12.1h12.0h11.9h11.9h11.9h12.0h12.1h12.2h12.3h12.3h

The earliest sunrise is at 6:25 AM on November 9, and the latest sunrise is 33 minutes later at 6:58 AM on July 20. The earliest sunset is at 6:40 PM on October 26, and the latest sunset is 31 minutes later at 7:11 PM on February 5.

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

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight in Kahama

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight in KahamaJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AMNov 96:25 AMNov 96:25 AM7:11 PMFeb 57:11 PMFeb 5Oct 266:40 PMOct 266:40 PM6:58 AMJul 206:58 AMJul 20daynightSolarMidnightSolarMidnightSolarNoonSunriseSunsetNowNow
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 Kahama

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in KahamaJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 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 AM0000101010102020202030303030404040405050505060606060707070808000001010101020202020303030304040404050505050606060607070708063NowNow
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 Kahama

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.

Kahama experiences significant seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 6.6 months, from October 30 to May 16, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 12% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Kahama is March, with 13.8 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in Kahama is July, with 0.0 days that are muggy or worse.

Humidity Comfort Levels in Kahama

Humidity Comfort Levels in KahamamuggymuggyJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%Jul 260%Jul 260%Mar 2746%Mar 2746%Oct 3012%Oct 3012%May 1612%May 1612%NowNowmuggymuggyhumidhumiddrydrycomfortablecomfortable
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 13.1d12.2d13.8d11.7d3.9d0.2d0.0d0.1d0.4d1.9d6.8d12.1d

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

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.2 months, from April 24 to November 1, with average wind speeds of more than 8.1 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Kahama is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.3 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.8 months, from November 1 to April 24. The calmest month of the year in Kahama is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.8 miles per hour.

Average Wind Speed in Kahama

Average Wind Speed in KahamawindyJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 mph0 mph2 mph2 mph4 mph4 mph6 mph6 mph8 mph8 mph10 mph10 mph12 mph12 mph14 mph14 mph16 mph16 mphAug 1111.4 mphAug 1111.4 mphJan 174.7 mphJan 174.7 mphApr 248.1 mphApr 248.1 mphNov 18.1 mphNov 18.1 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) 4.85.15.97.49.09.910.911.310.69.37.05.3

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Kahama is from the east throughout the year.

Wind Direction in Kahama

Wind Direction in KahamaJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%NowNoweastnorthwestsouth
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 Kahama 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 Kahama for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid June to early September, with a peak score in the last week of July.

Tourism Score in Kahama

Tourism Score in Kahamabest timeJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec002244668810107.67.64.84.84.94.9NowNowtemperaturetemperature 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 time of year to visit Kahama for hot-weather activities is from early August to mid October, with a peak score in the second week of September.

Beach/Pool Score in Kahama

Beach/Pool Score in Kahamabest timeJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec002244668810106.76.74.14.15.65.65.45.4NowNowtemperaturetemperature cloudscloudsprecipitationprecipitationbeach/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 Kahama 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 Kahama

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in KahamaJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%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 2NowNowcoolcomfortablewarmhotcold
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 Kahama

Growing Degree Days in KahamaJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0°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°F8,000°F8,000°FJul 690°FJul 690°FAug 15900°FAug 15900°FSep 231,800°FSep 231,800°FJun 307,949°FJun 307,949°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 2.4 months, from August 8 to October 21, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.8 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Kahama is September, with an average of 7.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.2 months, from November 28 to February 7, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.9 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Kahama is January, with an average of 5.6 kWh.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in Kahama

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in KahamabrightdarkdarkJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 kWh0 kWh1 kWh1 kWh2 kWh2 kWh3 kWh3 kWh4 kWh4 kWh5 kWh5 kWh6 kWh6 kWh7 kWh7 kWh8 kWh8 kWh9 kWh9 kWhSep 127.2 kWhSep 127.2 kWhJan 45.5 kWhJan 45.5 kWhOct 216.8 kWhOct 216.8 kWhNov 285.9 kWhNov 285.9 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) 5.66.06.16.26.36.46.66.97.16.96.25.7

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Kahama are -3.833 deg latitude, 32.600 deg longitude, and 4,098 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Kahama contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 335 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 4,070 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (574 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (1,470 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Kahama is covered by cropland (50%), shrubs (33%), and trees (11%), within 10 miles by cropland (52%) and shrubs (35%), and within 50 miles by cropland (45%) and trees (23%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Kahama, 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, Mwanza Airport, in our network suitable to be used as a proxy for the historical temperature and dew point records of Kahama.

At a distance of 159 kilometers from Kahama, further than our threshold of 150 kilometers, this station is deemed insufficiently nearby to be relied upon as our primary source for temperature and dew point records. Consequently, the station records are blended with interpolated values from NASA's MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis , and both are corrected for elevation differences according to the International Standard Atmosphere .

The weight assigned to the MERRA-2 value depends on the distance from Kahama to the nearest station, increasing from 0% at 150 kilometers to 100% at 200 kilometers. In this case, the MERRA-2 weight is 15%, making the weight assigned to the weather station 85%.

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.