Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Masindi Port Uganda

In Masindi Port, the summers are short, hot, and overcast and the winters are long, comfortable, muggy, wet, and mostly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 62°F to 92°F and is rarely below 60°F or above 98°F.

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

The hot season lasts for 2.0 months, from January 20 to March 19, with an average daily high temperature above 90°F. The hottest month of the year in Masindi Port is February, with an average high of 92°F and low of 66°F.

The cool season lasts for 6.7 months, from April 26 to November 17, with an average daily high temperature below 84°F. The coldest month of the year in Masindi Port is August, with an average low of 63°F and high of 82°F.

In Masindi Port, 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 Masindi Port begins around June 23 and lasts for 3.3 months, ending around October 1.

The clearest month of the year in Masindi Port is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 47% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 1 and lasts for 8.7 months, ending around June 23.

The cloudiest month of the year in Masindi Port is April, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 83% 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 Masindi Port varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 8.3 months, from March 15 to November 24, with a greater than 38% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Masindi Port is October, with an average of 19.3 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 3.7 months, from November 24 to March 15. The month with the fewest wet days in Masindi Port is January, with an average of 3.9 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 Masindi Port is October, with an average of 19.3 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 66% on April 29.

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. Masindi Port experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Masindi Port. The month with the most rain in Masindi Port is October, with an average rainfall of 4.7 inches.

The month with the least rain in Masindi Port is January, with an average rainfall of 0.7 inches.

The length of the day in Masindi Port does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 13 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 12 hours, 2 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 12 hours, 13 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:33 AM on October 31, and the latest sunrise is 31 minutes later at 7:04 AM on February 9. The earliest sunset is at 6:36 PM on November 4, and the latest sunset is 31 minutes later at 7:07 PM on February 15.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Masindi Port 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.

Masindi Port experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 9.1 months, from March 9 to December 12, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 34% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Masindi Port is May, with 24.5 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in Masindi Port is January, with 6.0 days that are muggy or worse.

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 Masindi Port experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.6 months, from November 15 to April 3, with average wind speeds of more than 5.4 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Masindi Port is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.4 months, from April 3 to November 15. The calmest month of the year in Masindi Port is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.2 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the south for 5.6 months, from March 10 to August 29, with a peak percentage of 73% on June 23. The wind is most often from the north for 1.7 months, from August 29 to October 21, with a peak percentage of 38% on September 19. The wind is most often from the east for 4.6 months, from October 21 to March 10, with a peak percentage of 54% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Masindi Port 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 Masindi Port for general outdoor tourist activities is from early June to late September, with a peak score in the last week of August.

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 Masindi Port for hot-weather activities are from late May to early October and from mid November to mid March, with a peak score in the first 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 Masindi Port 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 some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.4 months, from January 6 to March 19, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.3 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Masindi Port is February, with an average of 6.6 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.4 months, from April 20 to July 2, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.3 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Masindi Port is May, with an average of 5.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Masindi Port are 1.696 deg latitude, 32.086 deg longitude, and 3,409 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Masindi Port contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 121 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3,420 feet. Within 10 miles also contains only modest variations in elevation (440 feet). Within 50 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (2,799 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Masindi Port is covered by shrubs (40%), herbaceous vegetation (19%), cropland (18%), and trees (13%), within 10 miles by shrubs (49%) and cropland (17%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (38%) and trees (27%).