Average Weather in Chitipa Malawi

1. World
2. Malawi
3. Northern Region
4. Chitipa District
5. Chitipa

In Chitipa, the wet season is overcast, the dry season is mostly clear, and it is warm year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 48°F to 84°F and is rarely below 44°F or above 89°F.

The warm season lasts for 2.4 months, from September 27 to December 7, with an average daily high temperature above 82°F. The hottest day of the year is November 3, with an average high of 84°F and low of 65°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.5 months, from April 22 to August 8, with an average daily high temperature below 74°F. The coldest day of the year is June 28, with an average low of 48°F and high of 71°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 Chitipa, 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 Chitipa begins around April 15 and lasts for 6.8 months, ending around November 10. On July 24, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 85% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 15% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 10 and lasts for 5.2 months, ending around April 15. On January 25, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 88% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 12% 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 Chitipa varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.7 months, from November 27 to April 19, with a greater than 37% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 74% on January 28.

The drier season lasts 7.3 months, from April 19 to November 27. The smallest chance of a wet day is 0% on August 30.

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 28.

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. Chitipa experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.5 months, from October 14 to May 30, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around January 3, with an average total accumulation of 8.9 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.5 months, from May 30 to October 14. The least rain falls around August 24, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Chitipa does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 41 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2017, the shortest day is June 21, with 11 hours, 33 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 12 hours, 42 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:14 AM on November 17, and the latest sunrise is 50 minutes later at 6:04 AM on July 14. The earliest sunset is at 5:32 PM on May 27, and the latest sunset is 44 minutes later at 6:16 PM on January 26.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Chitipa 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.

Chitipa experiences some seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 4.9 months, from December 6 to May 3, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 4% of the time. The muggiest day of the year is March 21, with muggy conditions 17% of the time.

The least muggy day of the year is July 5, 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 Chitipa experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.5 months, from April 9 to November 23, with average wind speeds of more than 3.9 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is October 4, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.4 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.5 months, from November 23 to April 9. The calmest day of the year is February 18, with an average hourly wind speed of 2.5 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the west for 3.6 weeks, from January 15 to February 9, with a peak percentage of 32% on January 29. The wind is most often from the east for 11 months, from February 9 to January 15, with a peak percentage of 38% on January 1.

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 2.5 months, from August 30 to November 14, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.1 kWh. The brightest day of the year is October 15, with an average of 7.6 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.6 months, from December 20 to March 9, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.5 kWh. The darkest day of the year is January 16, with an average of 4.9 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Chitipa are -9.702 deg latitude, 33.270 deg longitude, and 4,180 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Chitipa contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 361 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 4,203 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (2,930 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (8,130 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Chitipa is covered by cropland (36%), shrubs (34%), and artificial surfaces (28%), within 10 miles by cropland (42%) and shrubs (32%), and within 50 miles by trees (33%) and cropland (32%).

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

At a distance of 88 kilometers from Chitipa, 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 Chitipa 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.