Average Weather in Songwa Tanzania

1. World
2. Tanzania
3. Shinyanga
4. Kishapu District
5. Songwa

In Songwa, the wet season is humid and overcast, the dry season is windy and partly cloudy, and it is hot year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 58°F to 90°F and is rarely below 54°F or above 94°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 Songwa, 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 Songwa begins around May 17 and lasts for 4.4 months, ending around September 29. On July 24, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 65% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 35% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 29 and lasts for 7.6 months, ending around May 17. On January 3, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 81% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 19% 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 Songwa varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.4 months, from October 28 to May 8, with a greater than 30% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 59% on March 27.

The drier season lasts 5.6 months, from May 8 to October 28. The smallest chance of a wet day is 1% on July 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 59% on March 27.

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. Songwa experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.9 months, from October 1 to May 29, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around December 10, with an average total accumulation of 4.9 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.1 months, from May 29 to October 1. The least rain falls around July 15, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Songwa does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 19 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2017, the shortest day is June 21, with 11 hours, 55 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 12 hours, 20 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:21 AM on November 10, and the latest sunrise is 32 minutes later at 6:54 AM on July 22. The earliest sunset is at 6:36 PM on October 26, and the latest sunset is 31 minutes later at 7:07 PM on February 4.

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

Songwa experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 6.6 months, from November 2 to May 21, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 13% of the time. The muggiest day of the year is January 16, with muggy conditions 51% of the time.

The least muggy day of the year is July 13, 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 Songwa experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.5 months, from April 24 to November 10, with average wind speeds of more than 4.4 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is August 31, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.3 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.5 months, from November 10 to April 24. The calmest day of the year is January 20, with an average hourly wind speed of 2.6 miles per hour.

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

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 2.2 months, from August 19 to October 25, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.0 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 2.1 months, from December 1 to February 3, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 6.1 kWh. The darkest day of the year is January 5, with an average of 5.7 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Songwa are -3.517 deg latitude, 33.517 deg longitude, and 3,829 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Songwa contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 141 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3,817 feet. Within 10 miles also contains only modest variations in elevation (440 feet). Within 50 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,394 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Songwa is covered by cropland (59%), shrubs (19%), and grassland (14%), within 10 miles by cropland (61%) and grassland (17%), and within 50 miles by cropland (61%) and shrubs (14%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Songwa, 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 Songwa.

At a distance of 136 kilometers from Songwa, 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 Songwa 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.