Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Songwa Tanzania

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.

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

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

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 16 and lasts for 4.3 months, ending around September 27.

The clearest month of the year in Songwa is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 63% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 27 and lasts for 7.7 months, ending around May 16.

The cloudiest month of the year in Songwa is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 80% 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 27 to May 8, with a greater than 30% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Songwa is March, with an average of 17.6 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 5.6 months, from May 8 to October 27. The month with the fewest wet days in Songwa is July, with an average of 0.3 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 Songwa is March, with an average of 17.6 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 59% on March 26.

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 8.0 months, from September 29 to May 29, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Songwa is December, with an average rainfall of 4.8 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.0 months, from May 29 to September 29. The month with the least rain in Songwa is July, with an average rainfall 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 2024, the shortest day is June 20, 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 8, and the latest sunrise is 32 minutes later at 6:54 AM on July 21. The earliest sunset is at 6:36 PM on October 27, 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 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.

Songwa experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 6.6 months, from November 1 to May 20, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 13% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Songwa is January, with 15.6 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in Songwa is July, with 0.0 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 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 9, with average wind speeds of more than 8.3 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Songwa is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.6 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.5 months, from November 9 to April 24. The calmest month of the year in Songwa is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.9 miles per hour.

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

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

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 Songwa for hot-weather activities is from early August to mid October, with a peak score in the second week of September.

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 Songwa 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 2.1 months, from August 19 to October 23, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.0 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Songwa is September, with an average of 7.3 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.0 months, from December 1 to February 2, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 6.0 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Songwa is December, with an average of 5.9 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Songwa are -3.517 deg latitude, 33.517 deg longitude, and 3,770 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%).