Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Napak Uganda

In Napak, the summers are short, hot, dry, and overcast and the winters are short, comfortable, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 65°F to 94°F and is rarely below 62°F or above 98°F.

Based on the beach/pool score, the best time of year to visit Napak for hot-weather activities is from mid August to early March.

The hot season lasts for 2.6 months, from January 16 to April 4, with an average daily high temperature above 92°F. The hottest month of the year in Napak is March, with an average high of 94°F and low of 69°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.4 months, from June 14 to August 26, with an average daily high temperature below 85°F. The coldest month of the year in Napak is July, with an average low of 67°F and high of 82°F.

In Napak, 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 Napak begins around July 4 and lasts for 3.2 months, ending around October 11.

The clearest month of the year in Napak is September, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 48% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 11 and lasts for 8.8 months, ending around July 4.

The cloudiest month of the year in Napak is April, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 77% 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 Napak varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.8 months, from April 14 to November 7, with a greater than 25% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Napak is August, with an average of 13.3 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 5.2 months, from November 7 to April 14. The month with the fewest wet days in Napak is January, with an average of 1.3 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 Napak is August, with an average of 13.3 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 47% on August 3.

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. Napak experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.2 months, from March 4 to December 9, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Napak is August, with an average rainfall of 2.6 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.8 months, from December 9 to March 4. The month with the least rain in Napak is January, with an average rainfall of 0.2 inches.

The length of the day in Napak does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 15 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 12 hours, 0 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 12 hours, 15 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:25 AM on October 30, and the latest sunrise is 31 minutes later at 6:56 AM on February 8. The earliest sunset is at 6:27 PM on November 5, and the latest sunset is 31 minutes later at 6:58 PM on February 14.

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

Napak experiences some seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 7.1 months, from March 27 to November 1, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 8% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Napak is May, with 8.7 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in Napak is January, with 0.5 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 Napak experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.0 months, from October 18 to April 17, with average wind speeds of more than 7.5 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Napak is December, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.3 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.0 months, from April 17 to October 18. The calmest month of the year in Napak is June, with an average hourly wind speed of 3.7 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the west for 2.5 months, from June 7 to August 23, with a peak percentage of 43% on July 18. The wind is most often from the east for 9.5 months, from August 23 to June 7, with a peak percentage of 96% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Napak 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 times of year to visit Napak for general outdoor tourist activities are from mid June to late September and from mid November to late December, 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 time of year to visit Napak for hot-weather activities is from mid August to early March, 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 Napak 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 2.3 months, from January 19 to March 27, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.0 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Napak is February, with an average of 7.2 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.3 months, from June 2 to August 11, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.8 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Napak is July, with an average of 5.5 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Napak are 2.251 deg latitude, 34.250 deg longitude, and 3,812 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Napak contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 292 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3,819 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (2,628 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (6,831 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Napak is covered by grassland (65%) and shrubs (35%), within 10 miles by shrubs (80%) and grassland (20%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (54%) and grassland (26%).