Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Kurmuk SudanIn Kurmuk, the wet season is hot, muggy, and overcast and the dry season is sweltering and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 66°F to 103°F and is rarely below 62°F or above 107°F. Based on the beach/pool score, the best time of year to visit Kurmuk for hot-weather activities is from mid October to late February. Average Temperature in KurmukThe hot season lasts for 2.7 months, from February 6 to April 27, with an average daily high temperature above 99°F. The hottest month of the year in Kurmuk is April, with an average high of 101°F and low of 76°F. The cool season lasts for 3.4 months, from June 24 to October 4, with an average daily high temperature below 86°F. The coldest month of the year in Kurmuk is August, with an average low of 69°F and high of 82°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. Tondon, Guinea (3,237 miles away) is the far-away foreign place with temperatures most similar to Kurmuk (view comparison). CloudsIn Kurmuk, 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 Kurmuk begins around October 6 and lasts for 6.0 months, ending around April 7. The clearest month of the year in Kurmuk is December, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 60% of the time. The cloudier part of the year begins around April 7 and lasts for 6.0 months, ending around October 6. The cloudiest month of the year in Kurmuk is July, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 78% of the time.
PrecipitationA wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Kurmuk varies very significantly throughout the year. The wetter season lasts 5.3 months, from May 9 to October 18, with a greater than 35% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Kurmuk is August, with an average of 21.4 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation. The drier season lasts 6.7 months, from October 18 to May 9. The month with the fewest wet days in Kurmuk is January, with an average of 0.2 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 Kurmuk is August, with an average of 21.4 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 70% on July 29.
RainfallTo 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. Kurmuk experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall. The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.3 months, from April 6 to November 15, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Kurmuk is August, with an average rainfall of 8.2 inches. The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.7 months, from November 15 to April 6. The month with the least rain in Kurmuk is January, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.
SunThe length of the day in Kurmuk does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 44 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 31 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 12 hours, 45 minutes of daylight.
The earliest sunrise is at 5:19 AM on May 28, and the latest sunrise is 47 minutes later at 6:06 AM on January 27. The earliest sunset is at 5:16 PM on November 16, and the latest sunset is 53 minutes later at 6:09 PM on July 11. Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Kurmuk during 2024. The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation. MoonThe 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. HumidityWe 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. Kurmuk experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity. The muggier period of the year lasts for 6.8 months, from April 22 to November 17, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 24% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Kurmuk is August, with 29.0 days that are muggy or worse. The month with the fewest muggy days in Kurmuk is February, with 0.1 days that are muggy or worse.
WindThis 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 Kurmuk experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year. The windier part of the year lasts for 7.1 months, from December 4 to July 8, with average wind speeds of more than 7.1 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Kurmuk is February, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.4 miles per hour. The calmer time of year lasts for 4.9 months, from July 8 to December 4. The calmest month of the year in Kurmuk is October, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.7 miles per hour.
The predominant average hourly wind direction in Kurmuk varies throughout the year. The wind is most often from the south for 5.9 months, from April 19 to October 16, with a peak percentage of 70% on June 26. The wind is most often from the east for 1.8 months, from October 16 to December 10, with a peak percentage of 49% on December 3. The wind is most often from the north for 4.0 months, from December 10 to April 11, with a peak percentage of 57% on January 1. Best Time of Year to VisitTo characterize how pleasant the weather is in Kurmuk 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 Kurmuk for general outdoor tourist activities is from late October to early February, with a peak score in the third week of December. Tourism Score in KurmukThe 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 Kurmuk for hot-weather activities is from mid October to late February, with a peak score in the third week of December. Beach/Pool Score in KurmukMethodologyFor 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. Growing SeasonDefinitions 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 Kurmuk 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. Solar EnergyThis 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 February 10 to April 19, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.4 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Kurmuk is March, with an average of 6.8 kWh. The darker period of the year lasts for 3.1 months, from June 13 to September 16, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Kurmuk is July, with an average of 4.7 kWh.
TopographyFor the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Kurmuk are 10.550 deg latitude, 34.283 deg longitude, and 2,136 ft elevation. The topography within 2 miles of Kurmuk contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,490 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 2,287 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (2,375 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (4,888 feet). The area within 2 miles of Kurmuk is covered by trees (44%), grassland (22%), bare soil (15%), and artificial surfaces (15%), within 10 miles by trees (68%) and grassland (26%), and within 50 miles by trees (54%) and grassland (29%). Data SourcesThis report illustrates the typical weather in Kurmuk, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016. Kurmuk is further than 200 kilometers from the nearest reliable weather station, so the weather-related data on this page were taken entirely from NASA's MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis . 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. The temperature and dew point estimates are corrected for the difference between the reference elevation of the MERRA-2 grid cell and the elevation of Kurmuk, according to the International Standard Atmosphere . All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus. 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 airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com . Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors. DisclaimerThe information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site. We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands. We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader. Please review our full terms contained on our Terms of Service page. |