Average Weather in Khān Yūnis Palestinian Territories

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4. Khān Yūnis

In Khān Yūnis, the summers are long, hot, muggy, arid, and clear and the winters are cool and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 49°F to 87°F and is rarely below 44°F or above 91°F.

The hot season lasts for 4.0 months, from June 7 to October 8, with an average daily high temperature above 82°F. The hottest day of the year is August 2, with an average high of 87°F and low of 73°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.2 months, from December 10 to March 16, with an average daily high temperature below 68°F. The coldest day of the year is January 24, with an average low of 49°F and high of 63°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 Khān Yūnis, 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 Khān Yūnis begins around May 23 and lasts for 4.8 months, ending around October 18. On June 30, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 100% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 0% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 18 and lasts for 7.2 months, ending around May 23. On December 10, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 31% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 69% 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 Khān Yūnis varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.3 months, from November 8 to March 16, with a greater than 9% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 17% on January 21.

The drier season lasts 7.7 months, from March 16 to November 8. The smallest chance of a wet day is 0% on July 12.

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 17% on January 21.

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. Khān Yūnis experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 5.0 months, from October 31 to April 1, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around January 15, with an average total accumulation of 1.2 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 7.0 months, from April 1 to October 31. The least rain falls around July 15, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Khān Yūnis varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2017, the shortest day is December 21, with 10 hours, 7 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 11 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:37 AM on June 11, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 17 minutes later at 6:54 AM on October 27. The earliest sunset is at 4:39 PM on December 3, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 12 minutes later at 7:51 PM on June 30.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Khān Yūnis during 2017, starting in the spring on March 25, lasting 7.1 months, and ending in the fall on October 28.

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.

Khān Yūnis experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 4.7 months, from May 30 to October 22, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 24% of the time. The muggiest day of the year is August 12, with muggy conditions 94% of the time.

The least muggy day of the year is February 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 predominant average hourly wind direction in Khān Yūnis varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the north for 2.1 months, from April 11 to June 13 and for 3.2 months, from August 23 to November 28, with a peak percentage of 67% on September 24. The wind is most often from the west for 2.3 months, from June 13 to August 23 and for 4.4 months, from November 28 to April 11, with a peak percentage of 64% on July 27.

Khān Yūnis is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 3.6 months, from July 2 to October 20, with an average temperature above 79°F. The day of the year with the warmest water is August 22, with an average temperature of 83°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.9 months, from December 30 to April 27, with an average temperature below 67°F. The day of the year with the coolest water is February 27, with an average temperature of 63°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 extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.7 months, from May 4 to August 26, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.4 kWh. The brightest day of the year is June 21, with an average of 8.5 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from November 5 to February 11, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.2 kWh. The darkest day of the year is December 24, with an average of 3.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Khān Yūnis are 31.340 deg latitude, 34.306 deg longitude, and 177 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Khān Yūnis contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 253 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 187 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (502 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (3,379 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Khān Yūnis is covered by sparse vegetation (54%) and bare soil (22%), within 10 miles by water (34%) and cropland (24%), and within 50 miles by water (41%) and bare soil (38%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Khān Yūnis, 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 are 2 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Khān Yūnis.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Khān Yūnis according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

The estimated value at Khān Yūnis is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Khān Yūnis and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are: Beer-Sheva (59%, 40 kilometers, east) and El Arish International Airport (41%, 54 kilometers, southwest).

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.